My First Taste of Touring

Hello and good afternoon everyone.  Sorry for not having any sort of updates over the weekend, but for once I was on my bicycle nearly the whole time!

As I mentioned before, this weekend I had plans to visit Columbus and see a friend.  I'm glad to say that everything went well, or as well as it could have, and I made it there and back in mostly one piece!
 

First of all, I'd like to thank Winston for offering a place to crash and ordering my drunk ass one of the best sandwiches I've had in a really long time!  It takes a good friend to know what to order when I throw them my wallet and simply say, "I'm hungry, order me some bullshit!"

Moving on, the whole point of the trip was to get out of town, spend some quality time on the saddle, and go to my happy zen place.  Let me tell you, it is a lot easier to do that when you know exactly where you are going.  As many of you may know, navigation is not my strong suit.  This led to some interesting experiences on both the way there and the way back.

My ride to Columbus, if you look closely, you will see my accidental detour.

On the way there I hop on my bike and take the path directly to Xenia, Ohio.  No problem, I do this path nearly every other weekend.  I know it like the back of my hand now.  I head out that way, ignoring the "trail closed" signs.  There is some drainage work being done about 1.5 miles outside of Xenia, however they have done nothing other than put up "trail closed" signs.  No wonder it takes the state so long with their roadworks.

My bike at Xenia Station.  Kind of a cool little place.  Cool, yet confusing.

In any case, I get to Xenia, consult Google Maps and try to get my bearings.  For those of you that do not know, Xenia is a pretty decent sized hub for all these bike trails.  You can take about half a dozen different paths from the station.  I figure out directions to the trail I want and head on my way. 

Cedarville is the next town, and it shouldn't be too far away, maybe an hour at the most.  So I'm biking, and biking, when I think to myself, "I should have been through Cedarville already."  Just as I was thinking that, the farmlands start changing to the scenery of a small town.  I mumble to myself, "Great, but I must've been slow to get here."  I approach and the sign reads "Welcome to Jamestown." Shit.

I pull up Google Maps again and realize the trail I was on had taken me southeast instead of northeast.  I decide to embark on the route that is suggested to get back on the correct trail.  An extra 14 miles for my detour so far.  The rest of the trip there was relatively uneventful, except for the highway.  God, that was frightening.  The miles came and went, and I had a lot of time to take in the scenery and think about life in general.  It was actually quite brilliant and just what I needed from this trip.

A pretty typical view I had along the country roads of my detour.  It was nice and peaceful, until Google had me bike on the shoulder of US Route 35 for two miles.

I ended up taking a short pit stop outside of London, Ohio, not too far from Columbus.  I sat down, ate some trail mix and refilled my water bottle.  While I was doing that I met a guy named Paul.  About my age, in his mid twenties, and on a fantastic carbon Felt bicycle that gave me some bike envy.  His wheel set cost more than my entire bike.  We set off at the same time together since he was on his way to Columbus also.

Those next 15 miles, before we split ways, were possibly some of the fastest I've ever done.  We averaged 22.5mph and I was completely drained when I found the road I had to turn off on.  That being said, he was totally impressed that I kept up, messenger bag, entry level bike and all.  I didn't even draft and elected to ride alongside him.  We swapped numbers and he told me to call him about some higher level amateur races in Cincinnati that he competes in.  I may take him up on that next spring.

This was my view for the better part of 40 miles.  Straight flat, and partly cloudy.  Not hateful.

Entering Columbus was an interesting experience to say the least.  I don't mind riding on the roads at all, country roads are excellent fun, and the city streets aren't bad either.  The worst is going through the suburbs, and unfortunately I had no other option.  To be on a road with no shoulder as people in their minivans and SUVs whizz by doing 15 over the posted speed limit is ridiculous.  Some come as close as possible to you, and you have to wonder what the hell they are thinking.  The next five miles were precisely this.  People in the suburbs are in such a big rush everywhere they go.  I think sometimes they forget that the person on a bike is exactly that, a person.

Yes, I am moving slower than you, and yes it might suck to wait the extra thirty seconds until you can SAFELY pass me.  I'm a person though too, I've got family, friends, and loved ones too.  I try to be more than polite, and even pull to the right when it's safe to pass, but you still buzz right by me endangering my life.  Yes, sometimes I lose my cool, and a string of expletives may escape my mouth and into the ears of your children, but maybe, just maybe, it's kind of deserved in some cases.  To any of my non cycling friends out there, keep this in mind.  I just want to arrive safely in one piece.  Please, just give bicyclists a little extra room, it is VERY appreciated. 

I any case, Columbus itself was great, there were bike lanes everywhere and everyone in the city was extra courteous.  It was great seeing my friend, and being able to walk to so many different places in town.  I ended up going to bed relatively early since I still had a return trip the next morning.

