Last night and all morning, we had visitors. We didn’t invite them and they wouldn’t go away. The first time I heard them, Greg and Becky got up and put most of the food into the truck. The second time, I heard something right outside my tent. I opened up the zipper and this big fat raccoon was pawing at my Osprey backpack. I put that and the rest of my biking stuff into the truck. The 3rd time, Jason and I heard them pawing at the hard shell cover on the truck so we got up and chased all 3 of them away. The fourth time, Jason and I heard one of them trying to open the Coleman stove. So I got up and chased him until he hopped into a canoe and got away. I was able to capture that action in the picture below. Ok, clearly that’s a decorative piece on my mantle. In reality, we were so tired at 4 am we just gave up. We had barely slept.
We finally got up, ate breakfast, and got the camp packed away. The only damage from the raccoons was the empty container of some mocha powder or something. All in all, not bad.
The bad news for the day was that Greg was feeling worse than he did yesterday. He sunk into the front seat of the truck, unable to ride again. We’re so bummed about it. Not having him riding with us has dampened all of our spirits.
The good news for the day was that by our 11 am start, the sun was out, the temps were getting warmer, and the wind was 1/2 as strong as the day before. The weather all day was just about perfect!
I haven’t figured out this new Garmin Edge 830 I bought for this trip. I had the pre-planned route for Day 4 loaded, but the expected start was the Park entrance, so the Garmin tried to route us over a lake to get to the starting point. We had to back track and find our own way out of the Park. Even then, I made a wrong turn immediately. What’s another couple of miles? Ugh!
Today’s riding was all paved roads. We were primarily on Route 162 all day except for a few turns on and off of it. The shoulder wasn’t great and there was a lot of traffic, but the drivers in this area were fantastic. Almost all of them would give us plenty of room as they passed.
I thought this picture summed up most of the day. There were a lot of farms surrounding the road we were riding on. This little town of Spencer was founded in 1823. I’ll bet it hasn’t changed much, except for the roads and the cars on them.
Chatham was the 2nd town we saw today. This appeared to be another 4 corner town. I was intrigued by this building that looks like it’s been there forever. With some quick research when I started this post, I found this article from the Ohio Traveler. It mentions that the building dates from 1834 and has been a General Store since 1854.
Copley was the last small town we went through. It was much more than a four corner town. It seems like we have been right next to or close to railroad tracks this whole trip through Ohio. So it seemed fitting to capture this old train station and rail car.
Just East of Akron was our destination for today. I was thrilled that we were able to ride another rail trail,The Freedom Trail, running right through Akron. This is a crappy picture, but there is a caboose on the far left and the sign on the train reads: Atlantic & Great Western Railway.
We changed up the accommodations for the night! With Greg feeling lousy, and the rest of us exhausted, we decided to abandon the campground in favor of a Holiday Inn Express. Great news there — they have HOT showers. I needed that in a bad way. Sleeping on a bed without raccoons pawing at your riding gear sounds awesome too!
Jason and I had a great day of riding in near perfect weather. We logged another 58 miles (although the plan was only 52.1). We have a big day tomorrow, with a 72 mile ride. A lot will depend on Greg’s status, but all we can do right now is play it by ear. Cheers Greg — I hope this night in a comfy bed will work wonders!
Those are forgotten towns, we forget about them and the people who call them home! Keep the positive attitude.
Wild Man!
Garlic soup Greg! Hope
You are feeling better tomorrow!
I hope you feel better soon Greg!!
Looks like so much fun. What a wonderful trip! Have fun and enjoy this family time together. Hope you feel better Greg
Anne Reeves
Midnight bandits! Hopefully you all get better sleep tonight and no bandits.
yes! The hotel was a good answer!!!
I told you that you had too many campgrounds in the plan. Good move going to the Holiday Inn Express!
One campground is too many for you JB! You’re not a credible source for that critique 🙂
You know me too well!
Dennis
We are really enjoying your posts!! What a trip of a lifetime! All your research ad time spent on this is really paying off!! Such a blast to follow along with you!
I’m so glad you are enjoying it. I’m having a blast doing it and writing about it.
Love the pics of small town America. Sending positive thoughts ya’lls way!
yay! Thanks!
I know what you mean about raccoons. I have one in my backyard that is relentless. I feed some feral cats and this thing is eating everything so I’ve been chasing it. I hope Greg gets better and I love the pics and the history you about behind them. Safe travels!
I had a very large bird feeder at my last house. It was all I could do to keep this raccoon from getting on it and eating all the seed — tall pole, greased pole, shield underneath, and motion detector. I finally got a live trap, caught the enormous beast and transported it 25 miles away. They are amazingly good at what they do.
Hope you feel better Greg!
I am enjoying the blog, D!
I found a recipe for raccoon tacos but I would not recommend it…
I have a camp shower I would have happily lend to you but Holiday Inn is a better alternative for sure.
Enjoy the ride, I am enjoying the read 📚
LOL — I’ve had enough of anything raccoon related. Camping is out for the next phase. Glad you are enjoying the blog.