Wooster Ohio to Niles Ohio

6 hours 46 minutes to ride 94.2 miles.

Because of the monsoon like rain last night we did not see any of the city of Wooster. Watching the weather channel there were actually flood warnings in some of the counties we had ridden through yesterday.

Leaving today we start a 2 mile climb right from the hotel up "Founders Avenue" where there a bunch of the original mansions. Very hot and humid today already and it will be a long day in the saddle. All kinds of directions to take us out through the countryside rather than on the major roads. It is always difficult when we stop and someone asks about the trip as they measure distance that they know on the interstate whereas we always have to find alternative and generally longer routes. We were told there would be most of the climbing before the first SAG. At mile 22 we crossed a major road and then started a descent which turned in to a bit of a thrill ride as it was a steep descent but at the bottom
The town of Fulton has bricks not asphalt as a road surface. Everyone traveling very fast when we hit this and trying to make sure you didn't crash. The tandem was there before us and goes even faster down hill Jeff lost control but managed to get to the grass before he and Roberta fell. Luckily they were not hurt and no damage to the bike. People at the store could not have been nicer but when asked where we were going indicated they had never heard of Niles which is just 70 miles away. On to the SAG without further incident.

Leaving the SAG we had a real treat with 7 miles of fresh asphalt to ride on. We still have to be careful with all the turns we are making because they are not always marked that well. We then run in to a detour which has been marked by the staff although a couple of riders missed the orange markers and got temporarily lost. Just back on the route when we turned and ran in to
more road work with the putting down chip seal. This is a thin layer of tar which then has gravel put on top and a rolling machine rolls over but still leaves lots of loose gravel. This is very dangerous for bikes. We cautiously ride up the wrong side of the road almost stopping when approaching traffic comes. The tandem is unlucky enough to meet someone who values his car more than them and forces them off road and onto the grass. Everyone eventually gets to the second SAG.

Some people chose to have lunch but with 30 miles still to go we had snacks and carried on. Leaving we had a tailwind for about 10 miles before we turned off onto a bike path. It was really nice to be away from all traffic except for other bikes for 8 miles. Getting into the outskirts of Niles we met a few drivers who were very impatient and did not like bicycles. About 2 miles from the hotel a van in a hurry cut around us and almost hit Barry who was leading. At the next light he was 2 cars ahead of us! We all made it to the hotel safe and sound.