Tales From The Trail -- Pennsylvania & Ohio - By Gary  6/29/05. 

Pennsylvania – A land of “Almosts”

The Park that Wasn’t – One of the stops I was looking forward to in Pennsylvania was a two day visit to Presque Isle State Park, it’s a huge park located off the shores of Erie, PA. Well, it’s the greatest park that almost was! Imagine a park with a 13 mile loop of wonderful paved roads, over 10 huge beaches, thousands of cyclists, motorcyclists, RV’s, pretty girls on rollerblades and hordes of sun bums, This park has thousands of acres of forest and miles of shore line… But not one Camp Site! Presque Isle SP is a day use only park! Unbelievable!

Can I see some ID?
So there I am riding a fully loaded touring bike on the roads of this gigantic forested island, I’ve rode about 4 miles without seeing a single “camping” sign so I decide to stop by the park office to ask directions. Ranger Friendly gets out of his truck and I inquire about camping facilities and to my disbelief he tells me “That is the single most often asked question we hear! Sorry, but this is a day use park.” After some small talk about possible private camping near the entrance of the park I ride off just a little disappointed at the lack of camping “on the island”

So I find the campground at the entrance of the park, disappointment # 2 here we come… If you like jamming your 200 foot long Monster RV right next to your neighbors 200 foot long monster RV (each complete with Satellite Dish, Big Screen TV, Monster Stereo System, blow up pool, 12 kids, 2 Dogs… you get the idea) and if you like drunk people singing and raising ruckus all night then this is your kind of place! Sorry, but that isn’t my idea of “camping.”

So… I leave that park and I see Ranger Friendly in his truck, he crosses the road and flags me down… I figure he may have remembered another camping option for me so I ride over to his truck and the following conversation ensues…

RF (Ranger Friendly) – Have you ever been around here before?
Me – Nope, It’s my first visit, I rode here from Bangor, ME
RF – Could you show me some ID?
ME – May I ask why?
RF – We had an incident with a guy on a bike in the park who kind of fits your description.
(In the mean time hundreds of bicycles ride by…)
ME – Um, Ok (Handed ID to RF)
RF – Where have you been for the last week?
ME – “Well, I was in Dunkirk, NY last night, Darien SP…
RF – (interrupts me) Where were you last week?
ME – Well, Sunday - Friday I spent with friends in Rochester.
RF – I don’t mean to be rude but I have to close the door while I run your ID, please stay right here.
ME – Ok, but I’m going to find some shade… (It was in the 90’s) Oh, and by the way, I’m squeaky clean, you won’t find a thing…
RF – Did you say you were from New Hampshire?
ME – No, Nebraska… I started my trip in Bangor, ME
RF – Ok… (Closes his door, sits in cool air conditioned truck)
--- I pull behind him to find shade, he quickly re-positions his truck to keep an eye on me)
-- 20 minutes go by, I’m getting quite miffed by now, I’m hot, sticky and I have no idea where I’m sleeping tonight as the minutes tick by… I’m just about ready to request the presence of a real Policeman.
RF – (Finally gets out of truck and walks over to me, he sees I’m miffed and he has a sheepish look on his face.) I’m very sorry about the delay… It turns out the guy wasn’t on a loaded bike, and his bike was black (mine is green) but he was wearing cycling clothes… Can I show you something?
ME – (bemused) Sure, ok.
RF – (Holds up a picture of a guy who looks like he has Downs Syndrome) You See? It “Kind Of” looks like you.
ME – Well… I’d say I’m a hell of a lot more handsome than that!
RF – Again, I’m very sorry…
ME – What’s your name?
RF – Tony *****
ME – No Problem Tony, it just gives me something to write about (I tell him all about my trip as I hand him a card for my web site, the card just happens to say “Writer.”)
RF – Oh Great! (Look of shock!)

Don’t Worry Tony, I won’t give out your last name!

The truth is, the guy in the picture looked nothing like me, and how could anyone even tell what I look like while I am wearing a cycling helmet and glasses? I think Tony was just bored… Made a great story though!

Ohio – Bad Roads, Big Trucks, Beautiful Islands, Small Town America and Great People!

