August 7, 1998 - Wapakoneta - Columbus

DISTANCE TRAVELED: 98.53 Miles

TIME: 12 Hours

AVERAGE SPEED: 14.7 Miles/Hour

TRAVEL CONDITIONS: Hot humid and rainy in the morning turning to a sunny but still hot and humid afternoon.

ROAD CONDITIONS: Mostly good roads the entire day.

TERRAIN/DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Small rolling but steep hills. Overall a fairly easy ride.

DAILY JOURNAL COMMENTS:
I woke up at 7:30 and immediately packed up and dressed to bike for the day. I went upstairs with my gear and threw it into the car. After this, I went back inside and had sweet rolls for breakfast along with some orange juice. Our hosts packed up a huge bag of lunch for us which consisted of turkey sandwiches, oreos, cheese crackers, grapes, pudding, a powerbar, and a 32 ounce Gatorade! There was so much food that when I tried to put it into my backpack it wouldn't even all fit. After eating, Pinky and I rode to the church to load up all of our gear while our things were driven. We arrived at around 8:20 and I wrote down the directions for the day and gathered all of my things. After saying goodby, I waited around for a while until I left with Brad, Jade, Heather, Lana, and Julie around 8:50. We put on our rain jackets just as it began to pour and we rode to the first gas station where we stopped so that Brad could get some air. After filling up, we were finally on our way. A little way out of town, there were some railroad crossings and since they were wet, they weren't perpendicular to the road, and my tires were thin, I slipped and fell. It went just as well as any fall could go. I unclipped my left foot and landed with my palms and left foot on the ground. I never even had to unclip my right foot even though it came unclipped automatically. After checking my handlbars which got a few small scratches I got going again in less than a minute. Fortunately I was wearing gloves at the time. We rode on at about 12 miles an hour and had to look at the map numerous times to figure out where we were going. We had a headwind a little later in the day which greatly slowed us down. Around 12:45, we stopped for lunch at an Italian restaurant where they gave us all free sodas. I ate the lunch that I had brought while others got sandwiches and pizza. By this time, I had already had to fill up my front tire two times since I discovered a very slow leak around the valve. Because of the placement, I couldn't repair it and had to pump it up every 20 miles. We rode on and then stopped at the Ohio Caverns where we hoped to get in for free. Unfortunately we couldn't and so after taking a short break, we continued on again. The next stop was only about two miles away where we got some drinks and I got a chance to pump up my tire again. As Anthony went around a curve right by where we were stopped, his rear tire popped so he also stopped. We discovered that his sidewalls were shredded and so he tried for an hour to fix the tire. Finally we had success with some duct tape and a few patches. We were on the road again by 5:00 with 47 miles to go(or so we thought). Brad and I went ahead and hoped to get in a little earlier than the others that we were riding with. About 15 miles later, I had to stop once again to fill my tire. We then rode on to a place where we had to get some more directions so after pumping again, we were caught by Jade and Heather who had left Anthony behind since his tube had popped again. He had to call the SAG since it was impossible to fix. We rode on and every 8 miles from then on I had to fill up. Finally about 15 miles from the YMCA, Jade began to feel light headed and I had to pump up again. We stopped and Brad and Heather decided to continue on while Jade and I called the SAG since the leak was getting faster. Around 9:30, the SAG picked us up and we arrived at the YMCA around 10:00 where I immediately took off my shoes to relieve my feet and then drank my 32 ounce Gatorade without stopping before getting some pasta for dinner. After eating, I replaced the inner tube in my front tire -- this was the first front-tire-flat of the trip! I then went down to take a much-needed shower. The bottom of my feet hurt so much that I couldn't stand up flat on my feet. It even hurt if I twisted my feet onto their sides! After getting all clean, I went back to where I was sleeping and cleaned off my wheels before eating some more food. I then typed on my computer while everyone else was asleep and eventually went to bed around 2:00 AM.

TRIP ROUTE:
Take 33 to Columbus.