Friday July 17, 2009

RAIN AND OTHER ADVENTURES. Today I rode on the “Western Reserve Greenway” trail. Some really progressive cities, counties and bicycling associations are acquiring old railroad bed routes and then making a walking, biking, running, rollerblading trail. The trails are great: pretty, shaded and an excellent way to avoid competition with automobiles for road space.
I passed an Amish farmhouse and barn today. In the yard was a group of young boys playing happily. What was really striking though was the clothes line. It had a pulley so the clothes went clear up to the top of the barn. She could hang the clothes down low but dry them high in the wind. This lady is still using sun power to dry her clothes rather than a gas or electric dryer. There was a whole string of levi’s progressively increasing in size.
I also got chased by a pack of 10 or 12 rotweiller dogs. They were big, I estimate 60 – 80 lbs. And they were aggressive. I think they wanted to eat me and since I did not want to be eaten I pedaled fast through that area.
There were some pretty impressive thundershowers during the day and I had to finish the day riding on US 6. It is a high speed highway with only one lane each way and no shoulder on the road.
I biked over 50 miles today and camped at a campground in Montville Ohio.