Wow! I’m in Ohio Already? (This thought occurred to me as I was riding out of Geneva SP)

The worst roads of the trip so far – Ok, without doubt North Eastern Ohio has the worst roads I have seen so far! The very second I left PA the roads turned to rubble! There are no shoulders whatsoever and to make matters even worse there is usually a 5” high concrete curb lining the road, these tall concrete curbs love to eat bike pedals, the result usually being that it throws the cyclist and his bike onto the ground right in the middle of the traffic lane! (No, that didn’t happen to me.) The horrible, poorly maintained roads with no shoulders lasted until I was West of Cleveland, as home prices went up the road improved. Another nice surprise about Ohio roads is that a road such as State Route 2 which is a secondary road will suddenly turn into a “limited access interstate highway”. Most times, this change will only last for a few miles. This leaves a cyclist to fend for himself to find a detour around this mess of a road system… In one spot I cycled 8 miles around a 1.5 mile section of “limited access interstate highway.”


Sprechen Zie Duetsch? – I had just gotten off the telephone with my buddy Dan from Omaha, I was sitting there admiring the beauty of Geneva SP when an older gentleman walked by. It was obvious he had just been swimming and I asked for directions to the beach… It turns out that Franz spoke about as much English as I spoke German… Somehow we had a 20 minute conversation about swimming, Germany, America, RV’s and camping in general… All with hand gestures and broken GerEnglish… Later Franz and his wife stopped by my camp, his frau spoke English and translated for us, it turns out that Franz and I had managed pretty well with our hand gestures and limited language skills… The next morning my new German friends invited me for breakfast, we both took pictures and bid each other well… What a cool experience!


Do I really have to leave “Put-In- Bay”? – After a rather hairy encounter with a pair of double trailer dump trucks on the East side of Cleveland from the previous day the quaint charm of Sandusky, Ohio lulled me back into a happier frame of mind… I had wrongly trusted the advice of a supposed “guy in the know” who told me “Oh yeah, just cycle right through Cleveland, I do it all the time, no problem, just follow the lake!” So there I was cycling towards Cleveland… The dump truck driver looked right at me as he cut me off and ran me into oncoming traffic! Then his buddy directly behind him did the exact same thing! Ok, so there are jerks everywhere too right? I should have trusted my intuition…

But back to Sandusky… It really is a quaint town, lots of cool older buildings and a neat downtown area. I found the Jet Express Ferry to South Bass Island (“Put-In-Bay” to the locals, they won’t know what your talking about if you say South Bass Island) and bought my ticket, since I had an hour and a half before my ride to the island I decided to find lunch. Often when I’m in a place with a lot of dining options to choose from I’ll ask a local for a recommendation… This method hasn’t failed yet! A local directed me to Markley’s Diner, it turned out to be a great recommendation!

Monica, my waitresses, greeted me with a huge smile and an extra helping of pep, she had seen my loaded bike and immediately started asking questions, before long two gals in the booth next to me joined in the conversation and before long a couple of other patrons and staff were asking questions and suggesting sights to see. At this point I should probably mention that the state of Ohio holds a disproportionate number of beautiful women, they seem to be everywhere! Sorry folks, a red blooded America guy just notices this kind of thing. Anyhow, the food at Markley’s was excellent, (the best patty melt I ever had!) the portions were huge and the people were downright wonderful! Hello Monica, Rita and the whole gang at Markley’s!

After lunch I boarded the ferry and was bound for Put-In-Bay, an Island off the coast of Sandusky on Lake Erie… My plan was to explore the island and relax for a couple of days… It turned out to be a rather busy 2 days! Put-In- Bay is actually a town on South Bass Island, the port is located in town so almost everyone who visits the island comes through Put-In-Bay. Put-In-Bay is an unusual place, they rent golf carts and bicycles for people to get around. Restaurants, bars and knick-knack shops line the main drag, a very nice town  park/square fonts the bay. It’s a nice place!


The campground was also very nice, it is located about 2 miles West of town and is well wooded and tucked into the forest, most of the sites are large and quite private. The next morning I headed into town to sightsee, I visited all of the historic sights such as the Perry Monument and the Erie Islands Historical society museum… Later in the day I visited Perry’s Cave and while standing in line I met Judith, a very nice woman from Pittsburgh who was also traveling alone. We toured the cave and the butterfly house together and since we were enjoying each others company we decided to have dinner as well, we ended up talking for hours and had more than just a little in common. I thought she was pretty brave to take off by herself on a whim and go some where new, it was the first time she had done this, she said it won’t be the last… I know this feeling well! Sooner or later I’ll end up passing through Pittsburgh and you can bet that I’ll take my new friend up on her offer to show me the town! It was a very nice day!

