DAY 8 - ESCAPE FROM CLEVELAND

After wishing Alan and his family good-bye in the morning, I was off to tackle Cleveland! 

The Northern Tier route splits in Cleveland, the main route allowing one to stay near the lake and the alternate goes south into the fancier neighborhoods.  Since I was closer to the alternet route I only had to go a couple miles before hooking up with it, but not before decending al the way into a river valley and then having to climb back out of it!

The route took me past many large, old school mansions, most probably built in the first half of the 1900's.  It was nice because there wasn't a lot of traffic in these areas, and the only people I saw outside in the middle of this workday were gardeners and other workers working on the properties. 

I eventually met back up to the main route along the lake and cycled past the Rock n' Roll hall of fame and the Cleveland Brows stadium.  I continued on along the shore as I saw the large buildings of Cleveland get smaller and smaller.

I made it to Rocky River and stopped off for a late lunch.  The skies were darkening and I knew there was an incoming thunderstorm.  I put on my raingear and pushed ahead, until about 4 miles down the road in Bay View with lightning in the distance I knew something big was coming.  I ducked under a park pavilion and planned on waiting for it to pass.

It was then that I recieved a text from Sam Patterson, a docter who I contacted earlier in the day for hosting in Vermilion, his office was right down the road and he came to see if I wanted a ride to his place.  I figured I could handle the 20 miles as now the storm was mostly passed, but he was very nice and asked if he could take my panniers so I could enjoy a little faster of a ride.  I took him up on his offer and he said he and his wife Susan would be waiting for me when I got there.

Riding my bike without all the gear on it was just night-and-day different.  I was amazed at how fast I could climb hills.  It will be very interesting when I complete this trip and go back home and jump on my unburdened road bike.

When I reached Sam and Susan's home I was once again greeted with a beer, a shower, and a warm meal.  They made some fantastic indian food with chicken and Sam has some extra sauce to tune up the heat on it to a respectable amount.  I met Sam's son and his friend who just started watching the second season of Game of Thrones, and we talk a little about how great a show it was and his friend still couldn't believe that they killed off one of the main characters in the first season.  I ended up hanging out with Sam for most of the night, he showed me his bikes, he had several great custom bikes and a foldable one that he was going to take on the KATY trail with his wife at the end of the month.  I told him how I was also going to do it and asked him to tell me how it went and if there were anything I should watch out for if he ends up on it before I get there.

As it always happens, before we knew it, it was almost midnight and time for sleep.  I laid on the bed in his guest room with the windows slightly open and just fell asleep on top of the bed.

Start: Chesterland, OH
End: Vermilion, OH
Distance: 66.8 miles