Solo Touring

[Biketouringrook]

Thank you all so much! I was somewhat discouraged on that last message.
But now, this is it......I moving to Ohio! I love this place. I can hardly believe how nice and approachable the people are, even the teenagers. I am now on my back back. I didn't make it to Erie, PA. I stopped at Oberlin. I stayed one full day in Oberlin for picture taking, rest, and other stuff. On the morning of my leaving Oberlin to head for PA, the weather was really cold and it began raining little dropplets of ice (hail?). It kind of scared me and thought I should no head there.

Oberlin is so, so beautiful and peaceful. I love that place! no one is in a rush.
oh, oh, oh...let me tell ya....I got lost so many times. After I made my peace with the "hill gods" there was always someone around the corner to help me out. Boy, do I have some funny stories. I ran across one guy three times in my getting lost. He thought is was so funny. He gave me directions, and I still went the wrong way. So he decided to guide me through by driving ahead and parking his truck where I should turn (didn't I tell y'all these people were nice). Another guy passed me, went to his home, came back to find me and gave me some electrolite drink packages.

Now, here I am back at the hotel where I first took refuge fromi all of my discouragement from getting lost and overwhelmed by those darn hills. This time it is not my poor navigational skills that brought me here. I was actually 10 miles from my soon to be campsite, when I stopped at a dairy bar to get something to eat. While standing there a woman approached me and we talked about cycle touring and what I was doing. She said her husband is into cycle touring and is headed for the second time on some Smokey Mountain cycle tour. She then said "I hope your not planning to camp at Kokosing campground?" Of course I was...her next words were "they are no longer open." Just my luck! There were not hotels, motels, or other campgrounds close around, so I had to go back to a place that I remember (Comfort Inn) a distance of 12 miles away.

I love cycling in the cold. You may have a constant runny nose, but your water will stay cold, and you won't overheat. Last night was really cold. The RV'ers were worried about me. One guy offered me a small heater (Now where I am gonna put a heater in a tent). I put my tent up, set every thing inside, took a shower, ate something, climb into my nice 15 degree sleeping back and after about 30 minutes, I began to worry. It seemed that my feet were getting colder. I said to myself "okay rookie, this is some serious cold, this is not that Florida stuff, you don't want to freeze here and you don't have a car." I reached in my bag, pulled out my shoe covers for cold ridding and placed them on my feet. NOthing was happening. So I took my cycling tights placed my feet inside of the tights and after about 20 minutes I began to warm up. After about an hour it got kinda hot in the sleeping bag, but I remained.

Gosh, I love this stuff! If the slaves actually traveled this rounted they have every ounce of my respect. I was having a difficult time traveling 400 miles one way on bike, when they walked over 3000 miles. Those cars will spoil you.....

Well, this is it for now, I look so forward to picking up the bike trail again.

[Biketouringrook]

I forgot this part......I'm at just a little over 400 miles, 17,150 calories burned, and about 100 miles of bike pushing hills. I think today I pushed up 5 hills. I don't think my legs work anymore....Also I have some chaffing, in spite of my chamois cream use. But it does not bother me, because I seem to do more walking than ridding.

As in the movie "Too Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything!"

[Tri Girl]

Yay- glad to read a more upbeat tone in your post.
Some days are good, some not so much, huh? Sounds like you're really enjoying yourself and all the crazy adventures you're having. I've never been to Oberlin, OH- sounds like someplace I may have to visit some day.

Have fun, enjoy yourself, and check back in often.

[shootingstar]

She then said "I hope your not planning to camp at Kokosing campground?" Of course I was...her next words were "they are no longer open." Just my luck! There were not hotels, motels, or other campgrounds close around, so I had to go back to a place that I remember (Comfort Inn) a distance of 12 miles away.

I love cycling in the cold. You may have a constant runny nose, but your water will stay cold, and you won't overheat. Last night was really cold. The RV'ers were worried about me. One guy offered me a small heater (Now where I am gonna put a heater in a tent). I put my tent up, set every thing inside, took a shower, ate something, climb into my nice 15 degree sleeping back and after about 30 minutes, I began to worry. It seemed that my feet were getting colder. I said to myself "okay rookie, this is some serious cold, this is not that Florida stuff, you don't want to freeze here and you don't have a car." I reached in my bag, pulled out my shoe covers for cold ridding and placed them on my feet. NOthing was happening. So I took my cycling tights placed my feet inside of the tights and after about 20 minutes I began to warm up. After about an hour it got kinda hot in the sleeping bag, but I remained.

Gosh, I love this stuff! If the slaves actually traveled this rounted they have every ounce of my respect. I was having a difficult time traveling 400 miles one way on bike, when they walked over 3000 miles. Those cars will spoil you.....

Well, this is it for now, I look so forward to picking up the bike trail again.

And mind-boggling that the slaves were travelling under cover, the whole distance to freedom. Their meals on the run, couldn't have been ...as much as ours..at Burger King, etc.

I found that the hardest part when we went bike touring on our own, was backtracking with load on my bike if we got lost. AND after reaching motel or campsite, for some areas, cycling another 10 kms. or so, for dinner/groceries...after cycling 80-100 kms. with weight during the day.

So you haven't encountered any car drivers who will tell you: "Oh, it's just half hr. around the bend ahead". Yea, right..half an hr. by car. It ends up 1.5-2 hrs. by bike.

How many photos have you taken so far?? Isn't it so lovely to encounter a chain hotel at times. It nearly seems like a mansion after a long, loaded bike ride.

[Biketouringrook]

Hip, hip, hooray! I did it! I'm back in Milford relaxing in a nice hotel room. I may be tired, I may be sweaty, I may be a bit salty and I may be smelly, but rest assured, "I did it!" Everything went so perfectly, just like child birth. Hum.......I just may do this again............More later.

[shootingstar]

Ok --after figuring out this trip so far...so how was Pennsylvania which was your end destination this trip?

Good weather? Sleep well for now. You deserve it!

[Biketouringrook]

Okay, I'm home now. I will edit my photos and place them on my Facebook and send you all the information.

I must tell you all this...... I am so grateful for the people that I met on this tour, even if only for a few minutes of conversation.
There was one particular guy that I met within the first few miles at the start of my tour as I stopped for a restroom break. He was also cycling. He stopped to talk with me about my tour, provided me with his phone number and said that I should call him if I needed anything. When I returned to Milford a couple of weeks later, I called and left a message thanking him for being so nice. He returned my call and invited me out for breakfast before I left. I couldn't go out because I only have cycling clothes and no regular dress clothes. So, instead, he brought me a big breakfast to the hotel, and we sat in the dinning area and ate breakfast together.

This is another example of the nice people that I met on my tour.

[Tri Girl]

Glad you're back home safe and sound. What a great guy! I'm always on the skeptical side when it comes to strangers, so I'm not sure that if I took a tour all alone I would venture out and talk to many people.

[shootingstar]

I haven't done any overnight solo bike tours myself yet. But based on what I hear from others, sometimes people are curious about solo cycling tourers.

One woman I know when she was solo bike touring in Ireland, whenever she asked where she was going while she was cycling/temporarily stopping, she occasionally told the person her boyfriend was just ahead of her. She assessed each situation.

Twice when I was bike touring in Nova Scotia out in the countryside with dearie, 2 different female car drivers stopped along the way to ask if I was in "trouble" or if I was ok.

I was. I just stopped for a breather. Dearie was 2-3 kms. ahead of me.
It was kind of each woman driver.