Camp at South Bass Island SP

Sunset on South Bass Island!

Loving Life in Elmore Ohio -
The ride into Elmore to visit my old Army buddy Dave was a pleasant and easy ride, I was looking forward to seeing Dave (we hadn’t seen each other since 1983!) and meeting his family. I arrived at Dave’s house a little early and his step son Alex greeted me, Alex and I talked about camping, the Boy Scouts and bicycles for quite awhile before His mom Jody and Dave got home from work. Sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable meeting new people, in this case I hadn’t seen my buddy for 22 years, I had never met his wife or step son and  here I was standing in their home, Dave isn’t home yet and in comes his gregarious wife! The short story is that a person won’t feel uncomfortable for long around Jody! She is a happy go lucky pistol of a woman (I would hate to be on her bad side!) who loves to talk! (It must be the large family she comes from, her and Dave have the strong family thing in common.)  I should add that Jody is a wonderful cook as well! Dave and Jody were lucky to find each other, they make a great couple!

While waiting for Dave to get home I asked Alex to show me a picture of Dave, I never would have recognized him! Dave is a big boy! I remember him as a lanky country boy but now he’s a gentle giant of a man, it’s a good thing he’s such a mellow and nice guy (he was the nicest and most laid back guy in our old Army unit, everyone liked Dave) because he looks like he could flip over a dump truck if he wanted to!

Dave and I spent the first night reminiscing and looked over the box full of pictures Dave had from our Army days, it was just like old times! Back in the days of our youth Dave and I talked about building a sailboat (Dave is a whiz with wood and has a keen love for sailing ships!) and sailing off to found an island, our own version of Utopia… The next day Dave and I went to breakfast at the Village Inn and sat at the “Roundtable,” the Roundtable is a big table where people who walk in alone can sit to eat, at least that was the idea… It is actually a place for friends to sit down and have breakfast, lunch or dinner with each other. We sat down with three other gentleman, one turned out to be Dave’s brother Danny, Dave obviously knew everyone in the place… It was cool! Race Car hoods hung on the walls of the restaurant and there were pictures of various members of Dave’s family with their race cars all over the restaurant.

After breakfast Dave gave me a tour of the Bridge he is building, in our Army days we were Bridge Builders, we spanned rivers and built rafts to shuttle tanks and armor etc… Well, Dave got out of the Army and he builds bridges, just like his Grandpa used to do!

The next evening we went to the races and watched Dave’s brother Danny (Pick-up Truck) and Alvin (Sprint Car) race, the track is a quarter mile clay oval and they hit upwards of 100 mph on the straights! I’ve always liked fast cars and I had a great time!

The following day Alex and I hung out, (Alex is 13) and we rode our bikes all over Elmore and visited every park (there are a lot of beautiful parks in Elmore!) I watched Alex run up a tree, Yes, Run Up A Tree! And we just rode around and chatted about Boy Scout trips we had both taken. For a few hours I got to be 13 all over again, it was a great day! Later Alex and I took a 12 mile ride to pick up Fedex slips so I could ship my “town clothes” to their next destination, Alex can move pretty good on his BMX bike, we averaged 16mph for about 8 miles!

The Portage River - Elmore, Ohio

Alex Runs Up a Tree!

I see a pattern forming, when I stay with friends I have a hard time leaving, I want to stay and spend more time hanging out and reconnecting… the ride away from Elmore was just like the ride away from Henrietta… I had a whole slew of new friends and there was so much more to see and do… But the road beckons…

The Barn -
On my way out of Ohio I passed through the town of Delta, I stopped at a gas station for a cold drink and asked for a recommendation for a lunch stop, without hesitation they directed me to “The Barn” restaurant, west of town on Route 20A. Another great call by the locals! The food was great and the people were wonderful! A patron saw my loaded rig and asked about my trip, he filled me in on road conditions, places to stay and places to eat as I enter Michigan. As I was eating a nice lady walked up to me, handed me a “The Barn” hat and said “Complements of the house!” Then she walked away and left for the day… So I asked Rhonda, my waitress for her name, Judy turned out to be the owner and she had overheard us talking about my trip… I left a card with a thank you note for Judy, the last time I checked she had signed my guest book. In the near future Judy will get a few pictures of a tired cyclist proudly wearing her kind gift! I hope she hangs a couple up on the walls of her fine establishment!

