GOBA Sunday and Monday

We started on Wellington, Ohio... the quinessential small town. Nice place. The ride to Galion, however, was a challenge. About halfway I took a spill. No real damage, just some road rash on my left knee and twisted handlebars. Both were repaired quickly, but it really knocked the stuffing out of me... or so I thought. Most of this ride was west, into a stiff wind. And it wore down everyone. One friend I met later that night was TOAST. It turned out I was no worse off than anyone else.

We camped in Hesse Park and it was perfect, minus the thunderstorm that knocked the tents around a bit. The good news was we did not have to evacuate to a shelter.

I have not been doing yoga on this GOBA because of my eye problems. With no place to eat breakfast, I just headed out of town ASAP. Bad idea as my left leg just was not working well. Middle gear range was all I could muster... bummer. Then when I hit a really tough hill, I got off the bike to walk... an even worse idea as I could not walk on my left leg. All I could do was lean on the bike and hobble up to the top. All I could think was "How long do I have to wait for a SAG wagon?" I gingerly made it to the AM snack stop where they had a great hot breakfast. Thank you, Lexington!

The next leg was a breeze... flat bike trail that I could ado without any problem. Things were looking up! After lunch, the hills started again and it was NOT GOOD. Very not good... so I went even slower. Thank God there is no reverse on a bike or I would have been using that! I managed to get to the edge of Mt Vernon gingerly, but the damned hill at the edge of town killed me. Near the top of it, the slightest change of position of my left leg was agony and this after I had taken two painkillers. That was the worst spot. I made it to camp and put up the tent... VERY important in thunderstorm territory... and hobbled over to the massage tent. 15 minutes later there was no pain and I could walk normally! Go figure! Apparently it was all tightness in my left leg whatevers... several words were thrown at me that didn't connect. In the final analysis, it seems my not doing yoga was the cause of all my pain. And as I was breaking camp I did get a big clue. One muscle in my left leg seized up so violently that I could not move! So yoga is back into my GOBA routine. And we shall see if all is well.

I did start drawing postcards for my grandchildren and sending them. They hopefully won't mind the cartoonish drawing!