1000 miles from Rhode Island

The last week seems like a blur. We left Franklin, crossed into Ohio where we spent our first night in Youngstown and then headed to Akron.

Akron we had a build day in Akron with Rebuilding Together, an organization that works to remodel houses for veterans, the elderly, and the handicapped. There were lots of little odd jobs to do; painting, yard work, fixing siding (my specialty) and cleaning out a basement.

From Akron we headed to Gambier. It was a great 93 mile ride with some great bike trails along the way. Lisa and I rode together most of the day and were treated to ice cream at the college bookstore by Chad's uncle! Thanks so much for that. We beat the rain by seconds (literally), and then spent the rest of the evening relaxing in the dorms at Kenyon College.

I was in charge of the group journal entry from Gambier to Columbus, so I'll just post it here so I don't have to rewrite it.

"We woke up this morning feeling extra refreshed thanks to Kenyon College putting us up in the dorms last night. Beds with sheets and pillows were a special treat, and then this morning we were lucky enough to get an all you can eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Its funny how even the simplest things have become special treats to us over the last few weeks. At our route meeting I passed the Pinwheel (given daily to an especially encouraging or motivating person) on to Lisa for being an awesome riding buddy for 93 miles yesterday.

With our bellies still full we hit the road on a 52 mile trek to Columbus, home of “the” Ohio State University. Hannah Wagley and I rode at the front of the group for most of the morning before stopping to stretch and wait for company. 10 or 12 of us rode into lunch together where we waited on the van for a few minutes. Chad and I rode together after lunch at a pretty fast pace, fighting the strong winds most of the way. We got a little turned around at one point, but with some help from a local we were quickly back on track. The ride was pretty nice, but most of us were pretty sore from the long day yesterday.

The group reached Columbus pretty early, and we’re staying at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus tonight. The afternoon has been spent hanging out, running errands, and relaxing. The pool was definitely the highlight of the day. Most of the group went swimming, and we were able to show off our awesome tan lines. We played on the slides for a while, and then Lindsey, Hanna D. and I got in trouble when we all went down the slides at the same time. Hilarity ensued when we decided to play “Marco Polo,” but “Bike Build” was used instead. After showers we relaxed, a group headed off to the bike shop, and a few of the girls took a taxi to the mall. The local Pizza Hut is donating pizza for dinner tonight, and the bike shop group should be back with it soon.

48 days to Seattle."

Columbus to Dayton was a 78 mile ride that should have been easy, but it was a tough day for me. I don't know if it was because I ate a little breakfast or what, but I felt pretty bad all morning. I ate a big lunch, and felt a little better in the afternoon. Peter, Ashley, and I rode together most of the way, and Peter and I both went over 1000 miles for the trip.

In other words we've gotten lost the most.

Dayton has been great so far. The church we're staying in has been great, and the local Habitat has gone out of their way to hook us up. At our build day today we poured concrete did drywall, and the Police Chief came and talked to us. It was a great day, and now we're on our way to watch the Dayton Dragons baseball game!

Tomorrow we'll reach Indiana!