Continued from previous.
Day 2 of my ride across Ohio will be from Millersburg to my home in northeast Columbus.
I like to get an early start on these long rides because one never knows what can crop up along the way. I grab a quick breakfast at the hotel and head out.
The Holmes County Trail takes me 5 miles to Killbuck, where I have to ride country roads to Glenmont to pick up the Mohican Valley Trail.
I can’t say much about Killbuck except there’s not a whole lot there and the place looks like it has seen better days.
I have no trouble on the roads. I see maybe five cars between Killbuck and Glenmont. I have a radar taillight plus a helmet mounted mirror so I have no problem “checking six”.
The cars give me a wide berth. I have fortunately never had someone actively take a swipe at me although a couple have come too close for comfort over the years. If I see a line of cars getting backed up behind me I try to pull off and let them pass. No sense pissing people off. Enough folks hate cyclists as it is.
The Mohican Valley Trail features a 3 mile climb at maybe 2% grade followed by the same on the descent. The nice thing about rail trails is the climbs tend to be long and shallow because that’s what a train needed.
There was a time when that climb used to bother me. Since then I’m done a lot of riding in NORCAL and climbed Mount Tam three times. It hurt just as bad each time.
The Amish like to drive their buggies on the trail. I don’t really mind except the horses leave, you know, horse stuff on the trail. I get stuck behind a buggy for the last couple miles on the trail. I might have made it around him but I wasn’t willing to chance getting ground into pate by his steel-shod rims.
The trail ends at a smallish town called Danville. I ride maybe five blocks across town and pick up the Kokosing Gap Trail which will take me roughly 15 miles west to Mount Vernon. Meanwhile Mrs. Kong has parked 15 miles on the other side of Mount Vernon and plans to ride her bike to meet me halfway.
Once I’m on the Kokosing Gap trail I’m on my “home turf”. It’s a very scenic trail and reasonably close to home so I ride it frequently.
Our timing works out and Mrs. Kong meets me on the trail a couple miles outside of Mount Vernon, where we stop for lunch at a very nice little cafe. I don’t normally shill for people but The Farmer’s Daughter once actually opened on their day off so that a group of cyclists could have a place to eat. I figure that deserves a favorable mention.
(If I’ve violated a rule here let me know and I’ll take it out)
The town of Centerburg is the center of Ohio (hence the name) and also the halfway point along the Ohio to Erie Trail. Centerburg is pretty small and doesn’t have much in the way of food. There is however a coffee shop run by a Texas immigrant that sells kolaches. A kolache is Czech pastry that made its way to the Texas hill country with Czech immigrants. Kind of like a jelly donut but much better. To me part of the fun of bike touring is finding unique places like this.
From Centerburg it’s only about 25 miles to home along the Heart of Ohio Trail. Sections of this trail are relatively new so it’s pretty smooth. I make good time despite the afternoon heat and the headwinds.
I’m feeling pretty good and riding maybe 17 mph when I come up behind a guy on a carbon fiber road bike. He looks to be roughly my age but it’s hard to tell.
He suddenly sprints to stay ahead of me. At first I figure he’s doing interval training but he repeats it every time I start to close on him so I think he’s actively trying to hold me off.
Mind you neither one of us are particularly fast. This isn’t the Tour de France. This is more like the time I raced my 73 VW Bug against a Datsun B210 back in the day.
Hey, I’m just trying to get home here but I’m game if you are. By now I’ve already ridden 60+ miles but I manage to kick it up to 20 mph, which is about as fast as I can sustain without sprinting. He can’t hold the pace and I go by him with fenders, racks, bags, lights, bell etc.
Blue isn’t exactly fast, but she’s faster than you think. I have to enjoy my small victories sometimes.
The last 5 miles is on roads but I’m close to home so it’s familiar territory. I roll into the driveway with 81 miles and 1500 feet vertical under my belt. This will prove to be the easiest day of the trip.
To be continued