Day 9: Mansfield, OH to Columbus, OH

Mileage: 69

Day 9 was a fun day. I was riding in a group with Mitch, Tori, and Peter through the country roads of Ohio. The roads were straight and relatively smooth, except for a few miles of extreme potholes and gravel. 

Every day, we have a photo contest where our team takes photos based on a theme. For example, one day was "erect" and that was interpreted in not so mature ways. The van drivers get to judge the photos and pick a winner. The theme for day 9 was "Awkward Family Photos"

The elevation was significantly flatter today, and my team was flying through the miles. It was really fun, playing Would You Rather and other various games. We also stopped to take a photo next to an assortment of bikes in front of someone's lawn. The owners actually came out while we were taking pictures, and we explained what we were doing. 

Around 11, we saw the lunch van on the side of the road like this. 

It was pretty stuck in the mud. We tried to figure out how to get it out, tried pushing, and talked about calling AAA which no one had. We ended up flagging down a truck, and the driver graciously helped pull us out. Crisis averted. 

We got to our host in Columbus, OH pretty early. At night, we decided to go out since we had a rest day the next day. We started at Arch City Tavern, which had a great selection of beer. The couple of fries that I stole were also delicious. 

Later, we ended up at a gay bar that was a blast. There was karaoke and we rocked it. Our entire group of about 10 people got on a tiny stage to sing. 

That night was so much fun, and I think I ended up sleeping at 3 am. Good thing that the next day was a service day. I don't think I would've survived if I had to get up at 5am. 

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Day 8: Canton, OH to Mansfield, OH

Mileage: 21.8

I am a few days behind blogging about the past couple of days, though we have a rest day in Columbus today for days 9 and 10.

I would say that Day 8 was one of the most interesting days we've had so far. I unfortunately didn't get to finish the ride, and most of a team didn't, save for about five people. The day started out overcast, with some foreboding clouds that were approaching quickly. The sky darkened less than an hour into the ride, and a torrent of rain came down. My ride group decided that it was unsafe to ride, so we seeked shelter first under a large tree, then across the street at a gas station. I was chilly, so I got some nasty gas station coffee that felt remarkable to drink. Any hot beverage was delicious at that point.
                                     

When the rain storm seemed to pass, we started up again and quickly got on a bike trail. Which turned out that a bridge had a huge gaping hole in it that we had to jump across. With our bikes. Just kidding. We took turns helping each other handing our bikes over and then jumping across.



When everyone was safely on the other side, we continued down the path. That was when the real downpour started. And at the same time, the nicely paved bike path turned into a nasty muddy trail. I was already miserable being soaked in the cold rain, and the mud just made it worse. I was cursing under my breath, got into aero position to try to keep warm, and just powered through it. The mud that flew everywhere was incredible. We were supposed to go down the bike path for about 8 miles to the water stop at mile 21, but there was no way that I would stay on that mud path.

When we got to a road intersection, I got off the trail and rerouted to get to the water stop. There were quite a few people in my group, but I was way ahead and I knew that I needed to keep cycling to stay warm. I felt kind of bad for ditching most of the group, but all I wanted was to get to the water stop ASAP. Taylor and I went on ahead while the others waited, and I just booked it down this two-lane highway at over 20 mph in the pouring rain. I was soaked, and I was trying my best to keep my phone dry in a ziploc bag stuffed down my bra. We went down a 6 mile stretch down a road, and seeing the gas station with our van was a huge relief. One of my teammates talked with the gas station employee and got us free hot chocolates.

We decided that it was unsafe to continue riding at that point since so many people were soaked through and freezing. We had to load all the bikes on the roof in the pouring rain, pile all the wheels and ourselves in the van, and drive about an hour to the host. We weren't expecting to arrive so early, and since it was Sunday, church was still in session. Our hosts were very gracious and let us settle in, take showers, and do laundry. I think that was one of the best showers I've had so far.

