Dist: 81.43
Ride Time 6:48
Avg Speed 11.9
Max Speed 30.6
Trip 677
I camped overnight between the rows in a vineyard. There are miles and miles of them here along the Lake Erie shore! It was a decent camping spot, a little wet and soggy; seeing the dead dried weeds between the grape vine rows made me think about what type of herbicide had been used on them.
[photo of tent and in-row]
[shadow of riding atop "Tower of Stuff"]
As I was taking down my tent a woman was walking her golden retriever along the road, they were both startled to see me stand up in the middle of the vineyard!
Muse while listening to Planet Money podcast: We have chosen a system that our employers provide social benefits - health insurance, retirement contributions and pensions - rather than our government. Then, at times like these during recession, rather than increase government services - which are not principally where folks receive help - we attempt to bolster citizen confidence by "stimulating" and providing capital to those private corporations. Corporations with the principal objective of making a pile of money even larger. Why are we surprised when they swindle the government and, at large, us?
In Erie, PA I pass by a park with a festival setting up. A pedestrian accosts me from the sidewalk - it turns out he is from the Erie Runners Club - and walks me over to their booth where they offer me fruit, licorice, bagels. I chat with them for about 15 minutes and upon parting they gift me a small 375mL bottle of wine, they encourage me to return later for the blues music fest after I've visited the bike shop.
I get my properly fitting Mt. Borah jersey & second pair of bicycling shorts at Competitive Gear. It's only 1pm and I have a thirst to ride more miles today so I keep on west, instead of returning back to the park.
The miles keep rolling up, the shoreline is beautiful:
[Erie photo]
[sunset with tree]
When I reached Geneva-on-the-Lake I was reminded of what a true tourist town is. Main street was PACKED, pedestrians, odours of fried food, the requisite block of Harley motorcycles with leather-clad riders - it was like taking the MN State Fair and spreading it along one road, cordoned by 10 motels on either end. Oh, and the water slide and shoot-the-whatever-to-win-a-big-stuffed-bear game too!
Today is the longest day thus far on the trip, 83 miles! [As I write this my friends Brett & Jenny recently wrote about a 107 mile day, maybe once I reach the flatter lands of Dakotas or Montana I can do that! However, now knowing that I have about 75 pounds of gear on the bike we'll see if that happens.]
Geneva State Park says their campground is full, so I am relegated to stealth camping off a service road. Unfortunately I'm near a small pond so I quickly dump my gear, swatting aside mosquitoes. Back into town with an unloaded bike, so much fun to sprint from 5-20 MPH alongside all the cars moving along at a creeping pace on Main St! This is why I first got into bicycling, not to be a pack mule!
After going by so many racous bars or fried food joints I settle on a hotel restaurant, a fabulous meal with crab cake and BBQ pork mini-hamburgers [sliders, but that name conjures an image of White Castle repulsivity to me]. Seared ahi tuna with fabulous roasted vegetables - how I miss thee, vegetables! The campground being full edged me towards a sour mood so spending my campsite money on dinner seems like a good choice.
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