Northern Tier Day #14 North Kingsville, OH to Cleveland, OH
Northern Tier Day #14
June 2, 2019
North Kingsville, OH to Cleveland, OH 81 Miles
Ride Time 6:38
Tour Total 1113 Miles
It was miserable, cold, and wet last night in the ghetto Kingsville campground. Several times during the night I asked myself why I was doing this trip. In the morning, I put back on my cold soggy socks, water soaked shoes, and shoe covers. I rolled up my sopping wet tent and strapped it to the top of my rear dry bag. When I pedaled away from the campground it was foggy and wet, but fortunately not raining.
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in seventh grade I had to memorize all of the Ohio counties and county seats for Mr. Bartholomew’s social studies class. All of towns and counties I’ve been riding through ring a bell. I’m from the southwest corner of Ohio and this is the northeast, yet I feel a slight sense of the familiarity. At minimum, I’m accustomed to the license plates and state highway signs. I saw a sign that said ‘No Sunday beer sales in Ohio’. Please no!
A large deer galloped alongside the road and then crossed in front of me very gracefully. Coming into Ashtabula, I passed a large gas processing plant on the left and an exotic dancing club to the right. I rode through the industrial part of town with old warehouses, electrical lines, and water towers. Another deer crossed the road in front of me and I got to watch it run, leap and gallup. It was exhilarating! I was on State Highway 531 West, the Great Lakes Circle Tour and the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail.
Ashtabula emblemized the rust belt, as well as its rebirth. I passed a huge coal and gravel mining operation coming into town on the lakefront, with huge conveyance equipment. I rode over an old lift bridge into the heart of the small downtown, which ended up being pleasant. I passed a coffee shop, the Cloven Hoof Brewery and an Art gallery.
I saw a fantastic Ohio mural and stopped to take a photo. It was part of a storefront for Humphrey Industries. Small world! I had a seminar class with Ryan Humphrey in grad school at Hunter College. We’re Facebook friends and I sent him a message. It was great to reconnect, and I wish I had known he was here last night before I went to that ghetto campground.
I stopped at a gas station and got a freshly baked donut, a package of frosted donuts, a Starbucks Frappuccino, and an orange juice. On my way out of town I stopped briefly to adjust my rain jacket hood and was enveloped by a cloud of mosquitoes. Those blood thirsty critters are tenacious.
I rode by Kent State University which I equate with the shootings on May 4, 1970 of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard during a mass protest against the bombing of Cambodia by United States military forces.
I couldn’t stop riding. Even though there was a slight drizzle, if I wanted to make an adjustment I got eaten alive by mosquitoes, big ones! I saw some small brown chipmunks run across the road.
Geneva on the Lake was like the Jersey shore. It was touristy. There were places selling cotton candy, hotdogs, pizza, and ice cream. There were amusements like the Family Fun Center with putt-putt golf, a zip line, a climbing wall, and a large swimming area. It seemed kind of sleepy and empty because of the gray, cool, and rainy weather.
My soggy feet were just barely on the warm side of cold. My shoe covers are starting to fall apart on the bottom of the front tips. I’ll need to get a new pair for my next tour. I had beautiful blue Lake Erie off to my right, and homes to either side of the road after Geneva on the Lake. The route zigzagged at right angles in and away from the lake. Whoever originally surveyed this area did it at a 45° angle to the lakefront. I don’t get it. I was basically following the signs for the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail riding through neighborhoods with modest homes. The road surface was starting to dry.
Since it was Sunday morning and this being Ohio, where religious fervor has recently made abortion practically impossible to attain, I decided to count cars in the church parking lots. The Hope Baptist Church lot was half full. The Trinity Lutheran Church lot was empty. The Bible Baptist Church lot was a quarter full. The Methodist Church lot was empty. The First Baptist lot was full. The Saints Cypriot Catholic church parking lot was full. Listen ‘Christians’- Whatever women decide to do with their bodies is a conversation between them and their doctor. It’s nobody else’s business- period. F-ing Crazy bullshit here. Surely if I had stayed in Ohio, I’d either be locked up by now or dead. This is why your best and brightest move to the coasts. Just sayin’.
