GOBAville is what they call our camping grounds as we tour.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
GOBA Roads
I was taken by the narrow roads in this part of Ohio. This is more the size of roads in Ireland where I will be riding in a week. They made the paved part narrow with wide berms. For two cars to pass, both cars will have wheels on the berm!
GOBA Yoga
My friend Gene stopped along with another person to help a fellow with a flat tire. I rode to the nearest shade tree and started doing the part of the yoga session I never finished (we left at 7AM!). Two women pulled their bikes over saying: "That's a good idea!" This was my view looking straight up.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Keep'em Moving Muffins
AKA Trader Joe knockoff muffins:
Mix the first 5 items together and mix last 2 items together. Combine the two and mix well. Bake at 400 degrees for 24 minutes. Trader Joe price is 75 cents a piece. This is LOTS cheaper!
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup white grape juice
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 TSP baking powder
- 4.5 cups wheat bran
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
Mix the first 5 items together and mix last 2 items together. Combine the two and mix well. Bake at 400 degrees for 24 minutes. Trader Joe price is 75 cents a piece. This is LOTS cheaper!
Defiance Shananigans
The Defiance Chamber of Commerce had a hog roast on the campus last night, so the city did not let the local churches put on any suppers to feed us. Those suppers are a good way for the churches to raise money. I call shananigans! Isn't the Chamber supposed to encourage local business? This is the main theme of this GOBA... stiffle competition!
In this case they were thwarted by a church next to Defiance that put on a spagetti dinner that only asked for donations. Good for them! And by all appearances, the Chamber lost their shirt on the hog roast because it was to hot out. I think it only appropriate!
I bypassed the 50, the 70 and the 100 mile ride today. Time for shanks mare. I did have oatmeal at Bob Evans... payback for the great support Bob gives GOBA. Then it was a large iced tea at McDonalds with the O'Kelly's and Susan. With Gene's good sense of timing, there were no lines at either place. And no lines at the library where I am writing this blog entry. That makes up for the monster lines EVERYWHERE yesterday. So things are evening out.
Yesterday was really HOT in the late afternoon and evening. Temperature hit 97 and there was no air moving. About 4 in the morning, some cool air was moving... or so I am told. I didn't really notice until I went to the information tent and everyone there was fanning themselves. Oh, thinks I. They are right... it is hot!
Today will be checking out downtown Defiance and resting up for two long days getting back to Norwalk.
In this case they were thwarted by a church next to Defiance that put on a spagetti dinner that only asked for donations. Good for them! And by all appearances, the Chamber lost their shirt on the hog roast because it was to hot out. I think it only appropriate!
I bypassed the 50, the 70 and the 100 mile ride today. Time for shanks mare. I did have oatmeal at Bob Evans... payback for the great support Bob gives GOBA. Then it was a large iced tea at McDonalds with the O'Kelly's and Susan. With Gene's good sense of timing, there were no lines at either place. And no lines at the library where I am writing this blog entry. That makes up for the monster lines EVERYWHERE yesterday. So things are evening out.
Yesterday was really HOT in the late afternoon and evening. Temperature hit 97 and there was no air moving. About 4 in the morning, some cool air was moving... or so I am told. I didn't really notice until I went to the information tent and everyone there was fanning themselves. Oh, thinks I. They are right... it is hot!
Today will be checking out downtown Defiance and resting up for two long days getting back to Norwalk.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Only 49 Miles to Defiance
That was good news last night when I looked it up. The down side is I drank 6 liters of water yesterday, plus an energy drink, a diet coke and all the ice tea thatI could drink in an hour. This morning started early with Gene asking me if I was stirring at 5 AM. "Not really" I replied foggily. What I wish I would have said was: "No... I'm shaken!" But that much wit at that hour eluded me. We left at 6:25 and spent the next hour riding straight west to Grand Rapids for breakfast. It was a good food stop for a change. I did the breakfast pizza with a banana, an apple, carrots and a V8. Yummy. Good thing I forgot the God awful instant oatmeal as they didn't have any milk! The bathroom line was monster... photos next week.
