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Day 40 - Thursday July 14th - Richmond to Marysville, OH (105 miles) 1710� cumulative climb

Here we go again!! Chalk up another State! So long Indiana! We�re really making progress now. We�ve entered the Eastern Time Zone and another good stretch of distance days......105 -Marysville, 104 - Wooster, 93 -Austintown, and then 90 miles to take us into Erie, PA. And then our final day off. WHEW! I must say the group is so much stronger now than when we departed San Francisco. The century's do not seem as tough, but they do add up to offer a challenging weekend. Weather today is a little damp and misty most of the day. Everyone has good spirits though. The route heads right out into the country and gets very rural. We pass many farms today. Seems to be more animals than Illinois or Indiana, plenty of cattle, sheep, pigs and fields for hay. Definitely more dairy production too. But we also see plenty of corn and veggies. Saw an Ostrich farm today. They were raising Ostrich for the meat, hyping its high protein and low fat qualities. I don�t know, it all tastes like chicken to me! Who knows, maybe ostrich farming will catch on. Terrain today has picked up again. Defiantly not as flat as the last few days. We slowly picked up and rolled more and more as the day progressed. Beautiful country out here, Green and lush and more trees and vegetation the the mid west. We are definitely in the East. We�ll be following the Ohio River Valley all the way to New England. We're counting down the days and miles now. Marysville is a small town where the big industry seems to be the Honda plant. Everyone arrived in Marysville safely. Overheard on the road, �How many flats have you had so far?� �What do they make in there?......Power equipment and ATVs!� �Anyone want to go to the WALMART?� posted 2005-07-16 | 12:40:05 | article number: 2

Day 41 - Friday July 15th - Marysville to Wooster, OH (104 miles) 3780� cumulative climb

Up early today to conquer the miles. Weather overall a little better, warmer in the low 80�s with some humidity. The terrain was tougher today too. The route really picked up and rolled, especially in the middle of the day. The rollers got much taller than Missouri. Some of them felt like real climbs as we rolled up, over, in and out of the valley. The ride continues to be very rural. Mostly small towns and farms dot the landscape. This is beautiful country, still feels like the heartland. It�s amazing when you get out here in the real America, the attitude and feeling of the people is friendly, happy, positive and upbeat. It�s very easy to feel lost sometimes listening to the evening news and only hearing scary, negative stories. Out here in America you realize how great a country this is and the bad things that happen (Sometimes bad things do happen) are really a very small percentage of the good that is America. HOPE! Lunch was a great pizza joint in Frederictown. Then milkshakes were the order of the day for Doug, Dale and Daniel before we hit the road again. We finish off strong after a tough day in Wooster with a great BBQ. Everyone arrived safely in Wooster. Overheard on the road, �One more OHIO day!� �See any ostriches today?� �We�ve done so many miles my shorts are wearing out!� posted 2005-07-16 | 12:49:20 | article number: 3

Day 42 - Saturday July 16th - Wooster to Austintown, OH (93 miles) 2770� cumulative climb

Another stretch out your legs day! After breakfast, we pump up the tires and hit it again. So far I�ve had 3 flats and the tires are wearing a little thin. Will need to change them out over the off day. We continue our roll thru Ohio. Weather today warmed up into the mid 80�s, with some leftover humidity from the tropical storm. It�s been typical summer weather here in the Northeast. Back out into the country we continue the rural farm drive by. The group consensus on Ohio, especially this area, is excellent! We�ve been impressed with the great pride and care the local folks take in their homes and community. Beautiful homes, yards, garden and farms. This seems like a great place to live. The terrain today is very similar to yesterday, HILLY! It�s surprising the climb (cumulative) is comparable to mountainous days in Colorado. The views are beautiful and well worth the rolling work though. You�ll crest a hill and lookout over the valley or tree line with a farm and field rolling off into the distance. Very scenic! We come out of the country into Austintown a suburb of Warren/Niles. Everyone arrived safely in Austintown. Overheard on the road, �Any one see a Starbucks?!� �Come on, only one more hill to Austintown!� �GM has a huge factory around here somewhere!� posted 2005-07-19 | 13:21:26 | article number: 4

Day 43 - Sunday July 17th - Austintown to Erie, PA (90 miles) 1220� cumulative climb

Last ride in OHIO today, then we cross into Pennsylvania and chalk up another state. Soon it�s on to New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and the Atlantic! We continue to make real progress across America on our bicycles! The road today takes us to Erie. Weather is about the same 80-85F and still a little humid. We�ve also seen a few isolated afternoon thunderstorms. The terrain really flattens out after the last few days. Once out of town we go rural again and continue our tour of back country Ohio. We had a few good stretches today where the wind really kicked up behind us. Stanhope-Kellogville Road was a smoker for almost 25 miles as we cruised along over 25 mph. The SAG Stop was at the White Turkey luncheonette or the A&W; Root Beer Stand depending on who you ask. This is the type of place you sit outside under a roof on bar stools and eat fresh turkey sandwiches and drink root beer floats. Priceless!!! After lunch it was only a mile until we hit the Pennsylvania boarder, definitely a photo op! We certainly saw a huge variety of cyclists out for a Sunday spin, many were very envious of our tour and a few really wanted to run away from home and join us. The last 20 miles the terrain really flattened out as we cycled right into downtown Erie and our awesome hotel. Everyone arrived safely in Erie. Overheard from the road, �Hey, what should we do on the day off?.......EAT and SLEEP!� posted 2005-07-19 | 13:24:50 | article number: 5

Day 44 - Monday July 18th - Erie, PA - Off day!!

AHHHHHH.....................Off day! Great to have our final break in the City of Erie. Plenty to do today! Catch up on the ZZZZZZZZ! Get some local food, do laundry and clean the bike. And get ready for the last 8 days to Portsmouth, New Hampshire! There are also some interesting things to do here in Erie beyond the catchup stuff. A number of folks were going on a bike ride out to Prescott Point Park and the beach. Others are taking a ferry ride to the point. Sandy, Steve and Steve had a little more time to find the local Starbucks, a daily event. Others walked down to Lake Erie to check out the local seafood restaurants. Many went to the Theater, some across the street to the Erie Players Theater and their musical tribute to Frank Sinatra, �My Way,� Others to �Cat on a Hot Tin Roof� WHEW.......... Everyone had a great day! So far we�ve ridden 39 days, come 3,200 miles and climbed over 80,000 feet. We�re all looking forward to slowing down a little and savoring this last week. Before you know it we�ll be in New Hampshire! Overheard today, �Anyone want to go for a bike ride?� �Where are we eating NEXT!� �Hey I can�t find a DQ on the map!� posted 2005-07-19 | 13:26:44 | article number: 6