Today was the longest day we've had mileage wise since Kirksville, MO at 139 miles. Our route started off to the north through quiet Ohio backcountry until getting to Lake Erie where we turned northeast along the shoreline to Dunkirk, NY. We were on highway 5 for most of the afternoon, but it's bicycle friendly with nice smooth shoulders and plenty of great scenery to watch along the lake. When I started today I was struggling to keep up and I was even dropped by the group I was riding with. I just could not get the legs working. I recovered though within a half hour and had to scurry back to the pace line. Jim and I usually ride alone but today with the distance and slight headwind we decided to ride in a nine man pace line to help with drafting. By the time we got to the first SAG stop we were averaging 19.4 mph. When we started to head east on route 5 we had a head wind and our average mph decreased. At the end of the day we were able to salvage 18.1 mph for 140 miles and the pace line was whittled down to four.
Today was a "3 state" ride...Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The first 60 miles of the ride today were on quiet, rural Ohio roads where the Amish influence was ever present. This being a Saturday, the traffic was almost non-existent as we left town and during the rural portions, the traffic is always light anyway. We entered Pennsylvania in the morning and New York in the afternoon.
(Most Photos taken by Mike Munk- Bamacyclist.com)
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| 9 Man Pace line doing 20-23 mph |
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| On the banks of Lake Erie |
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| A warning outside a home in Ohio |
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| Phillippe from Israel wearing my WWP shirt he won in the t-shirt swap |
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| Panoramic View of Lake Erie from the hotel |
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| I own this car in Black but I love the yellow one. |
1 day closer to your goal!! Love you and look forward to Thursday!
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