Day 3: Millersburg

We are safe and sound in Millersburg. It was a twelve hour day in th saddle and sixty miles, half of which were on hilly Amish back roads, the other half trails, every mile into a 15 mph headwind. We are sitting in our chairs in our room and we still feel like we are moving. We have decided that tomorrow will be a Zero Day. They have a salt water pool and hot tub here :-)
We started the day back tracking the ten miles from our hotel to Canal Fulton to rejoin the trail. That went pretty well. The hills were actually a little fun because we were fresh.
In Canal Fulton, we happened across a canal tour boat being pulled by a team of horses. The boat was filled with grade school kids, so we got to talk to them as we road along side. After that, we were in Massillon pretty quickly.
We stopped at Ernie’s Bike shop to try to drum up some business and I ran into a new reporter for The Independant, a local paper. He interviewed us for a bit and took some photos. He said it will be out on the 24th, if I Remember right.
After that, we hit the Sippo Valley trail. It was hot and as we were crossing a bridge, Carol spied a little swimming hole down below? We took advantage like a couple of country school kids, if you know what I mean 😉
The dip really cooled us off for a bit, but the sky Was threatening, so we pedaled on. Eventually we got to Dalton and ate at the drive in. The sky was really scary by then and we had a 17 mile road route to cover. We were concerned, so we just jumped on our bikes and rode off. After a while the weather moved to the east of us, but we were getting tired. Along some of the back roads, we ran into some Amish and their horses were spooked by us. It was pretty undeserving, especially for the one buggy driver. We were as considerate as could be and found that the horses were ok when we stopped moving and just talked to them.
Finally we arrived at Fredricksburg, after that hilly road route. We stopped at Lem’s Pizza and Ice Cream and had a couple of cones. We were whipped by this point, but we knew we only had 10 or12 more miles to ride on the Holmes County trail. Th Holmes County trail is unique in that you share it with Amish buggies. It’s like an Amish high way. We did some of our best riding of the day on this trail into Millersburg because it was evening and the wind was starting to die down a little. We still had to draft to make it, but we were up over 14 mph consistently. It’s amazing what you can do without wind.
Tomorrow we are staying here to rest, because the next section of trail is also a road route and is very hilly. Plus there is a section along state route 62 that is narrow, two lanes, 55 and used heavily by semis, so that’s a little stressful.
Good night for now. It’s my turn in the shower…!

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6 Responses to Day 3: Millersburg

  1. matt0701 says:

    Enjoy your day of rest and recovery! Really enjoying following along with your ride!

  2. Nanoben says:

    Wow! Glad you had such a productive day! Keep on trucking! Did Ernie’s have a fender?

    • Carolyn says:

      Hi Nancy! Yes, Erinie’s has everything a cyclist needs. An oasis on the trail. For me it was a riddle…
      I do not want delay my progress by installing a fender because severe storms are predicted.
      I should prepare and get a fender because severe storms are predicted.
      we pedaled on… I remain sans front fender
      My headlight was also destroyed in the crash. I am grateful that I was not hurt at all. The bruises are spectacular, very colorful!

  3. bkdoc says:

    I’m enjoying following your trip. I feel like I’m riding it all over again, just like last year. I remember I made a wrong turn somewhere going into Fredericksburg and had to ask a man who literally couldn’t speak (due to throat surgery) how to get there. So with hand motions he got me back on course and I ended up coming in on a different road than planned.

    As for the wind, I remember I faced the same thing nearly the whole trip, which is why, when we do our organized ride on Labor Day week, we will be going form Cincy to Cleveland. I am banking on a little help from the wind.

    Have a great ride. Hope to see you both again someday. Carol, who your healing up from your bumps and bruises of day #2.

    Jim

    • Carolyn says:

      Jim,
      Great to hear from you. We have have thought of you often, especially at the one remaining trick in the trail through Akron. At the playground, cross the bridge!
      C

    • daniabeachflorida@yahoo.com says:

      Jim,

      What is the organized Labor Day ride? Is it for just a certain group or open to others?

      Marilyn

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