My group was the first to arrive, and the vans had to go back to shuttle the rest of the team. Some people who were waiting at the gas station got Domino's pizza donated, while another group were invited to hang out in someone's garage while it thunderstormed. I heard that they provided them with towels, hot water to soak their feet in, and warm beverages. A small group of five decided to finish the ride, and they kept going after the thunderstorm and arrived at the host around 7. We all had a long day, and were happy to be treated to an amazing meal of grilled chicken, potatoes, various salads, and homemade dessert. 

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Highlights and Lowlights- Week 1

I am going to recap the highlights and lowlights of each week. It has already been one week into the 4K. 62 more days to go until we reach Portland, OR! It's weird how my perception of time has changed since starting the 4K. This past week has felt like a month since I have been staying in different places every night and have seen so much and done so much. Back home, times flies when I am on the same schedule everyday and a week goes by in a blink. There are still many weeks left of the trip, and I wonder if time will start to pass by faster once we get into a routine. 70 days is a long time, but I know that when I'm in Portland, I will wonder how this summer went by so quickly. I want to savor every bit of this trip, make it last. I am loving being able to ride my bike every damn day, despite the difficulties my team has had.

Highlights

Rest day in Pittsburgh- After a much-needed full night's rest, I went into Pittsburgh to explore the city. My favorite was visiting the Andy Warhol museum. We also had a dinner donated to us, catered by TGI Friday's.

Food upon endless food- Our hosts have been really great providing us with plenty of food. Our stockpile of food is getting kind of ridiculous. The amount we are receiving is more than what we are eating, so some food has been wasted, which hurts my heart :( I have been eating continuously since the start of the ride. We have water breaks every 15-20 miles or so, and there are plenty of snacks. Also, at dinner, there are always TONS of amazing desserts and I can't say no to homemade pie :P

Going for a run- I got to run on Day 7 when I had van duty and didn't ride. It felt great to be running again, and I am going to try to run whenever I have a day off.

Going through the abandoned tunnel in Pennsylvania- I admit, I was scared and a bit frustrated at the time when we were going through the tunnels because it was really dark, chilly, the road conditions were absolute shit, and we had a bunch of mechanicals and had to stop frequently. I am still glad we went through them in retrospect, because we freaking rode under two mountains and that's pretty bad ass. 

All the climbs in the first three days- Some people hated it, I really loved it. We climbed a few mountains going through Pennsylvania. It was hard, but it was also very rewarding to go through that challenging terrain. I personally love to climb because it's when I feel the most powerful getting over hill after hill. For a lot of my teammates, it was kind of like being thrown in a cycling boot camp since they haven't had much (if at all) hill training and were inexperienced with shifting properly on rolling hills. The best part was a three-mile descent into Ligonier, PA on day 3. 

Lowlights

Getting rained out on Day 8- Supposed to be a 72 mile day from Canton, OH to Mansfield, OH, but we got caught in a thunderstorm. It was down pouring, and it was just not safe to keep on riding. I got loaded into one of the vans, and got driven the rest of the 50ish miles. First day that I didn't finish a ride. Bummer.

Riding on gravel and dirt trails- Just say no to gravel. It is terrible for road bikes and highly uncomfortable and terrifying going downhill on a gravel road. Also, on day 8 when it was raining, we had to ride a few miles on a muddy trail. So not fun and terrible for the bike. I got off and rerouted as quickly as possible.

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Day 7: Youngstown, OH to Canton, OH

Today, I did not ride because I was in charge of driving one of the 15-passenger support vans. I was responsible for getting food donations. I was lucky because we already had a ton of food from our last host, so we were pretty much set for lunch. 

First things first was getting gas in the giant monster of a vehicle (we named it Clyde). Filling a nearly empty tank was $100 even. 

My partner, Jocelyn, and I decided to drive to a nearby town called Salem, OH to ask around. Our first stop was a family pharmacy. They were so nice that they basically pulled whatever was on my list off the shelf to give to us. I think the employees might have paid out of their own pockets, or at least were willing to without a second thought. 

Since we already had so much lunch food, we just needed to get some healthy  food from the grocery store. We asked Walmart, Aldi, and another grocery store before getting a "yes". The owner of a Giant Eagle gave us a $20 gift card, so we got to pick out fruits, veggies, hummus, etc. 

