Butler to Wellington: I don't want to go! - Underground Railroad Route (Northern Half) - CycleBlaze

June 14, 2011

Butler to Wellington: I don't want to go!

If Rhona had her way, we would have stayed another day at AngelWoods and we had a long lingering breakfast...but the road was calling.

Vic took our picture before we left. You can just see my hand gripping Rhona's arm so that she didn't run back into the B&B. In the background is Alyson's trailer for her pocket bicycle. Later in the day, she would disassemble her bicycle and it would fit into the trailer and she could then fly with the bicycle as regular luggage, without bicycle fees. Alyson reported the bicycle worked as well as a traditional touring bike and the trailer worked fine also. I'm not sure I would like having two wheels on a trailer, but she said it was not an issue.
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It was another cool day with (of course) headwinds. Rhona kept taking arm warmers on and off.

This tree was featured in a scene with Morgan Freeman in the movie "Shawshank Redemption". Of course, this could be the wrong tree, in the wrong field, on the wrong side of the road, but portions of the movie were filmed in the area at an abandoned reformatory. Anyway, as far as we are concerned, that is the tree, that's our story and we're sticking with it!
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Not being artistic myself, I envy the creativity of artists. How do they get the original inspiration to use a certain medium and even more, create something that people are willing to pay for?

Perhaps this guy was raking rocks out of his new lawn and suddenly saw an interesting pattern.
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This one was too heavy to pack, even on the B.O.B. trailer.
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This one was my favorite.
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Pete does nice work.
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We stopped for a break at the Corn Crib in Hayesville, a sort of country store stocking bulk natural foods and home baked goodies.

The bench in front of the store was shady and surrounded by hanging flower baskets.
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The Amish "Fry Pie" never stood a chance with Rhona in a hungry mood.
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We passed many Amish farms in the afternoon, many which advertised produce and eggs. We rode past three displaying boxes of strawberries. Too bad they don't have seatbelts and childlocks on the rear of a tandem. It would have been easier to keep Rhona from jumping off the bike and ravaging the berries. This is the view that car travelers expect for Ohio. For some reason, on a bicycle it is more interesting.
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We planned to cycle on to Oberlin, but decided to stop in Wellington after checking room availability and cost.

We stayed at the Country Inn, built in 1884 at a cost o $420. It was a funeral home from the 1930's until two years ago.
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Evelyn and Gene bought the home two years ago and showed us some of their remodeling efforts. Behind them in the front door is the original metal screen protecting the screen. Wellington Country Inn Bed & Breakfast 218 E. Herrick Ave. Wellington, OH 44090 Phone 440-647-5646.
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The owners were careful to protect the integrity of this beautiful curving bannister even while they were required to raise the height of the bannister by the building code.
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Wellington has an amazing story dating from the 1850's. Citizens from Wellington (and Oberlin) joined together to prevent the recapture of a fugitive slave who had lived in the area for several years. The men surrounded a house and prevented a slave trader and federal marshal from taking the fugitive out of the area.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 541 miles (871 km)

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