67.3 miles today and 3161 overall
This morning appeared with clear skies overhead and a mix of lingering humidity from the night and smoke from public and private fireworks, and campfires. We steeled ourselves for another hot one. Ohio has a well established network of rails to trails. It seems that each town, city, or county takes pride in the section that runs through their community. Right out of the gate we hopped on a paved trail and made good progress.
We saw locals getting in their morning ride or walk before the full heat of the day. Next way point Dayton.
We entered Dayton on some major roads that, fortunately were very lightly traveled on an early Saturday morning. These roads did present serious pothole hazards. See example below.
I rescued 3 small children from one large pothole I almost fell into myself. They said they’d been in there since yesterday afternoon. I gave them some meager snacks and water then they ran home. The urgency of the situation prevented me from getting any photos.
Dayton is at the confluence of the Miami and Mad rivers and some of the bike trails take you along the river on the river side of the levee. This makes for interesting riding as one dodges what the river last deposited on the trail.
After deftly navigating Dayton we made for Xenia, a connecting hub for several trails. Before going further Colin made good (as he always does) on our well earned “state line beer”.
Before going into the brewery Bob and Colin assessed that the noise coming from Bob’s bike was a broken spoke. We decided that what to do about said spoke would be best considered inside an air conditioned brewery with a cold beverage in hand. The good folks at the brewery recommended a nearby bike shop so it was one and done and we were on our way. The broken spoke turned into a cracked rim which meant a new wheel. The folks at K&G Bike Center had Bob back in good shape quickly. Again on our way.
Next stop was London and while not far, the heat of the day was in full force and the trail layout and direction of travel brought in lots of sunshine.
After a long day we made to a camp in London reserved for trail users, i.e., us. It’s a great spot with an outdoor shower, shelter, bathrooms, and lots of places to pitch your tent. Jim with Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails is the unofficial guardian of the park. He met us and explained the rules. He also endorsed our best guess for dinner. He showed up later to give us the updated password for the WiFi at the campsite. He’s truly dedicated to the trail and his community.
Trivia of the day; We learned that London is the only place where Brillo pads are manufactured.
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