Mogadore!

Success! The Bums have done it again! Nick and I breezed through the flatness of Ohio, mostly without maps – instead, we opted to simply point our bikes at the fiery orb in the sky each morning, and continue along nicely paved backroads until we hit Lake Erie. This method of navigation was greatly enhanced by Western Ohio’s strict adherance to the Jeffersonian grid system. You gotta give it up for the mile square. Having dined on sauerkraut pizza, we spent our last night camping in Castalia, in the shadow of the Blue Hole, which a gas station attendant assured us has no bottom, and that those who dared to try and find it have perished in the act. The next day found us racing along Lake Erie, eventually reaching the ritzy west-side suburbs of Cleveland, where Nick’s friend Ryan met us for an enhanced dip on the North Coast. We ended our quest with good times and great fun, meeting Sarah and Matt at the Great Lakes Brewery. Later, the illustrious John C. Rowland joined the fray. The next day, I hopped on my steed one last time and made quick work of the bike path leading to Akron, finally sailing up my parents’ driveway in good ol’ Mogadore. I made it home just in time to head out to the Portage County fair for the Demolition Derby, and I was astounded to see all the rage fantasies towards automobiles i had concocted over the last two months made flesh as the melee of cars systematically destroyed eachother to the bloodlust cries of the crowd. And so here I am, wearing normal clothes, sleeping in a normal bed, transitioning myself from the nomadic lifestyle of bike touring to the individually-wrapped cheese slices and on-demand cable of suburban living. It’s been one hell of a ride – looking at the photos from the beginning of the trip, it seems like I’ve been traveling for a year. This will not likely be the last post to the site – I may post a more conclusive ending, and I would say that there’s still a 60-70% chance that I will continue on to DC in late September (those odds can be increased by goading from Death Star residents). OK – thanks to everyone I met along the way! Ride on!