The ride today was very short, only about 45 miles, so a lot of the riders got to the host around noon. It basically felt like a day off because we had so much free time. 

In the afternoon, I wanted to go for a run, so Caitlyn and I decided to run to the nearest Target to pick up a soccer ball.

On the way back, we stole a sign from a kid's birthday party. A teammate's nickname is Party, so when we ran into a sign with her name on it, we had to take a picture. It was perfect. 

Today was a relaxing day and I got to have a nice shower, watch an episode of Orange is the New Black, play soccer and basketball, and do some bike maintenance. 

Next stop: Mansfield, OH

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Day 6: Springdale, PA to Youngstown, PA

Mileage: 72 miles

Total Distance from Baltimore: 328 miles

After spending a day in Pittsburgh and having a full days rest, we were ready to roll out and head towards a new state: Ohio! My riding group for the day was with Peter, Chelsea, and Chris. The day started a bit chilly, so I wore my leg warmers and jacket. 

In the morning, I saw a sign for a bike cafe, so my team decided to go check it out. It ended up being a restaurant in a park by a pretty lake. Since we weren't getting anything, we just stopped by to look around and see if they had any stickers. I want to collect stickers to put on my bike throughout the trip. The manager actually came out with a box of them, and I chose one that said "I <3 Hills" and "Bike Love". Perfect. My first bike stickers :)

The total mileage for today was about 72 miles. We went at a slow pace, so it took quite a while to get to our host in Youngstown, OH. We crossed the state line at around mile 55 and of course had to stop to take photos. 

When I got to the church that was hosting us, the church people shuttled us to the local YMCA to shower. A good shower is always the best thing after a long day of cycling! What's even better is having a home cooked meal. The church held a potluck dinner for us, so there was a great variety of different foods, not just pasta! 

I had a pleasant conversation with the old ladies at the church. They seemed to enjoy our company as much as we enjoyed receiving their generosity. 

Next stop: Canton, OH. I will be driving the food van, so I'll be begging for food instead of cycling. Wish me luck!

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Day 4- Ligonier, PA to Pittsburgh, PA

I am getting a bit behind on blogging because of the lack of cell service and wifi (I am currently blogging in a TGIF while waiting for dinner). I am trying whenever I can, writing during water stops, in the van ride into the city, etc. Before I recap day 4, I'm going to continue with day 3. We were cycling from Bedford to Ligonier, 64 miles and over 5,000 feet of climbing. 

The morning started out great, even with a rain shower. The scenery was gorgeous and the rolling hills were rewarding because we had as many fun descents as climbs. At the top of one climb, we rested for a bit and a bunch of puppies came running out of a house to greet us. 

My team was having a great time, making animal noises whenever we saw farm animals (a rule that I've been trying to enforce) and really enjoying the day. The sun came out and it was starting to get hot, though. We ran into another team and decided to all ride together since we were on low country backcountry roads. Unfortunately, that was when the bad luck started. We had multiple flats and had to stop quite a few times. At one of the stops, we were at a sharp curve in the road and had to change three flats. As we were changing them, one of our bikes was on the other side of the road in the grass. A bus came and tried to avoid us by taking the turn sharply, and ran over the bike in the grass. I saw it happen and could not believe what I just saw. We stood there looking at each other, trying to comprehend what happened. Fortunately, the bus came back and we were able to flag it down and exchange insurance information. I called the support van so they could come get us. We decided to split up and half of us continued on. 

I led the group the rest of the 16ish miles to Ligonier. There were a lot of rolling hills, and then a very long climb as we neared. When we thought the climbs would never end, I finally saw a summit sign. We made it to the top and all there was to do was descend all the way into Ligonier. The descent was SO MUCH FUN and rewarding after all that climbing. Three miles of flying down the mountain with averaging about 9% grades. It was a one lane highway, so I had to take the lane. I tried to control my speed by feathering the brakes, so my max speed was about 40 mph. 

