Day 23: Huntington to Grand Rapids

At this point in the trip, it would be more surprising if Will and Wes didn't ride a century. There would be a good paragraph or two detailing why it didn't happen. I'm sure the duo would be pretty sad if the streak ended.

After I wrote my blog yesterday, I gave Will the new Higher Gear Jersey. He was thrilled and insisted he put it on for the ride today. While he now had a new jersey, he lacked a functioning bike computer. So, I busted up to Fort Wayne to locate a bike shop, got the computer and busted back to the route for lunch.

Will and Wes rolled up to the vehicle parked in front of the government building in Paulding. The cyclists seemed only a tad tired and only a tad hungry. They had eaten lunch in a town prior to Paulding and were looking for a light snack. As usual, Will had his double stuff Oreos and cosmic brownies to keep him going. The air was quite humid as Wes filled up his water bottles again.

Most of the state parks in Ohio are along a river of some sort. The large rainstorms of the previous week have caused large flooding of rivers and consequently the closure of many state parks. However, at Independence Dam State park, the flood waters had receded enough to go for a quick run. I was excited to breakout my new shoes. The water over the dam was really high and still covered some part of the park. The mud and parts where the water receded had the stench of rotting plant and animal matter. By the end of the run I had gotten used to the smell, but my shoes had a brown coat of mud on them.

Leaving the state park, I followed the river north. I passed the Campbell's soup plant on the way. Finally, I located the team in Grand Rapids. From there, we picked up and drove back to the hotel a few miles down the road.