Gambier, OH (73 miles)

Derrick's back! As a surprise, he was there upon arrival last night at the YMCA. He had broken his hip with a side of road rash while biking to Kent, CT, but his doctor's said riding wasn't goint to make it worse. Well, I don't think he told the doctors the extent of our trip, but they said that biking wouldn't make it worse.

It was pretty hot today. Our two lunch stops, helped us keep cool today, though. Not to mention we were thoroughly amused by the Amish buggies that we passed en route. I even saw a buggy on the corner of someone's yard, with a "for sale" sign in it. Silly Amish, who's going to motor by and decide to pick up a buggy on a whim?

After two days of chilling out at a comfortable pace, I caught a glimpse of being in a big race - as if I was in Breaking Away or in one of Bobke's stories - and just took off. We were theoretically about a mile from the second lunch spot and had just pulled out of a beautiful 73º shady road, when I started to rock the crank arm. I just spun circles. Spun, spun, spun. I kept a pretty decent resistance for a few miles, but the thought of passing lunch slowed me down a bit 6 miles later. Luckily I decided to stop and check out the "longest covered bridge in Ohio", which just happended to be the hidden lunch spot. When I went to chaulk the road, I realized I had just sped past the other markings.

About 7 of us were treated to a nice 9 mile ride on a shaded bike path for the last leg of the trek. Oh what a difference the shade makes! It's so enjoyable to be able to ride 3 across and chat without worrying about cars or potholes.

Thus far, I've dodged flat tires (knock on wood for me) and hope I can keep this up as long as possible! My bike is getting mighty dirty, and I think I might give it a good cleaning on our upcoming build day. Several people ate it yesterday on railroad crossings, wish them quick healing (just scrapes) and hope that we all learn quick enough to avoid any more mishaps. I think in total there've been about a dozen small falls that drew some blood.

Hope all's well with the rest of you! (You can send me email, I just might not be able to read it on a relaible schedule.)

Oh, and I'm almost at 900 miles since the trip started!