Day 150 - Bowling Green to Tiffin - Two Far 2021 - Sooo... Far

September 5, 2021

Day 150 - Bowling Green to Tiffin

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Today we retraced a ride from last summer. We didn't realize until we looked back at the 2020 blog that we were riding almost exactly the same route. Last year, we stopped the ride in Fostoria, this year we rode on to Tiffin.

This is the Slippery Elm Trail which runs from Bowling Green to New Baltimore. Much of it is very wooded.

Last year we met a tandem couple on this trail riding their RANS Screamer. We were amazed to meet the man again on the second day of this tour in High Springs, FL. Our friends, Ken and Francie, were completing a supported Southern Tier tour and we arranged to meet them in High Springs. They introduced us to Tom, who was one of the support crew. We talked for a little bit and realized that we had met him and his wife, Jane, last year on the Slippery Elm Trail. When we decided to ride the trail again this year, we searched for contact information for Tom, but couldn't find anything. It didn't matter, because look who was also on the trail today!

Here are Jane and Tom on the Slippery Elm Trail. It was so much fun to run into them again. Surprising, amazing, almost hard to believe fun! I think the universe intends for the four of us to be friends.

Another of the wonderful roads we've had the pleasure of riding recently.

A long eastbound train going through New Baltimore. It reached the Iron Triangle well ahead of us! Last year, we waited 20 minutes at this crossing for a train to pass.

We stopped again at the Iron Triangle in Fostoria. It is one of the most visited train watching sites in the country. Three main rail lines cross here. The city has build a really nice facility here for the trainspotters.

Trainspotters watching the arrival of a CSX train. This train was headed south and switched to an eastbound line, heading to Maryland. Before this train cleared the yard, another southbound train came up alongside and switched onto the westbound line. It was very interesting to watch 2 trains run parallel and then split off in opposite directions.

After leaving Fostoria, we rode through more miles of farmland on our way to Tiffin. It was wonderfully flat and we had a nice tailwind to boot!

Purple morning glories in a soybean field. Farmers find them to be a real nuisance, but they are very pretty.

Kerry here...

We arrived at our hotel in Tiffin shortly after 3:30. We took a quick shower, had a short nap, and then went out to a very good Chinese Buffet. Great ride with a suprising encounter, a nice hotel and a good meal - life can't get any better!!

Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 5,616 miles (9,038 km)

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