Logistics:
We were just not moving very fast in
the morning... Kevin had set his alarm for 5:30 am, Theresa had set
hers to 6 am. Both alarms were totally ignored. Kevin claims he did
not want to wake up our camping neighbors, who were in a tent only 4
feet from the drivers side of the RV. That was the side that had the
water and sewer hook-ups. Theresa thought he was actually waiting to
wake up a bit himself. Since check out time was 11 am and we would
not be back to the RV until after 2 pm we needed to unhook the RV and
store it in a different location until we returned at the end of the
ride. Just as we were done parking the RV and contemplating our
drive to the start some sprinkles started to fall. We both looked at
each other and decided to give it a go and elected to drive the car
to a Walmart on the east side of Cleveland. Kevin went in to ask if
is was OK to leave the car overnight and was assured it would be OK.
Got to Love Walmart. The plan was to do the ride then drive the
RV, leapfrogging the car to a campground on the west side of
Cleveland so we are ready for Sunday's ride thru Cleveland back to
the car.
The Route:
The Walmart was only 2 miles south of
the route, the rain appeared to be past us (good thing we had a late
start) so we headed north to pick up Lakeshore Blvd and once again
follow (mostly) along the edge of Lake Erie. The road had a useless
bike lane full of debris and potholes. We are convinced that Bike
Lanes are not a bikers friend. We noticed that drivers give you less
space if riding in a bike lane than in the road. Not sure if it was
because it was Saturday or Ohio, but the drivers seemed to be very
much in a hurry and not give us much breathing room. They were much
like NC drivers who pass you just to make a turn in front of you. PA
drivers were much more pleasant. Zin got lots of attention from
passing cars as they giggled and comment how cute she is and how much
fun she was having! The route today had lots of twists and turns.
Theresa had charted a 41 mile route with all the turns using google
maps, however the turns did not match the Adventure Cycling charts
(which were very confusing as well). It was hard to tell where one
town stopped and another started except for a dip into a river valley
and back up the other side. Kevin pulled Zin the first 16, then
swapped out and Theresa pulled for the next 17 miles, which included
head winds and a monster hill the required the Green Machine's granny
gear. She could not even pass a guy who was pushing his bike up the
same hill, but she did make it. We stopped with 8 miles left at a DQ
for something cold. Theresa shared a small cone with Zin who licked
every drop from the cone and then finished that as well. All mounted
up and prepared to finish the days ride. As we biked thru Geneva
State Park we welcomed the shade of each tree as it was reaching 91
degrees. We were thinking of our TNR buddies riding in 100+ and
thankful we were coasting along with 5-7 mph tailwinds and lower
humidity. We completed our route thru the town of Geneva on the
Lake, which felt like riding thru a state fair. Kevin seemed to
think it was a retirement community for Carnies. We finally rolled
into the RV park at about 3:30 ish.
Stats:
44 miles, 12 mph avg, total trip miles
177, days riding 4 and 2500 calories burned
After the ride:
Exhausted Kevin headed to get a shower
while Theresa chilled with a ice beer. The jeep was already staged
for Sunday's end so we needed to get the Riverside Campground and
Marina where we will stay for 5 nights! We recalled a very steep
railroad crossing to get to I90 thru Geneva and we did not want to
bottom out with the RV and become the Smitanic Teter-totter. We
inquired to an alternate route to make the 100 miles to the
campgrounds. The new campground entrance was a steep downhill that
led to a very narrow opening and sharp turns to get into our assigned
site. After blocking the entrance and exit for about 10 min. one of
the other residents helped us maneuver into our spot along the river.
In order to get into the site Kevin had to maneuver the RV using
small adjustments forward and then back and then forward and then
back. Most of the maneuvers included driving the RV into the trees
and bushes on either side of the RV. The front tires were
dangerously close to falling into a ditch during each incremental
adjustment as he walked the RV into the site with assistance from
both Theresa and a local who was very skilled at parking Big Rigs in
Tight places. The next challenge will be upon departer time when
Kevin and Theresa will be all alone in figuring out how to extract
the SmitTanic from its narrow slip. The campgrounds prides itself as
a Best Kept Secret, but there was lots of traffic in and out so I
think the secret is long been leaked! The Smitanic was all settled
in to it's new home finally around 7, then the nightly update, dinner
and planning began!
Tomorrow's plans:
We will ride from here as early as
possible 57 miles back to the Walmart in Willoughby, do some
shopping, pick up the abandoned Jeep, and then head back to the RV.
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