As we exit the hotel at 9:30 in the morning, it is already in the mid 80s. We are going to have a hot ride today.
We enter the Alum Creek Trail in Westerville and the water is still very high. That trail ends quickly and after a slight road detour we hop on another bike trail that takes us through Westerville, which appears to be a typically affluent suburb with well kept houses and yards, expensive new cars and many stores.
The train station here has been refurbished as part of a park and bicycle rest stop. At 10 in the morning, kids are already cooling themselves in the water park area.
This trail section is more crowded than others that we have been on with lots of locals using it in both directions. We weave in and out of the shade in an attempt to keep the sun off our bodies. We watch for speeding cyclists.
Leaving the town, the trail follows an old railroad bed, straight and long. The saving grace, however, is that it is well-shaded affording us a break from the unrelenting sun.
The weeds in this section of the trail are very similar to what I find in my yard: sweet peas, poison ivy (of course), Queen Anne’s lace, bittersweet and Virginia creeper to mention a few. The path is adjacent to a state highway so even with the buffer of vegetation, there is a regular noice and presence of cars and trucks.
By 11 in the morning I have finished one and a half bottles of water and we have re-entered rural Ohio, a welcome change. But we will soon be leaving the bike trail we are on and getting on local roads for the next 13 miles or so; the first time we will be extensively traveling with traffic. Good thing I took Ted’s advice and got new front and back lights for my bike.
The roads have few vehicles traveling upon them and are well paved. Like many of the rural areas we have travelled through so far, the houses are in various stages of repair with grain silos to match. We pass under a set of high-voltage power lines and they crackle as it is quite humid.
We peddle into Sunbury and the town square centers the town with streets and shops on all sides. The building of the old Town Hall centers the square and a town hero from the Civil War sits on a horse looking ready to make a charge. A large oak tree is another dominant feature. To my eyes, its appearance is an iconic representation of small-town America.
Leaving Sunbury, we find ourselves on rural roads that have a few small rolling hills. We have been very spoiled so far as our trails have been well-maintained asphalt that vary little in elevation. We now have to tough out the real thing.
I am enjoying this change in route. On the trails you are isolated whereas now we are part of the countryside. We are back in corn and soybean country though it seems that many of the farms that I am passing are purveyors of seed rather than that of food for cattle or people. Cars zoom by us but are respectful of our space and do so on the other side of the road giving us a wide birth.
It is quiet. As we pass between large expanses of fields, there are few birds or noises with the exception of the rolling sound of my tires. Weeds along roadside are few and consist mainly of grasses and chicory. Houses are set far back from the road adding to the sense of isolation and solitude.
We stop at an isolated crossroads and take a water break. There is a wildflower meadow to one side attracting birds, bugs and butterflies. Fields are in different stages of growth. A line of telephone poles continues as far as the eye can see. Though we are there for nearly 10 minutes, not one car passes in either direction.
Soon we reach our last trail section of the day, the Heart of Ohio Trail (HOOT), which again is on an old railroad bed. It takes us into Centerburg, the geographic center of the state. Lunch choices are limited; we choose Subway and eat at a nearby picnic table outside. Time for our final 13 mile push.
We reach the high point of the HOOT, which is marked by a large obelisk. This section of the trail follows a main road where the vehicles travel fast and there are no places for a bicyclist to ride. I am grateful that there is a trail in this section.
We push on in the heat happy that we are shaded by trees. We continue to make water stops and move at a slow pace to ensure that we do not overtax ourselves. That strategy is altered as thunderstorms threaten. The wind picks up, it starts to get cooler and skies darken. We accelerate from 12 to 17 mph. We arrive at our B&B in Mount Vernon with little time to spare. We beat the rain and are ready for a shower.
