Friday, June 5th, 2015

Start/End: North Canton/Zanesville, OH
Mileage: 83+
Weather: Sunny and very warm

Today we woke up at the Family Faith Center in North Canton and enjoyed breakfast consisting of some cereal donations and some leftover chocolate. Yum!

Today’s ride was dedicated to a rider’s family friend who was well known in their neighborhood for the cheery attitude which was shared with all. He passed away recently from cancer and is very missed.

And with that we were off on the ride, navigating through the morning traffic in Canton. Once we got into the country, though, it was smooth riding, kind of. We encountered so many hills that were quite challenging. But going downhill! Lots of fun. We passed through some beautiful parts of the country. If you didn’t know, eastern Ohio is very hilly. This is not something that I was aware of. So needless to say, it has been a very tough day and we are all tired. It was also rather warm today, so hydration was super important and taking some breaks in the shade were more than welcome. Even at some times,mothers were a few drips of rain, but just enough to keep us cool.

We encountered some rough roads, which we fought through like champs, which can sometimes just mean getting off of the bike and walking down the gravel road, which we did for much longer than we’d have liked, but it was just too challenging to do it any other way.

Today we saw so many butterflies along the ride which was just so nice. We also met the most friendly, happy horses that greeted us and walked with us along the gravel road we walked down.

Nothing too exciting happened today, but that really can be a good thing. We came to stay at the Woodcreek Baptist Church in Zanesville and were graciously shuttled to a nearby gym to shower. Upon getting back from the wonderful showers, we were fed by food provided by the church from Chipotle. It was the perfect end to a great day of riding. Additionally they had snacks and dessert for us. It was just amazing and we were so thankful for their generosity. Later, rider’s parents brought over ice cream for us which was also thoroughly enjoyed. They also provided some bracelets which can be used as rope in any emergency situation. They were handmade and a very thoughtful gift, thank you!

We are happy campers tonight on cots in the church, very full and very happy. Tomorrow we will be heading to Columbus, which will be a shorter ride,so that will be nice. Going to bed before too long. Long day….