At Ligonier, we stayed at the YMCA. Our hosts made us dinner with salad and lasagna, and provided us with snacks and breakfast food. I showered, ate, blogged, and finally slept at 11:30.

On day 4, we rolled out of Ligonier. My riding group for the day was with Patricia, Chelsea, and Danielle.  It was a foggy and cool morning, and the first few miles were down hill through forests shrouded in the fog. The sun soon broke through and the day became clear and sunny. We had a short day, only 46 miles, so we took it easy and stopped frequently to take photos.

The ride when by really quickly and smoothly, and thankfully no mechanicals, which my riding groups have been plagued by for the past few days. Some highlights include stopping to play on a playground and watching a local kid show us tricks on his bike. His bike was so much cooler than ours; it looked like a dirt bike and he was riding circles around us with his skills. He loved showing off, too, especially when we took out the cameras.

We got to the host, Springdale United Presbyterian Church, around 2 pm. We had pizza in the parking lot before being let into the basement where we were staying. I put away my bike, took out my sleeping bag to lie down, and was knocked out for a bit. That nap was so nice. 

After showering and having dinner, we decided to go out for drinks. A bunch of us piled into the vans and we headed to The Church Brew Works, a really cool brewery that used to be a church. 

The brewery was huge and easily accommodated our large group. It's also a restaurant, so the atmosphere was pretty chill. I got the IPA and the Schwarzbier, and both were pretty good. 

And as if I didn't eat enough pizza in the past few days, I split a five cheese wood-fired pizza. It was topped with almonds and basil, and was seriously good.

Great ending to an easy day. I fell asleep in the van ride back to the host, and promptly went to bed for a full night's rest. Rest day on day 5!

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Day 5: Rest Day at Pittsburgh, PA

Today is our first rest day after cycling four days in a row, traveling over 300 miles and climbing over 15,000 feet. We are all happy to have a break for our butts, sleep in, and explore the city. 

This morning, I crawled out of my sleeping bag around 8 am. It felt great to get a solid 8 hours of sleep. My lower back and legs felt stiff, so I did some yoga and foam rolling. Felt much better after that. 

I had a lazy morning and we didn't get ready to go out into the city until 11. 

Once we got into the city, we looked for places to get lunch. All I wanted was a huge salad after eating so much bread, pasta, pizza, etc for the past few days. I found a salad place called Toss't, which looked like a knockoff of Chop't in DC. The was exactly what I wanted and I was happy. A lot of other people went to Primanti's for their famous sandwiches, which have meat, cheese, fries, and coleslaw. I was just not feeling it. 

After lunch, we went to Point State Park where the rivers converge. It was beautiful with hills in the background with houses perched on top, and a view of the baseball stadium. After taking a few pictures, I headed to the Warhol Museum with a small group. 

The Warhol Museum was a lot of fun. I didn't know much about Warhol before, but I knew that we was famous for his pop art. There were interesting exhibits on seven floors of the building. My favorite was a small room filled with silver rectangular balloons. They were floating around and it was fun batting them around. If you are ever in Pittsburgh, I would highly recommend visiting the museum. Even of you're not a huge Warhol fan, it's still pretty interesting to see. 

One of my teammates had connections in the city, and they generously set up a catered dinner for us at TGI Fridays. On the way there, we saw a small park with fountains and sculptures. There was also a large chalk board that said "Before I Die..." I just so happened to have a small nubbin of chalk in my bag, so of course I had to write something. Just some shameless self-promotion. 

The dinner at TGIF was great and it was nice to have a restaurant meal. I ate my fill of veggies, salad, pasta (again) and cheesecake for dessert. 

Even though I didn't bike all day, I can still put away a lot of food. Not too surprising. 

After dinner, we headed back to the host in Springdale, did some housekeeping, had our team meeting, and got ready for bed. Tomorrow, we are headed to Youngstown, OH, approximately 80 miles. It's going to be exciting to cross another state line. We will also be dipping into West Virginia for a little bit, so hopefully we will collect that state welcome sign as well!

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