Day Thirteen

Made it across Pennsylvania today. I got up at a ridiculous hour, something like 4:30, and played on the internet a little. The bed at the motel was really comfortable, and I tried to go back to sleep, but my mind is too active I guess. I made some coffee, ate some of my cheese bread and did some preventative maintenance on my bike. I cleaned the chain a bit and patched a nick in my rear tire.

Got on the road around 10:30 and decided to wait until lunchtime to eat. I stopped at a gas station and got a tuna wrap, milk and some energy bars for later. Sat in the parking lot eating, and I was amazed how many people were sitting there in their cars, with the engines running, smoking and texting on their cell phones. For the ENTIRE time I was eating. What a waste of gas, plus I had to breathe in their exhaust fumes. I really can’t believe how many people I’ve seen smoking. Seems like every person I run into is smoking or about to have a cigarette. People driving by throw them out their car windows and most of the billboards advertise cigarettes or tell you where to get them CHEAP! I had thought, as a nation, we were smoking less, but I’m not seeing that. I did see a clever billboard today, from McDonald’s no less. It had a picture of a new coffee they were offering and it said, “If coffee is Joe, this is Joseph.” I liked that one.

I made it to the Ohio border at 4:30. A man riding by on a bike took my picture when I asked him, since I was having trouble getting a good shot. I made it to Ashtabula and was pretty tired, but there was nowhere to camp, so I kept going to Geneva-on-the-lake. I was completely exhausted when I pulled into town. It was really touristy, and I sped by all the shops and restaurants. I stopped at a motel, hoping the owner might give me a discount for my ride, but I was turned down. He said “$69, that’s as low as I’ll go.” That was too much, so I kept going to the State Park. The office was closed, and there was a nice young man checking in with a camper with Colorado plates and a dog named Micro. He had a cool name: Tim Sweet. He invited me to stop by his camper after I got set up.

A father and daughter pulled up and asked if they could share my site, and I said “Sure!” They were very nice, but I didn’t get to talk to them much. I headed to the showers and was impressed. It was very clean in there and the water pressure was good. Then I walked over to Site 70 and hung out with Tim for a while. He offered me a cold beer, and I couldn’t refuse. He had his camper set up very nicely with surround sound and a flat screen TV. His dog was very cool too. He told me he’s a graphic designer on his way to New York City. We chatted for a while and then I headed back to my tent. A rough night, trying to sleep and then an early start to try to make it to Cleveland. My friend Gino said he’s going to get me on the radio and TV. I’m nervous about the TV part! I know it’s a good idea for my fundraising, but I have terrible stage fright. Can’t wait to see Gino again and meet his family. He was a good friend in Florida.