June 1, 2021
Day 27: Napoleon, OH to Monroeville, IN
American Defiance
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Another great Ohio morning! It was cool, but not like yesterday, it had that feeling like it could become hot this afternoon. No breakfast at the Napoleon Inn and Suites, so we had a bite at the adjacent convenience store, then hit the road and pedaled to Defiance in search of second breakfast. “Second breakfast” is a long established cycling tradition but is sometimes rare on a tour. But so far, as we traverse the eastern “civilized” part of the country, there have been many opportunities for second breakfast.
We found second breakfast at a diner called “Bud’s” in Defiance, and the pancake special gave me plenty of fuel to move on. How could I not eat at a place named "Bud's?" Bud's has actually been in existence since the 1930's.
Defiance got it’s name from General “Mad” Anthony Wayne who was sent to the fort in 1794 to subdue the Native Americans and keep the British in check. He is credited with saying something like “I defy them to take the fort.”
We rode on to Junction, which really is no more than a store at a junction, took a chocolate milk break, then pushed to Paulding and rested in the shade of a big tree near the courthouse. It was noon and there was a restaurant nearby, but we still had miles to go and agreed that we’d rather push on another 10 miles to the next little town which supposedly had a restaurant as well. There is also a symbol for a store there, so even if the restaurant is not open we should be able to get something to eat.
Fortunately, we were able to eat in Payne, and I had 2 slices of pizza while Doc had a sub. I sent home some things at the post office, probably overpaid for mailing cause all I could find to use was a priority mail box that was oversized for my needs.
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The pace of the tour hasn’t been terribly difficult, but we finish each day feeling like we put in a lot of work. After a few days in a row it begins to wear on you a bit. So a few nights ago I reached into my handlebar bag for the travel sized tube of toothpaste that I keep there, put some on my toothbrush, and started brushing. The toothpaste had a pretty strange taste to it and I had my teeth pretty well covered when I realize that I was brushing them with Benadryl itch cream. Turns out the small tube of Benadryl itch cream and the travel size toothpaste are the identical size. Well, while that wasn’t the worst experience I’ve ever had, it wasn’t the most pleasant either, and the good news is that now my teeth don’t itch. Not that they did before, but now they really don’t.
We arrived in Monroeville and met Warren, the 85-year-old gentleman responsible for the cyclist hostel. He's quite a talker and we enjoyed visiting with him, but we had lots to do. I am posting this from the Allen County Regional Library wifi, and they just told me they close in 5 minutes, so I better hurry.
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Please tell the gentleman that manages this hostel that it’s superb!
What more could you want? It speaks to his dedication and experience... what a gem!
2 years ago
There is rain forecast all day tomorrow, so we have to figure out how to deal with that. The choices are ride in the rain all day and be miserable, ride for only a short day to limit the misery, or just stay in and take a rest day. So we got to figure that out. All is well here, we just got to decide how to handle tomorrow - but isn't that always the battle we all face? Good night all...
P.S. in the video below I mistakenly said we were leaving Payne, Indiana - Payne is in Ohio, we hadn’t quite made it to Indiana yet. Hey, if you insist on accurate geography then you should watch the National Geographic Channel - I usually know what state I’m in, but no guarantee is implied.
Today's ride: 63 miles (101 km)
Total: 1,313 miles (2,113 km)
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2 years ago