Day 34- Niles, OH > Erie, PA (90 miles)

 June 12

Absolutely having a great trip, but missing out on grandkid life back home:

The route into Erie:

Due East has been my favorite direction, but we needed to head north a bit to get to there.

Gradient for the route said mostly flat, and it was. This ride was mostly fantastic...we had a few bad spots and crazy drivers, but overall a great day! We took it easy today and rode as a group ranging from 6 people to 12. First SAG was at McDonalds, and I had an Egg McMuffin as 3rd breakfast; we stopped at a famous diner for lunch, and I had a chili dog, a turkey sandwich, and a root beer float; then we rode the last 30 miles to Erie; bar food by the water after we got here, and then burgers for dinner followed by brownie and ice cream...yep, all true. I need to go to the vomitorium.

Last photos from Ohio:

This is a spectacular picture taken by Steve in our group capturing the early morning fog.

This was one of the country roads early in the ride on Tuesday - similar to Piedmont or Red Bone back home.

More photos from today:

Crossed into another state today...and Bill got a flat immediately. The first time we have said the 'f' word in a while.

Did you know that Lake Erie is known for it's vineyards? Me neither, but we saw a bunch of grapes on the vine coming into town.

This was a view on one of the roads this morning still in Ohio...I have to admit that this state has been the biggest pleasant surprise on riding scenery and beautiful farmland.

We are at nice hotel on Lake Erie, and the lake is very active...cool place.

Bill and I met this guy today while we were having lunch...his name is Dan, and he is riding across the country from Boston to Portland. He is now 23 days into the trip, and you can see that he is sturdier than us because he is camping and on his own. We were impressed and exchanged info with him so we can keep up with each other's adventures. Our trip seems so much easier than what he is doing.

Best photo of the day...Raff and I ALWAYS run into people representing that school in Knoxville; we finally found the UT folks on this trip today at Lake Erie. This family takes the cake because they were all showing off the orange...you cannot make this stuff up - a great way to end the day.

As we roll into a rest day and get set for the final week of riding, Sir Edmund Hillary comes to mind for the daily quote: "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." Sun Tzu and Sir Edmund could have been bowling partners...

Thanks again for keeping up with us...hard to believe that we are in Pennsylvania and closing in on Boston. What a trip...