We rode an additional hour and a half straight west to lunch... really it was second breakfast. In my case, it was third breakfast as I had an apple and buffins before we started. My Trader Joe immitation muffins have been a life saver. We shall see if they let me take them into Ireland! Lunch was brauts with saurkraut... heaven for a diabetic. At that point, the clouds fell away and the sun immediately poured out its heat! First lunch was in Florida. The town, not the state. But my rivers end felt like I had ridden to the state! I had an ice cream sandwich for first lunch and a diet coke. The began a gentle, but steady ride uphill for over 5 miles. Where did that come from. My batteries were running down by then, but we made it to Defiance College just in time to grab the last shady spots for our tents. It was our reward for Gene standing watch for a friend of a friend, who had been left in the dust of the third leg. And perhaps for my giving a woman my spot in the shade at a picnic table. The woman told me: "You will be rewarded for that".
GOBA has a new thing this year... where we stay has the rights to exclude everyone but Chris Cakes from our camping area. I am genetically opposed to that. It was a dreadful decision in Bowling Green and the Jr. Fair Board did nothing but a spagetti dinner and water. And it was a long damn way into Bowling Green. Gene and I did eat at The Easy Street Cafe and it was excellent as always. That is where we spent the hour and a half while I guzzled tea and water endlessly.
The bonus was a ride on the Slippery Elm trail with lots of trees and a visit to a Ben Franklin store. The company stores have all closed, but there are franchisees who simply pay to use the name. I need to go back!
I will not sit on a bicycle seat until Friday morning. I endured several extended complaints from my rivers end, as my brother used to call it. Tomorrow is a rest day for me. And the town is within walking distance. Good thing as all they are running for shuttles are the short busses... such a bad idea.
Two more stories from third breakfast. As I was walking across the road, an amply endowed woman walked the other way while pouring a bottle of cold water ($1 please) into her bra! "That must feel good", says I. Her reply was "You have NO idea!" The guy in charge of this stop was crestfallen with the news that at least 1000 more riders were still coming. "Tell them we are down to serving cats and dogs!" he said. Like we COULD tell them!
We rode an additional hour and a half straight west to lunch... really it was second breakfast. In my case, it was third breakfast as I had an apple and buffins before we started. My Trader Joe immitation muffins have been a life saver. We shall see if they let me take them into Ireland! Lunch was brauts with saurkraut... heaven for a diabetic. At that point, the clouds fell away and the sun immediately poured out its heat! First lunch was in Florida. The town, not the state. But my rivers end felt like I had ridden to the state! I had an ice cream sandwich for first lunch and a diet coke. The began a gentle, but steady ride uphill for over 5 miles. Where did that come from. My batteries were running down by then, but we made it to Defiance College just in time to grab the last shady spots for our tents. It was our reward for Gene standing watch for a friend of a friend, who had been left in the dust of the third leg. And perhaps for my giving a woman my spot in the shade at a picnic table. The woman told me: "You will be rewarded for that".
GOBA has a new thing this year... where we stay has the rights to exclude everyone but Chris Cakes from our camping area. I am genetically opposed to that. It was a dreadful decision in Bowling Green and the Jr. Fair Board did nothing but a spagetti dinner and water. And it was a long damn way into Bowling Green. Gene and I did eat at The Easy Street Cafe and it was excellent as always. That is where we spent the hour and a half while I guzzled tea and water endlessly.
The bonus was a ride on the Slippery Elm trail with lots of trees and a visit to a Ben Franklin store. The company stores have all closed, but there are franchisees who simply pay to use the name. I need to go back!
I will not sit on a bicycle seat until Friday morning. I endured several extended complaints from my rivers end, as my brother used to call it. Tomorrow is a rest day for me. And the town is within walking distance. Good thing as all they are running for shuttles are the short busses... such a bad idea.
Two more stories from third breakfast. As I was walking across the road, an amply endowed woman walked the other way while pouring a bottle of cold water ($1 please) into her bra! "That must feel good", says I. Her reply was "You have NO idea!" The guy in charge of this stop was crestfallen with the news that at least 1000 more riders were still coming. "Tell them we are down to serving cats and dogs!" he said. Like we COULD tell them!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bowling Green is a LONG Way from Elmore
when you are riding on GOBA. Actual miles 22, GOBA miles 52. The miles I don't mind, but the lunch stop in Toledo suburbs was a bad idea at every level. In fact, food stops this year are a bad idea for diabetics. The only hot food normally is a baked white potato... game over for me. The only sandwich is PBJ and no sugarless jelly. What about turkey or ham with cheese? Is the not yet named recession hitting THAT hard? All I could eat at lunch was an apple and some celery. Pretty darn pathetic!
