July 24th- The ride today was beautiful. Sun, sun, sun! Well, after I waited for two hours to get started due to the rain. But, once I rode ten miles, it was sunny and smooth sailing.My quest was to find a McDonald’s that had WiFi (internet) and an outlet for me to charge. I didn’t have any such luck, hence why you all have had to wait an extra day for these updates.
I made it into Ohio without any problem. It was a peaceful ride all day. I was quite thankful as I needed an upturn of weather to cheer me up. Not that I wasn’t in a good mood, but I really didn’t want to have to scream again at the Indians on the side of the road doing rain dances. (That is a double edged joke as I was riding into Cleveland, home of the Cleveland Indians.)
The day was pretty normal, nothing extraordinary occurred. I received more donations from curious people, handed out the website to a few others, and enjoyed a short nap by the side of the road. I even took my first sunset shot. It’s beautiful. Judge for yourself (see picture). My top speed was a meager 29.1 MPH as there were very few hills.
As I was riding closer and closer to Cleveland, I noticed a change of scenery. I started getting people calling me names from cars, others yelling at me, and then the worst, a group of teenagers trying to steal my bike. One of them jumped out and swung at me. Lucky for him he missed, because I’m like a rock now. He might have shattered his fist on my stone solid bike riding muscles. “How did you know they were trying to steal your bike?” you might ask. I think what gave it away was when one of the other teens said, “I like your bike. Give it to me or I’ll kill you.” Yeah, that was probably it.
Have no fear though; I did end up getting a hotel room to stay safely for the night almost immediately after that incident. But, I made sure it was far enough that the “mangy” teens couldn’t see me. The hotel had a lock on the door, so it was worth the $38 they charged. It would’ve been nice to have a trash can in the room, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. I propped the table against the door as an extra safety precaution (see picture). Also in that picture, you might notice the conversation written in permanent marker. I love it. Now I know “who’s playin’ who and who is the B#@%*”. I can’t wait to get to Toledo tomorrow night.
Daily Lesson #4: Drew Carrey was wrong; Cleveland doesn't rock, it throws rocks!
Wow! Can't say you're not having some interesting experiences! It was so nice to hear your voice this morning. All day, Dada and I have been talking about you and what you are doing. We are both so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteYour brother almost got his bike stolen this morning at 5:30 AM! Coincidence? Who knows. Strange - definitely!
Can't wait to see the pictures. Love you with all my heart. Give hugs to Uncle Bill from me!
HAHA! "Dada" :-) Gotta love the mama!
ReplyDeleteSo bro, Cleveland pretty much screwed any chances of me going there. Their loss. HA!
Glad to see you made it through your first big city.
Shouldn't the daily lesson for today be: "Plan your days to pass through big cities at 5 AM (while all the crazies are asleep) and never stop in any major cities for the night." ?????
Love ya,
Tim
It's funny that you mentioned in this post how your body has changed. I was thinking while reading the previous post,that you should have taken some before photos of you and your legs and then some along the way. As your mom mentioned, we almost got our bike stolen at 6 this morning. The cops just happened to be riding by so he left the bike and ran. 6 am is a really silly time to be stealing stuff though since a lot of people are awake at that time. Anyway, I'm glad we both had such good luck our bikes! Can't wait for pictures!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha.. Dada was a total typo!
ReplyDeleteHoney, please stop asking my bro for pictures of his legs.
ReplyDelete:')
I <3 this family!!
ReplyDeleteI am so green with envy at your experiences David. Am loving the stories, digging your selflessness and throwing a "peace" sign at those roughians!