Coffee Break

Today we started riding again, leaving the Cleveland area on our way to Chicago. At first, the roads weren't that great, but as we headed west they started getting better. Even better, we finally started hitting long stretches of flat ground. We were cruising along at the 20-25 mph range with almost no effort, making some great time. For a bicycle.

Midway through the trip, we took a break in Milan (Milan, OH, the birthplace of Thomas Edison, not the city in Italy). The gas station we stopped at was closed, so we headed to a coffee shop across the street. I met two ladies outside who wanted to know why I was wearing the strange outfit. I explained, and then, seeing that Austin was coming, excused myself and headed inside. There I met Stacey Reer, the proprietor of the Coffee Station, who offered to give us a sample of strawberry smoothies, and while we were talking, one of the women from outside offered to pay for whatever we wanted.


So we got some cookies. Stacey was great; she called two local papers who asked for our press releases, and she kept on trying to feed us. After a great stop, we got back on the road to Tiffin. We were biking along, our speed was good, and we hadn't gotten lost, so we were feeling pretty good. Of course, that's when we missed a turn, going six miles into town instead of to the home of our hosts the Thomas family, where a reporter was waiting to interview us. So we turned around and headed back. After our interview, we had some dinner, played some games, and changed our bike chains. Today we only biked 70 miles, but it should be a good warmup for tomorrow, about 115 miles (or a little over 120 after we inevitably get lost). Thankfully, it's supposed to be flat.

~ Tom