Day 40 -- Richmond, IN to Marysville, OH

Miles: 105.68
Total Miles: 2979.74
Time: 6:13
Average Speed: 17.0 mph
Max Speed: 30.9 mph
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 14
Elevation Gain: 2220 ft
Weather: Low wind but very hot and humid
Today was our official back to home, crossing to Ohio, meeting some friends and family day. The only bad part was that we had a century in the heat during all of this fun. We woke up at 5:00, ate breakfast at 5:30, loaded at 6:30, then began our trek into Ohio. It only took us 2.7 miles into the ride in order to reach the Ohio sign. We made sure we were the first ones there so that we wouldn't get held up by everyone else. We quickly got a picture then continued our ride into Ohio. We started in Preble County and rode on some state routes, but once we got a few more miles in, we started getting into the back roads of Ohio. About 5 miles after the sign, we were cruising really fast in front of everyone, then Fran got a flat. He told us to go on, but we decided to stop and help him change it. We got passed by every single rider, so we went from first to last with one flat.

Knowing that we had a group of people to hang around with at about mile 50, we decided to book it and make our way closer to the front. I was going about 18 mph trying to catch up, then Wade passed me and said, "I think it's my turned to lead." He picked it up to about 22 mph, and that's when we started passing riders like crazy. We eventually made our way up to Gerrard, one of the staff members, and he pulled us at 22 mph the rest of the way to the first sag stop. By the time we made it to the first sag, we had passed everyone except the big dogs up front. To make up some time on them, we made it a quick sag stop and rode out with them. We rode behind Phil for the next ten miles until about mile 49, then he told Wade and I to go to the front so people would think we were the fastest... We're not. Anyway, we rode up to a large crowd of crazy, out of control, lunatics that were cheering for us. We didn't know who they were, but we decided to stop anyway. I soon realized that it was my co-workers, friends, family, and Wade's buddies.

Wade's girlfriends made him signs that spelled out his name, and some of his other friends showed up later, including one friend who had a foot the size of a pineapple because he got stung by a bee. My friends were there with food and drinks, and Scott Vageves even brought me a beer, Nugget Nectar. The Choice One crowd was showing off the new Choice One Wear that I will get to wear in 2 weeks when I come back to work... that is, if they will let me come back. They were telling our new bike friends they made more money when I was gone, I guess that's a good thing. It was nice to see the Choice One people again. Scott, one of the riders from Boston, went up to my Mom and told her she did a terrible job in raising me. The bad part was that my mom thought it was funny...Thanks, Mom. My brother Jerry even drove all the way down from Leipsic with my Mom and Mother-in-law, so all my brothers and sisters went out of their way to see me on this trip except Nancy... just kidding. Fran even found a friend who hates Wal-mart as much as him. I'm not going to mention any names but did you have a good time Tisha? We had a lot of people come see us, and it was a very enjoyable time. Almost all of the other riders even stopped and had some food and drinks. Thank you to everyone who came, especially my wife Joan, who set most of it up. We both had a great time and loved see our friends and family. The other cyclists were still talking about it at the hotel tonight. If you want to see more pictures from the great party, go to choice one's website at http://www.choiceoneengineering.com/.

Anyway, after an hour and a half there, we were in last again, so we decided to head out. Wade's friends made an exit tunnel for us to go through... they're goofballs just like Wade. It took us a while to go any faster than 10 mph because we were so stiff, but the next 20 miles went fairly quickly. We rode with Adella after the so called, "Schroeder/Choice One Sag Stop," so Wade talked to her while I talked to Fran. It all went really well until we got into some chip and seal with a lot of seal. Since it was so hot, the seal was almost melting onto our tires. It was all sticky and it slowed us down a lot. Not only does the heat make us hot, but it makes the roads harder to ride too. The last 30 miles or so were very tough, so we made our way slowly and steadily. When we got into Marysville, there was an ice cream shop that was brand new and hadn't opened yet. We stepped inside to see if there was any way to get ice cream. One of the ladies in there told us that we could get some, but we wouldn't be allowed to pay for them since they weren't open yet... I guess we had to settle for not paying for our ice cream this time. I have to say that it tastes much better when it's free. Anyway, we ate our ice cream and rode the last 2 miles to the hotel to finish out our great day. THANKS TO ALL WHO MADE IT SPECIAL.