Day 27

                                                                        Day 27
                                                          Wooster, OH to Warren, OH
                                                            98 miles, Avg speed 17.3

     This had the makings of a good day.  The sky was overcast, the winds were light but from the west, the mileage was subcentury, and there was only a 20% chance of rain.  The major warning for the day was to be aware of roads in poor condition.  This indeed was a well heeded warning for indeed there were quite a few miles where your bike was rattling so much you weren't sure if your eyeballs were going to pop out or the bike was going to fall apart.  Neither happened.  Much of the time it was just a matter of navigating around the poorest sections of the road.  Fortunately, traffic was light so this wasn't much of a problem.
     The countryside has changed a bit in the last couple of days.  There are still farms, but no longer 30-40 miles of them before you get into a town.  Indeed, there's now housing developments, and upscale houses intermixed with the farmland.  The nicest parts of it look like Medina back home.   Also, today I saw something I haven't seen since the beginning of the trip.....other cyclists.  There are indeed people, other than ourselves, who like to get out and ride their bikes. 
     I felt really good today.  Perhaps it was the extra 1/2 hour of sleep that I successfully lobbied for yesterday and then unabashedly claimed the credit.  Perhaps it was the fact that for the first time in at least a week, I was able to cycle with just a short sleeved jersey and bike shorts.  Whatever it was, I felt pretty strong on the bike today and in spite of the crummy roads, I managed to ride comfortably fast.  I was the first to the lunch spot which I think is a first for me on this trip.  I was also one of the first to finish and since the luggage van hadn't arrived rode my bike over to Coldstone Creamery where I and a few others enjoyed some shakes.
     Tonight was a special treat.  On the cue sheet, there will frequently be restaurants listed that will be near our destination hotel.  Today, for the first time "The Olive Garden" was listed.  I could almost think of nothing else all day.  During the lunch SAG I casually mentioned that I was planning on going to the "OG" tonight.  I needed to explain that at home, to add an air of sophistication to what may be one of the greatest restaurants in the history of man, we refer to the "Olive Garden" as the "OG."  Once the buzz got going,  almost everyone wanted to be apart of the 'in' crowd going to the "OG."   However, when we got to the hotel, there was no sign of the "OG".  The person at check in told us that it was one mile away.  Now what's interesting about our group is that in spite of the fact that we are cycling 100 and sometimes more miles a day, the thought of actually using our legs and walking more than 100 yards at days end to a restaurant is simply out of the question.  Biking there is also out of the question as this would involve biking shoes, biking shorts, etc.  Well, after thinking about this restaurant all day, I had a hankering for the "OG" and I was even willing to walk there if necessary.  I checked on Google Maps and it was 0.7 miles.  This still seemed like a lot, but I told some others in the group that if we took a short cut, it was no more than 1/2 mile.   In addition, I put my reputation on the line, by insisting that nobody would be disappointed if we went there.  Well, I managed to get 9 of us to go.  The walk did seem far, and there was the slightest hint of grumbling that I could discern on the way over.  That said, indeed, everyone was pleased with the plentiful food and that special ambiance that only an Olive Garden can provide.  I'm now on a roll.  Yesterday it was lobbying for today's extra half hour of sleep.  Today it was a gastronomic home run with the Olive Garden.  Tomorrow????  I'm thinking about it. 

The strange sight of other cyclists on the road

Ohio Landscape

Ohio's answer to Paris-Roubaix

Scenic Ohio country road (in poor condition)

The original Ironman

True bliss at the "OG"

 -Grinner