Ohio, I’ll never think of you the same way…

One of the really unsurprising, but profound things about a bike trip across the country is the perspective shift of how one sees the landscape. I’ve often seen the country, Ohio say, from the air and it looks flattish with rivers and lots of farms. I’ve driven through parts of northern Ohio, Cleveland, and seen things from the ground but through the window of a metal container. On the bike, I feel an appreciation for how an ant may view the world. The world is reduced to what’s around you. Every journey has the element of getting from point A to point B. What changes are the units we may use to measure movement, and the community of which we become a part through the journey. On a plane, I go from point A to point to point B, Portland to Seattle say, and my community is comprised my fellow passengers, airport people, airline workers. On a bike, it’s fellow bikers, people willing to share directions or water or both, people in cars traveling along the same road, hosts, people doing their daily work.

I am learning to better listen and to appreciate the voices of helpful strangers, voices of the people in my life who love me most, of my friends and fellows. The sounds of birds, cows, frogs, the wind. And a contentment and peace within. A real connection to a power greater than myself.

So Ohio, I think of you as wonderful cousins and a loving aunt, as humble farmers and people devote in their faith, as people willing to share their time with a stranger, as modest cities, as seemingly endless rows of corn or soy beans, of deer, of beautiful bike paths, of rural roads with so few cars, of the beginning of the checkerboard agricultural landscape which will be the setting for many of my upcoming miles.

Wow, I can understand if you are saying “stick to the photos, Dave”. Taking a day off here in Richmond, IN. Reflecting on yesterday, I met a new hero of mine, Scott. Scott has been on his bike for many miles over the years, nearly 50,000. He said he’ll reach that milestone next week! Scott is visiting all 51 national parks on his bike a few each summer. Next summer will be the final with a trip to Glacier. Scott’s pedaled almost literally around the world. This is so inspiring. Meeting others on their way across country has been equally inspiring.

Stats:

As of August 21, 20 days away, 17 riding and 3 off. 1,116 miles, 66 miles a day average.