Northern Tier Day #17 Napoleon, OH to Monroeville, IN
Northern Tier Day #17
June 5, 2019
Napoleon, OH to Monroeville, IN 67 Miles
Ride Time 6:16
Tour Total 1338 Miles
I had a few too many Mango Blue Moon Ales last night at Eddie J‘s talking with the proprietor Doug. It was a lovely evening. I sat outside across from the monstrous Napoleon courthouse and my server realized that I was a cyclist. She told me that her boss was a cross-country cyclist enthusiast. He came out and we talked for probably two hours. Actually, he did most of the talking. I learned that he was a Warm Showers host and unfortunately his name didn’t appear when I searched for Napoleon. He told me there was a legit campground in town. That said, there was a brutal downpour early this morning with thunder and lightning. It was a good thing that I didn’t camp. I got a good night’s sleep in my king-sized bed at the $60 Knights Inn. My body was sore and in pain. My injuries from yesterday’s fall hurt. Onward!
It was partly cloudy and in the mid 60’s when I departed. The roads were still damp. I cycled back into town passing Eddie J‘s, and then I got back onto State Highway 424 headed west along the Maumee River. Doug mentioned last night that the largest Campbell Soup factory in the world was right outside of Napoleon. He said they had their own water supply and that visitors came from all over the world to pay homage. Apparently there’s a giant can of soup for selfies.
With all the rain, it’s doubtful that numerous farmers in this area will be planting this year. It’s too late in the season. I wonder what kind of impact that will have.
I passed through the town of Florida which was founded at the former Native American village of Snaketown. Florida featured a volunteer fire department, a water tower, and a furniture store. It’s grocery store, which had a Trump Pence sign in the window, was closed. The little public library building, just west of town, was adorable.
I passed 13 eastbound cyclists out for a ride as I peddled out of Florida. A cyclist on a recumbent shouted, “Woohoo! You go!” I pulled over to remove my sweater, apply sunscreen, and fix my left handlebar tape, which was driving me crazy. The moisture on the asphalt was evaporating. It was partly cloudy with dark gray clouds on the horizon and a slight headwind.
Another eastbound cyclist, out for a ride, passed me and wished me a good ride. There was freshly paved asphalt on the route through Independence Dam State Park. As I entered the town of Defiance I encountered a Road Closed sign. It was either take a risk and proceed or ride on a busy highway. I decided to proceed. I was 2 miles out of from the center of town. Closer to town there was a second set of Road Closed signs, this time with a detour which I chose to take. Close to what I thought was the center of town, I saw a rainbow flag proudly displayed in someone’s front yard. Out here in Trump country- that’s defiance.
When I got to what I thought was Defiance, I saw that the bridge across the river was gone, and completely being re-constructed. So I had to turn around and go back 2 miles to the busy highway which had a bridge over the river. Highways 281 and 18 totally sucked. There was tons of traffic. Highway 18 was four lanes and full of sprawl. I saw familiar businesses from my Ohio days like Kroger and Fifth Third Bank. The detour really made me appreciate Adventure Cycling’s routing which keeps me away from ugly sprawl like this. Defiance also had a big courthouse, but it wasn’t as big as the one in Napoleon.
I stopped at the Shell Party Mart and picked myself up a Starbucks Frappuccino and a pack of Little Debbies mini powdered donuts. The bag of donuts was too big and I couldn’t finish them all. I wish they had the Hostess mini packs. I contacted the cartography department at ACA to let them know about the bridge being out. They got back to me and thanked me. I was on State Highway 111 West following the brown muddy Auglaize River to my left. It was getting windy and it seemed like a thunderstorm was rolling in.
Coming into the town of Junction I saw a large turtle trying to cross the road. There was traffic in both directions so I stood next to the turtle and blocked it from the oncoming motorist. When I saw a truck coming from the other way, I used my foot to shuffle the turtle across the road. He flipped upside down and landed in the grass. I hope was able to right himself.
I stopped at a Marathon in the town of Junction for a Gatorade. I finished my powdered donuts and switched to a short sleeve jersey and applied sunscreen. I missed the turn at Junction and remained on State Highway 111. I just kept going and took the next left. I corrected my mistake and was soon back on route. There were soggy fields to either side of the road and a strong headwind.
County Road 168 was a little bit wider than one lane, but not really. I was now dealing with a fierce headwind. The town of Paulding, population 3605, had an impressive courthouse and the usual run of hair salons, furniture stores, and the pancake house cafe. On the west end of town I rode past a horse track complete with a grandstand. The Paulding county fair begins here June 10-15.
West of Paulding I found myself on State Route 500 West. Muddy unplanted fields were on both sides of the road. Storm clouds were above, with a slight drizzle and wind. The sun came back out and it was bright, but also windy. I noticed a wind farm to the north with quite a few turbines. It occurred to me this is what the next month is going to be- hot sun and headwinds. I’ve been using my middle front chain ring for much of the day because of the headwind.
My CatEye Urban Wireless odometer speedometer was acting up again, and I had to stop and fix it. I’m gonna throw it away after this tour. I was coming into Payne and was passed by a large farm vehicle that was as wide as a roadway lane and it’s wheel diameter was taller than me on my bike. I didn’t find a place to stop in Payne, so I kept going. There wouldn’t be any more services for the next 13 miles which was my day’s destination in Monroeville.
The headwind was starting to drive me crazy. My toes were feeling pinched in my shoes. I was riding amongst the ginormous wind turbines in the wind farm for over an hour. They were cool to watch, but they demonstrated how powerful the wind was. I would most likely be battling more of this wind going west.
I took a left on Stateline Road heading south which helped a bit with the headwind, which became more of a crosswind. On Stateline Road Indiana was to my right and Ohio was to my left. I wasn’t exactly sure where the line was. Was it down the middle of the road? If so, I was technically in Indiana. If the width of the road was the line, then I was either in both states or in between the two.
I passed a farmer on the Indiana side plowing and planting his fields. I finally crossed the Indiana state line and stopped for the border documentation ceremony. Indiana is state number seven of the tour. It started to drizzle on my approach into Monroeville. I had about 2 miles to go.
When I got to town I met westbound cyclist Bob from Boston, who told me that the French couple was here and that we would all be staying in the hostel together tonight. Bob and I went to the tavern where I had a cheeseburger and onion rings while he played pool with the locals. Bob began his trip in Boston and is riding to Oregon. His blog on Crazy Guy is at: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1mr&doc_id=22022&v=1e
Indiana is stuck in the 1950’s thank you very much motherfucker Mike Asshole Pence. People are allowed to smoke cigarettes in bars and restaurants here. I hope all of these Trump supporters die of lung cancer. We wouldn’t want the evil government to protect them from big tobacco. Seriously- Fuck you Mike Pence. I hope that you and everyone in your family dies of lung cancer.
Back at the hostel I met westbound French cyclists Florence and Simon who started in New York and are headed to Colorado Springs and then possibly to the west coast. It was awesome sharing the amazing Monroeville hostel with three other cyclists. That’s what I’m talking about!
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