So Long Ohio, Hello Michigan!

Update -- 6/22/05 --9:25 AM -- Gary entered Michigan yesterday morning and spent the evening near Adrian, Michigan. I am to leave in the morning (Thursday) and will meet up with him somewhere east of Lansing, MI. Gary sent a parcel on ahead to Saginaw, MI so I may be the designated pickup man for that. At some point Gary will head to Central Michigan for his northward jaunt to Mackinac. I am anxious to see the lad and at this point I assume he is getting tanned and seasoned from his trip.  For the latest go to the Michigan Link.

Update -- 6/21/05 -- 3:17 PM -- Gary spent an enjoyable weekend with his friend Dave in Elmore, Ohio and should have loaded the bike up and started his pedal north to Michigan this morning. I am preparing the camper for the road so I can meet up with him around Saginaw, Michigan sometime Thursday. We will find a way to keep the site updated during the week I accompany him on his trip. I should get an update from Gary this evening.

Update -- 6/19/05 -- 12:40 PM -- Happy Father's Day to all Fathers. You and my son included. Talked to Gary three hours ago. He is at his friend Dave's house in Elmore, Ohio arriving there about 5:00 PM Friday. He has surpassed the 1000 mile mark since starting his journey on May 21st. Gary plans to leave his friend Dave's house on  Monday morning (a day later than originally planned) and head north to Michigan. This changes my departure day to next Thursday where I hope to meet up with him in the vicinity of Saginaw. (There's a song there somewhere, ie., Saginaw, Michigan by David Houston and also recorded by George Jones and Lefty Frizzell and others). My favorite rendition is David Houston's. Doesn't take much to get me sidetracked does it?

Anyway, the Lad is doing well. He also emailed me from the Elmore Public Library Friday where he stopped to check the site and his email, as he passed a little time waiting for friend Dave to get off of work.

Stay Connected.

Update -- 6/16/05 -- 4:42 PM -- Gary is still lazing on South Bass Island near Sandusky, Ohio. I received a nice email from Therese from Vermillion, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. Therese and her husband Dave own and operate the  Cottages at the Water's Edge Resort in Vermillion. It appears to be a great family oriented resort. Gary said he had met Therese and she had offered him overnight accomodations. She being a distance bicyclist herself in the past, she quite frequently offered bicyclists accommodations. Gary had some pedaling yet to do for the day and needed to put some miles behind him, so he regretably declined the invitation. The link to Therese and Dave's very well made web site is: Cottages at the Water's Edge .  Best wishes to Therese and Dave for a Great 2005 Season. For Gary, meeting people like Therese is what The Trip is all about.

Gary will start pedaling for Elmore, Ohio in the morning (Friday.)  About a 35 mile pedal.

Update -- 6/15/05 -- 11;55 PM -- Gary called about 7:00 PM and said he put in a hard 46 miles today. Gary is currently near South Bass Island Island and Put-In-Bay near Sandusky, Ohio. He plans to camp  there until Friday morning and rest up a bit. He will then re-board the ferry and will have about 35 miles to pedal to his friend Dave's house in Elmore, Ohio where he will spend the weekend with his friend Dave who is free for the weekend. He is enjoying some liesure time because he did not want to arrive in Elmore earlier than Friday.

I'd like to say hello to Monica from Sandusky who sent a nice email today updating me on Gary's progress and condition. Monica says she met Gary at Markley's Restaurant in Sandusky and he left there very full. Thanks for the update Monica. Here's a piece of your hometown:

Gary and I discussed my loading up the camper and my meeting him in Central Michigan Wednesday next. The first meet came sooner than I expected so I have some work ahead of me in preparing for the meet. I plan to accompany him for about a week and that should get him somewhere close to Superior/Duluth area.

At this hour Gary is 25 days - 18 hours- and 10 minutes - into his trip. I am guessing he has pedaled about 950 miles since his start.  I plan on taking the laptops with me for our meet, so we will find a way to keep the site updated, hopefully, while I accompany him.   Stay Tuned!

own words. More later.

Toledo, Ohio 10 day weather forecast:  Toledo Weather
Lansing, Michigan 10 day weather forecast:  Lansing Weather