Spring 1997 - Cincinnati to Yukon
Journals - 9 April 1997
Day 9 - Trail, Adams County, OH
9 April 1997 (brrrr! very cold; mileage = check map) -- X - We slept in
separate full-mummy configurations last night, cuz it be cold. The
thermometer right outside the tent says 27 degrees. The frog puddle has a
layer of ice on it, too. April is still lying in her sleeping bag, because
she's afraid to come out into the cold. When I got up, since my clothes
were out on the bike, I went out minus pants. Ooooh, cold! A - Hoping it
would warm up proved to be silly. We finally started packing the bikes up
to leave for Portsmouth. I believe it was around 1:15 when we left; we said
good-bye to Duff's, rode down the drive, and checked out with Lil Fite, who
said it's supposed to get even colder tonight. Great! I'm thinking about
camping in a hotel! Things going through my mind as we started off ... "I
made it for over a week! A hotel should be allowed by now. I wonder how
much a beauty salon charges just to wash and dry your hair (hopefully, they
wouldn't mind the rash on the back of my neck). Maybe a shower and clean
clothes and a warm bed would help me be happier,' etc...." I've been very
sad for the last few days. I don't know if it's because all the
anticipation of the trip is over and now we're doing it now what's to look
forward to? I'm afraid Chris and I may have to say farewell at the end of
this trip and that thought does make me very sad and even though I try not
to think of it, I do so often. I feel very grungy also. Completely
unattractive -- smelly, greasy, hairy, not to mention cranky at myself for
not being able to ride like I think I should be able to. I keep having to
stop and rest because my legs hurt or I'm out of breath. It's so very
annoying. I wanted to be really good at this and really impress Chris (and
myself) but instead I'm being whiny and pathetic. However ... FUN was had
TODAY! As a follow-up to crying because I was too scared to ride down a
steep gravel hill, I decided to give this dirt path we rather accidentally
encountered a try. It seemed rather scary at first, but after getting used
to the style of riding, it was an absolute BLAST! We followed a ridge along
for at least 4 or 5 miles, but hopefully we'll figure that out tomorrow. We
put up the tent and had some Cream of Wheat (yummy!) for dinner. We just
got all settled in the tent. It's not quite dark yet and we just heard what
we think was a deer go around us. We'll probably hear a lot more noises and
it's so quiet, we'll notice them!
![[Bike]](./only2500b.gif)
