Thursday, June 9th, 2016

Today we rode through 78 more miles of Ohio’s rolling hills into Wooster. Our route was nice; much of it was on a beautifully forested trail. We also stopped at River Styx Market for our rest stop, which was a perfect spot. The owners were super friendly and they sold delicious ice cream, which is always a plus. We also collected a portrait with Troy, who lost a coworker, Dawn, at the market to cancer. He brought her to all of her treatments and just spent time with her throughout her battle. Dawn had reached a point in which she was cancer free, but by the time she was done with treatment she was very weak and her immune system wasn’t protecting her the way it should. She passed away six years ago and Troy has sponsored a Relay for Life team every year since.

We are staying at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wooster, right on the college campus. It’s a gorgeous campus with big trees and beautiful buildings. We were fortunate enough to get to use the showers at the rec center. It was an amazing facility and we are always thankful to have the opportunity to shower. The stay over provided a delicious lasagna dinner, and everyone is full and happy.

We are a little under 2 weeks into our trip, and I thought now might be a good time to answer some frequently asked questions. Feel free to comment with others!

Q: Why pad your shorts when you could just get a comfy seat?

A: Since the shorts are theoretically flush to your skin, it makes more sense to provide extra cushion there instead of on the seat where there is more friction and thus more rubbing. More rubbing leads to more chaffing. Which is always a bad thing.

Q: When one person gets a flat do you all have to stop?

A: We ride in groups of 3-5, so all members of that individual group stop with that person. The other groups continue to the next rest stop.

Q: How far do you ride a day? How often do you stop?

A: We ride an average of 70 miles a day. We stop every 20 miles. The first stop is for a piece of fruit, the second is lunch (2 pb&j’s) and every 20 after that is some sort of snack.

Q: What has surprised you the most about the trip so far?

A: The general consensus is that we have all been shocked and humbled by the extreme generosity of others. We have been treated extremely well at our stay overs, strangers have given us donations, a man at a gas station gave us a giant bag of beef jerky because he thought we needed protein, and Steven received a free stem and bike fitting from a bike shop in Cleveland. That’s just to name a few examples. Personally, I have been surprised and delighted by how much I have laughed during the trip. I feel like I am constantly laughing at something or someone. Everyone is so good-natured and fun, it has really made it an easy trip thus far.

I’m happy to answer any other questions if anyone has them!

DR