I passed many groups of eastbound cyclists out for a ride. It remained gray, cool, and overcast. The asphalt surface was still wet. Bundles of firewood are only three dollars in Ohio. Riding towards Perry I saw two ginormous water cooling towers on the lake, ostensively for nuclear power generation. After Perry, population 1,632, the rural landscape returned. I passed pastures, barns, and cattle.
I crossed numerous train tracks today which can sometimes be a little nerve-racking. Because bicycle wheels are so thin, cyclists need to cross tracks as close to a 90° angle as possible. When there are three sets of tracks crossing the road at an acute angle, a cyclist needs to do some quick zig-zagging to make sure their wheels don’t end up twisted in the rut.
It started raining again as I headed into Painesville. I was a little chilly and decided not to take the Cleveland Heights alternative route. I stuck to the main route along the lake. After Grand River the sun came out which was an unexpected surprise. I now found myself on State Highway 283 which would take me to the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway.
Today is the 14th day of my tour. I’ve been peddling now for two weeks. Bar Harbor is a distant memory. A cycling trip slows life down. There’s so much that I’ve been taking in. There’s never been a dull moment. I joined back up with the lake at Eastlake. State Highway 283 was a busy 2-lane highway, but the bike lane was fantastic.
The sun came out and I removed my rain jacket and put on my sunglasses. In front of East Lake City Hall, I saw the Boulevard of 500 flags. I don’t know why, but I assumed that it would be a diverse assortment of flags from all over the world. The US flag boils down to an accounting of territory. Canada, for example, has a much better flag. I was dismayed to see 500 redundant, over-the-top, uninteresting American flags.
I encountered eastbound touring cyclist Richard from St. Louis who is doing a round-trip bike tour around the lakes, which he calls the Buffa Loop. Richard was doing about 50 miles a day. I warned him about the campground in Kingsville. His blog on 'Track My Tour' can be found somewhere at: https://trackmytour.com.
At Willowick the bike lane disappeared which was a huge disappointment. I had a crappy shoulder to the right of the white line. A black SUV passed me with a ginormous dog riding shotgun, that barked at me from the window and startled me. When I crossed the Cuyahoga County line I got a shared bike lane with symbols painted on the pavement. Road signs stated that cyclists could use the whole lane. Large apartment buildings appeared on the lakefront, and I could see the Cleveland skyline in the distance.
The Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway was mostly a bike lane and not a trail along the lake. I was happy to have a lane but was a little disappointed. There was a loop that went through Euclid Creek Reservation, but it was roundabout and short. Back on Ohio Route 283, the bike lane ended. So much for the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway. About 10 miles east of Cleveland the route became really nice and tree-lined with big homes to either side of the road. The homes to my right were situated on the lakefront. This was a beautiful neighborhood.
I write my journal by dictating into my phone, which is fastened to my handlebar. The dictation software doesn’t work very well and it makes a lot of stupid mistakes. I frequently have to repeat my phrases again and again until it gets it right. Whenever I go over a bump the software thinks that I want to erase what I just wrote. The process is trying and there’s a lot of editing at the end of the day.
On the last stretch into Cleveland I got the bike path that I wanted and expected from my research. I was riding along the lake shore with the interstate to my left. There were people fishing, walking, cycling, and enjoying the lake. Close to downtown I rode by a small airport, Burke Lakefront Airport. Afterwards I pedaled past the Rock & Roll Hall of fame. I then passed the Great Lakes Science Center and the Cleveland Browns Stadium. After a little spin through downtown I went over the Veterans Memorial Bridge, crossing the Cuyahoga River. Cleveland has a good bike lane network.
I’m staying at the Travelodge in Lakewood that Bill and Finley recommended. The first thing I did was to dry out my tent, ground cloth, and sleeping bag. I showered and shaved, and lubed my chain, tightened my bolts, and cleaned my bike. I went and did laundry, and am now back to cleanliness level #1. I also recharged all of my devices. My back-up battery had been drained down to 14%.
The TransAm bike race from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA has just begun! This is an amazing competition that I was able to witness first-hand last year. The race can be followed in real time here: http://trackleaders.com/transam19f.php.
Spin Cycle was perhaps the most lame coin laundromat that I’ve ever been to. Out of 50 machines, only 6 worked. Despite the challenge, my clothes are all now clean, as well as my bike. I went to nearby Jalapeños for dinner.
Hummm...I know I commented on this yesterday. Can't remember what I said, but good job...keep crankin....
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