9th May 2018 Wednesday – What a start

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Hello Everybody!
Route: Barnesville to Buckeye KOA Campsite
For the non-mathematicians out there:
Distance: 85 miles (Total 687)
Average speed: 10.6mph
Calories: 2,989
Cycling time: 8h 09min
Average cadence: 65 rpm
Climb: 4,669ft, Descent: 4,938ft
Temperament: Easy boy, down, down
Aver Temp: 12C, Max temp 17C

[EDITOR NOTE: photos added for the last two days]

Early start after nice brekkie from Paula – the usual of eggs on toast. I’ve had that for at least 5 days so far and I’m not bored of it yet. I did have a final coffee….. Ruth?

I managed to get in 35 miles in 2 hours and 35 minutes, which given I am carrying around a whole host of heavy things was quite an achievement if I say so myself. It had absolutely nothing to do with the first 25 miles being downward facing but you take whatever luck throws your way.

Do you like the "artistic" cycle shot? I did it to show just how long, straight and unchanging these roads can be. Luckily my mind has always wondered so I manage to stay reasonable compos mentis - which I think is a Greek mint sweet somewhere?

I also saw lots of interesting things today – not all positive as you can see.

WHY ???????? I see these things quite a bit.
They also never seem to move.

This is where big pipes come to die

Better times

Better times



Buckeye camping site (a KOA one) was not as inviting as the professionally taken and then "photoshotted" (it's a word, just leave it alone) pictures in their brochure. It was a little dingy in my view, the internet code did not work and I had bullfrogs, no not for dinner, but for close friends throughout the night. They make a strange noise, not dissimilar to when Ruth has had a particularly strong G&T with too many olives in. Now that I think about it, the smell…..… [EDITOR NOTE: no best leave that one alone I think].

Anyway the tent performed very well as we had a fairly decent thunderstorm during the night. After about 30 minutes in I wondered what had happened to my mobile, tablet and battery pack that I had left outside to charge from the provided mains.. oh dear! Not, oh dear, no … as I had taken the opportunity to place all devices in a plastic carrier bag, so all was good in the morning.

I did have a few dog(s) attacks during the day and it seems to be averaging about 2-3 per day. The technique of stopping and getting bike between me and dog seems to work, so long as I do not fall over in the slight hurry to dismount. When I do manage to go arse airborne I invariably hurt the ends of my fingers – in one such escapade I had some grit lodged in the end of my finger. So I got my Swiss Army knife and cut it out, like a very brave boy who does not cry, even though it did hurt A LOT! Some attacks are OK, some are scary and the odd one, well I sometimes loos a lot weight very quickly, shall we say.


Best Regards, Al

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