Jill's Bike Blog 6/22-6/23

6/22 Tue- Destination, Mason, OH (Biked 30 miles; total 504) Despite having to load everyone’s gear and 7 people into the van, we managed to get on the road by 8:00 am. Talking about sardines! Drove to Madison, IN to begin biking. As we drove there, the clouds turned black and looked threatening. Decided to start biking, and Karen would rescue us if there was a downpour. Fortunately the storm blew past us. The route all day would follow the Ohio River, so it was fairly flat riding. Mal complained of significant chafing from her seat, so sagged after ten miles. After 20 miles, I had a quick snack and headed on the trail again.

This is the second day in a row that I was a hero. Yesterday Mal and I gave a drink of water to a dehydrated dog and today I stopped and rescued a box turtle crossing the road from being smushed by a car by carrying it to the other side of the road.

I was feeling strong riding today, despite being the first day that we had a mild head wind. I took a pit stop at the Best Western Motel. Seemed like a very fancy hotel for in the middle of nowhere. Outside of Vevay, the route very congested with traffic, including tractor trailer trucks and there was no shoulder. I was glad that Mal decided to SAG. Down the road I realized what created the traffic. The route we were on crossed interstate 71 and s well, a large casino was further down the road. Karen came back to pick me up to take me to where Trevor and Bryce were stopping for lunch. I was somewhat reluctant because I didn’t want to stop riding, but decided to hop on board to not delay progress for everyone.

Ate lunch in a town pavilion overlooking the river. Ate our usual peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich. In the morning we decided we wanted to stop riding at 1:00 so we’d have time to do some sight seeing in Cincinnati, so we loaded up the bikes after our lunch. We stopped at a grocery store on the outskirts, and by the time we arrived in Cincinnati, it was 4:00 pm. Since the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center closed at 5:00, we decided to visit the Aquarium with Mat, Tessa and Mal since it closed at 8:00 pm. They designed it so you passed through glass tunnels submerged in the giant aquarium so it felt like you were under water. Pretty cool.

Ate dinner at a pizza place along the restored downtown walkway. The Buffalo chicken pizza was my favorite. Drove to King’s Island Resort Hotel where we stayed for two nights. Everyone quickly changed and jumped in the outside pool before it closed at 9:30. The kids then headed over to the indoor pool and Karen and I washed laundry.

6/23 Wed-Rest Day.Yeah! The kids ate breakfast and then took the shuttle to the King’s Island Amusement Park. Karen and I spent the morning chatting and then she worked on pictures and I worked on my blog. I called the Valley News back home for a telephone interview I had set up. Trevor, Bryce and Mal came back at 4:00 to eat since the food in the park was so expensive. Apparently just a hotdog was 8.00 bucks and a hamburger meal was 17.00. I took Mal and Bryce to a bike shop to get new seats since their seats were very uncomfortable. T, B, and M headed back to the amusement park until it closed at 10:00 pm. Mat & Tessa came back at 5:30 because Karen to drive him to meet his aunt & uncle who were picking him up for a two week stay at their house.