TOSRV 2008 (half serving)

Here is my report on TOSRV 2008:

Saturday's ride was absolutely AWESOME. The weather was perfect with just a slight headwind. I started in Chillicothe this year. The first 20 miles that I used to think of as hilly - well, this year I decided it's only wavy. Those hills aren't anything compared to what I have been doing over here east of Cambridge this spring! (BTW, I have a great 30 mile route over here that I would love to invite any of my friends to come ride with me sometime! It's very hilly and very scenic, riding along Seneca Lake for much of it).....anyway, back to TOSRV.

As we rolled into Portsmouth, we saw the artist of the famous Portsmouth murals. And he was busy painting a new mural about TOSRV. It was a really nice one, lots of riders and a cool depiction of the route. I complimented him on all the murals - he was the artist for all of them - and admired him as he worked for a while. I sure wish I would have had my camera to get a picture of the artist at work!

Saturday night, I slept on the gym floor of the NEW elementary school Well, they were not thinking green when they built it. Some of the lights in the building are ALWAYS on - they say for security purposes. Okay, well, what kind of security is it that they need the gymnasium lights on 24/7? They were on all night, there was no way to turn them off. Come to find out, there were two gyms in the school, and in the other one, they were able to turn the lights off! I barely got any sleep, until, sleepwalking at 3 am, I found the other gym - DARK - and moved my air mattress and sleeping bag over there. Finally got some sleep.

Sunday morning, there was a donut shop next door to the school giving away free coffee and donuts. So I had two donuts and got on the route. It rained just about the whole way from Portsmouth to Waverly. I passed the official food stop in favor of getting something hot to eat in Waverly. Stopped at McDonald's where there were many other riders with the same idea as I had. After eating some breakfast and downing some more coffee, I rode through the wavey hills of Waverly. I think I had a total of about 20 minutes of dry riding, mostly near the end in Chillicothe. This was one ride I was glad to see an end to. Constant rain and temperatures in the upper 50's makes for one COLD ride!

My consensus: 50% great ride 50% awful ride.

A Very Hilly Ride - I'm Ready for GOBA!!

Today, I rode 30 miles. Thirty miles down here in hill country is like 50 up north. It was a tough ride, but very scenic and fragrant. There are so many flowering trees blooming right now, the air literally reeks flowers! There are honeysuckle everywhere (my favorite fragrance), lilacs also abound and there is another fragrant tree the flourishes here, but I don't know what it is. The flowers are light pink.

I stopped at a restaurant for lunch called The Cove. It's right on the shore of Seneca Lake. I saw people all over the shores of the lake fishing today. There weren't very many boats out there, it was too doggone windy!

Now if you don't believe me about the hills, I'm including a profile of the route that I created on De Lorme Topo Map. To get a better view of it and be able to read the statistics, click on the profile and it will get bigger.

The first big climb is on Yoker Valley Road. Tough Climb, but once you start downhill, you don't have to peddal again for at least 2 miles! New Gottengen, near the end of the ride, is also really tough, and that last downhill is one of those that you keep your brake on the whole time.

Sharon

A Cool Bike Ride in Salesville, Ohio

My Brother, Eric, was here today with his bicycle, and we went for a ride. I have been challenging him for quite some time to come down and ride on my hills with me. Today, I took him to my favorite spot, the "S-Bridge" .

A little about our ride - Eric was surprised at how hilly it is down here, but he did a pretty good job. He hardly ever had to walk his bike!

Now a bit about the bridge - This bridge was part of the National Road, the first interstate road in America. The bridge was built in 1828, before cars were invented, yet you can still drive a car across it today! I guess they really made things to last back then. The reason it's called an S Bridge is it is shaped like an S. The road and river met at an angle, so they built the bridge so that the span would be perpendicular, and the S shape guides them from the direction of the road, onto the bridge span, then back onto the roadway, if that makes any sense to you.

Here is a picture of Eric and me by the bridge. There are three of these bridges, but this is the only one that cars are still allowed to use. I plan to do a "Bridge to Bridge" overnighter soon. We will start at the western bridge, pedal to this one and camp at a nearby park, then ride back the next day, viewing many historical sights on the National Road on the way.

Sharon

The Chenango Loop

We had a great time on our ride today. Ed and Etta, Mary, Mary, Richard, Tom, Sheryl, Pat, and Pat and John. John was a great assistant, especially since I was having some trouble with left and right. Did I miss anyone? Anyways, the weather was beautiful, the company was grand and the route was spectacular. To make the map easier to read, just click on it. I wish I would have had a camera!:)