Leaving Columbus Sunday morning was... an ordeal.  I got out of the city just fine, but ended up getting lost several times in the suburbs back to the bike trail.  Of course, the suburban drivers were as careless with their passing as they were on the way in and the stress probably shaved a few years off my life.  In any case, I awesomely turned a 15 mile trip into a 30 mile trip back to the bike trail.  Little did I know things were about to go from mediocre to pretty crappy.

A rolling selfie, because I heard that's the new trend.  You can tell by my general happiness that I haven't experienced issues yet.

After I got on the trail and had passed from Franklin to Madison County, I started to experience some problems.  Unfortunately the country and suburban roads of Franklin county are maintained less than ideally.  So, as I'm on the path about ten miles to London, Ohio, my front tire decides to blow out rather violently.  It was loud!  Like shotgun loud.  These are newer tires, and I know the sidewalls and beads are good.  Oh well, I probably didn't get the tube in 100% correctly.

I replace the tube, since I have one extra tube and my patch kit with me.  I use one of my two CO2 cartridges to fill it up, leaving one left.  I head on my way, until about four miles later, what decides to happen?  Yup, I wasn't paying attention and ran over what I can only describe as a "pile of bullshit in the middle of the path, with sharp things."  I have two options at this point.  I can use my last cartridge and try to find a leak and patch it, or I can walk my way into town and try to find an air pump and another tube.  I elected to take the walk, since I don't like using the last of my supplies.

Now at this point, you might say, "But Steve, I told you before you left to call if anything happened where you might need a ride!"  Maybe you forget who you are talking to, but I am stubborn as can be, and really wanted this trip to be self-reliant.

This shit, all damn afternoon.

Six miles on foot with a packed messenger bag and a bike with a flat front tire is actually quite a lot.  It took me several hours to walk into town.  I elected to head to the Wal-Mart, since there were no bike shops in town.  

As I'm walking through the neighborhoods to Wal-Mart, a guy from his driveway shouts at me, "Hey, you got a flat?"  

"I sure do!" I replied, and he motions for me to come over.  Being the only other option was to walk another two miles to the Wal-Mart, I agreed.  Walking seriously sucks, especially in biking shoes.  I head over and he asks if I need a tube.  I really only needed an air pump so I could find and patch the hole, but he insisted.  His name was Scott, and he was visiting his father.  He had driven all the way from Denver.  Out of his Subaru, he pulls out a bag and tosses me a tube.  He says that he needs an extra one, so he's going to head to the Wal-Mart to pick one up.  He leaves me with his pump and tube in his father's driveway.

I end up patching my tube and getting it all reseated on the rim by the time he gets back.  He insists that I take another tube just in case.  He tells me he's going to head out for a ride later in the afternoon, and gives me directions back to the bike path.  I thank him again and head out.

An itty-bitty tunnel outside of London, Ohio.

Of course, in true Steve fashion, I get lost in London.  This city has like 6 streets, and I know, it's kind of impressive that I managed to lose myself, even with Google Maps AND directions from someone.  Here I ride the same streets over and over mumbling for the next hour as I try to find my way back.  I eventually do, and continue on my way back home.  I'm kinda disheartened from everything that just happened, so I'm riding at a very casual pace until I feel a bit brighter.

Out of nowhere, Scott pulls up along side of me and tells me that he is visiting his brother the town over.  We join up for the next 20 miles, and they go by much quicker.  It's always nice to ride by yourself, but sometimes meeting these different people and chatting along the way makes it better too.  We talked about everything, from life back home, to the latest bike tech.  It's so weird how a simple machine like a bicycle can bring people together.  Here I was pedaling alongside a fifty-something year old guy, and it didn't matter, it's like we already had a bond.  We parted ways in the little village and I thanked him yet again.  Scott from Denver, if you're ever reading this, you made my day.  Thanks a million again!

The rest of the trip was uneventful, up until I was about 10 miles outside of Xenia.  Yup, you guessed it, my shitty glueless patch had come undone.  My front tire was leaking air at a slow, but sure rate.  Rather than messing around with another patch that I knew would come undone in a short amount of time, I chose to use the tube that Scott had given me.  With 25 miles left to go, I put the tube in, used my last CO2 cartridge and set off with a prayer.

I made it, and I'm proud to say that I did.  I might've gotten home 5 hours later than I had planned, but what good adventure doesn't have it's own mishaps?  Next time I will be more prepared.  Touring tires with more puncture resistance, a few extra tubes, more CO2, and a hand pump all come to mind.  I'd also bring a long sleeve shirt since my trip back into the wind was bearable, but quite chilly.

I finished!  Slow, due to MANY mishaps.

I enjoyed myself immensely and I wouldn't change anything about the trip.  I've come away with some quality thinking time about life and who I am, met a few new friends along the way, got to see an old friend, and learned quite a bit about bicycle touring in the process.  Even though this was not technically a "tour," I still consider it to be my first step into this world.  I can't wait to get back in the saddle for my next trip!