The first ride of the day was one of the best ever, following the Portage River upstream from Elmore. More of those rides please. Hull Prairie road is the worst GOBA road EVER, EVER, EVER!!! It was that bad. I can't ask what they were thinkin cause they weren't thinkin! The wind was kind and there are some clouds... so I'll not complain any more.
I am looking forward to some good food for a change and the ride to Defiance tomorrow.
The first ride of the day was one of the best ever, following the Portage River upstream from Elmore. More of those rides please. Hull Prairie road is the worst GOBA road EVER, EVER, EVER!!! It was that bad. I can't ask what they were thinkin cause they weren't thinkin! The wind was kind and there are some clouds... so I'll not complain any more.
I am looking forward to some good food for a change and the ride to Defiance tomorrow.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Elmore Is A One Bar Town
And I don't mean saloon. Even Verizon cellphone users only get 1 bar here. So the phrase "one horse town" has been replaced with "one bar town". But it is a nice town to visit. We are camping at the high school which is blessed with a death of roads around it. So we didn't have a lot of saloon patrons honking their horns at us on their way home last night.
Breakfast was hard to come here, so I rode to Lindsey, OH to eat this morning. It is about 5 miles back down the North Shore Inland Trail. I figured I would get to Lindsey before I got to the head of the line I was in. Ride was nice and I had breakfast with a group of locals enjoying their morning coffee and gossip. They told me that they had to be good when the Mayor's wife walked by. So I asked: "What doesn't the Mayor's wife know about you?" I look the silence as meaning that there was NOTHING the Mayor's did no know about any of them.
The rest of the morning was spend in the local arboritum. Lunch was early at the Red, White and Brew and that was followed by a visit to the art gallery and my half hour on the computer at the library. There was a Sunday New York Times at the gallery and there is a sale on a nice small camera. I discovered that my old Canon digital camera is just not sharp enough now, so I'm ordering a new bike camera as soon as they kick me off this computer. Life is good!
Breakfast was hard to come here, so I rode to Lindsey, OH to eat this morning. It is about 5 miles back down the North Shore Inland Trail. I figured I would get to Lindsey before I got to the head of the line I was in. Ride was nice and I had breakfast with a group of locals enjoying their morning coffee and gossip. They told me that they had to be good when the Mayor's wife walked by. So I asked: "What doesn't the Mayor's wife know about you?" I look the silence as meaning that there was NOTHING the Mayor's did no know about any of them.
The rest of the morning was spend in the local arboritum. Lunch was early at the Red, White and Brew and that was followed by a visit to the art gallery and my half hour on the computer at the library. There was a Sunday New York Times at the gallery and there is a sale on a nice small camera. I discovered that my old Canon digital camera is just not sharp enough now, so I'm ordering a new bike camera as soon as they kick me off this computer. Life is good!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
GOBA Day One
GOBA started in Norwalk, the county seat of Huron County. We camped last night at the Huron County fairground and started riding about 7 AM. It was a beautiful ride with nice temperatures, little wind and a mixture of sun and clouds. This GOBA is different because I'm riding with Gene Pass. I'm learning to be more laid back... a difficult lesson, but one I need to learn. This is also a social GOBA with 6 people I know. The food stops were disasterous for me. The breakfst stop in Bellevue had nothing hot and all I could eat was an apple. I did get some milk and have a no sugar instant oatmeal with it cold. UGLY!!!! The maple syrup flavor sat in my stomach like a lump of clay, so I had a diet coke to cut thru that. Lunch was in Freemont at the President Hayes Home and Museum. I had one slice of bread with ham and cheese on it, some celery, an apple and a oat and huney bar. I was not inspired. The PM snack was an ice cream bar.
The good news is we will be in Elmore, OH for two nights. This is a great little town. We were riding until 1:30 or 2... averaging a bit over 10 miles an hour when we were riding. I do wish all the day s could be as nice as this one on the bike!
Happy Father's Day to me!
The good news is we will be in Elmore, OH for two nights. This is a great little town. We were riding until 1:30 or 2... averaging a bit over 10 miles an hour when we were riding. I do wish all the day s could be as nice as this one on the bike!
Happy Father's Day to me!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
1000 Miles on a Bike This Year
Today I finally made my goal of 1000 bike miles before GOBA starts. 225 miles for the month so far. I'll easily have 500 miles for June given the GOBA distances this year. The early Strawberry Festival ride of 59 miles on Saturday (add 3+ for home to Senior Center and back) was a big help. I'll probably do 2 more rides before leaving on Saturday for Norwalk.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
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