Spring 1997 - Cincinnati to Yukon
Journals - 14 April 1997
Day 14 - Cowan Lake, OH
14 April 1997 (very cold AM; sunny and warming PM; mileage + 44) -- A - We
woke up to frost covering everything. It was quite spectacular! Our black
panniers had this layer of frost -- it looked neat. The tent was covered
and sparkled in the just rising sunlight. Very pretty. We got packed up and
went over to the cozy warm bathrooms and as I sat on the toilet, my helmet
frost started melting and dripping all over me. It was funny. We hit
Hillsboro just before 9 and got some donuts and coffee and sat on a statue
base in front of a jail with a sign "Absolutely no talking to prisoners
through cell windows by order of sheriff." Hey, no problem! Lots of people
asked what we were doing in this town, probably the most comments we've
gotten yet. We stopped at the library because Chris was having problems
with his brakes again. He took them apart and I think they are better now
-- he tied his pannier forward a little. He may need the low-rider racks.
The librarian was outside and talked to us -- we went in and used the
restrooms and Chris tried to make copies but had difficulty doing so once
it was finally his turn (tax day tomorrow). We rode on some nice back
roads. Boy, was it nice to not have any mountain roads to climb today!
Chris got upset that I wasn't drafting on those back roads. Finally a time
when there was no traffic, no awful hills, and I could relax and look
around. I can't look around if I'm watching his tire so I don't hit him or
fall back too far. I guess I'll get better, but I finally felt so free
today, I just wanted to look around. I'm still working on getting my seat
adjusted; it's getting better. We used the radios today; they're fun to
use! It's nice to be able to say something other than "WHAT?!" We wore the
super cold footwear again today. I have a hard time getting my feet in the
pedals with them. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to go back to cycling
shoes. We are at Cowan Lake Park now. The camping fee is $15 -- that seems
pretty outrageous! We will try to not have to pay it. Chris decided he'd
like to go home for a few days. I wanted to do that before and had given up
on it, but I'll be happy to do it! We can make some adjustments and get
some stuff we want and let people buy us some good food! It'll be fun!
Chris is off taking a shower now. It's still pretty chilly, but I guess
I'll go take one when he gets back. I think I stink. X - The showers were
almost worth $15. April's drafting just frustrates me because she'll ride
for miles about 3 lengths back. That just drags our miles out. Why not nab
that efficiency and bring along a toaster or something? She'll hopefully
figure it out when the winds get tough. I rode her bike a bit at the
campsite and compared to mine, it's light! We're so close to being even and
drafting would do it. My huge #1 problem right now is the same as it's been
for 3 months kickstand! What do you do with a 120+-lb beast of burden on 2
wheels when you're not riding it? Lean it against a post? It's almost
easier to just keep riding than to manhandle it into such a position. Oh
ya, 90% of our stops, there is nothing to lean it against. And despite my
best machine shop efforts, my actual kickstand (Greenfield) is about shot
(bearing) already. I have a few ideas, though. A - My shower was very
satisfying and I dried my hair with the hand dryer! Not too bad!
![[Bike]](./only2500b.gif)
