Cyclists Rule: Jun 3, 2009

49.5 miles. Adventure cycling took on a whole new meaning today as we rode in a cool mist along the shores of Lake Erie from the western outskirts of the Cleveland metro area to the east side, including downtown Cleveland. The ride required a lot more attention to traffic and road conditions. Specifically, US 6 west of downtown is one continuous pothole after another, most of them looking as though they were filled with Play-Doh by a group of 4 year olds. There was a decent paved shoulder in some places but mostly there was no shoulder or none that could safely be ridden. Add a steady stream of cars, trucks and other assorted other vehicles and it made for an exciting urban cycling experience. But almost all the drivers continued to give us a very wide berth and we made it into downtown without incident. As we were riding through part of the business district, a group of guys in suits and ties standing on a street corner spontaneously started clapping and cheering as we went by. We stopped for pictures at the Browns stadium and the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, which we had trouble identifying since there is no sign out front identifying it (an oddity to us but it didn't seem to bother anyone else that we spoke to). We figured we were in the right place however when we heard the Rolling Stones blasting out of the fake bushes in front.

We stopped for breakfast in Lorain, an industrial suburb west of Cleveland that has been hard hit by the slump in the economy (and the auto industry in particular). It had been drizzling all morning so were dressed in our rain gear. As we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and leaned the bike against a window, a couple inside looking out gave us a look that said "look honey, I think the Martians have landed." When we went inside I went up to their table and explained that we had not in fact stepped out of a saucer but could certainly understand why they might think as though we had. They asked about our trip, as many people have, and they were impressed that we had ridden all the way from Colorado by ourselves, as many people also have. As they requested, I sent them the link to the blog site and they left the restaurant. I thought nothing more of it until we got ready to leave. When I went to pay the bill the waitress informed me that the bill had been paid by the people we had been speaking to. We were stunned that anyone would do that, particularly in a large city that has been hard hit by tough times. Fortunately I was able to get out to the parking lot before they left and thank them. They said they were just inspired by the story of our trip and wanted to do something to help out. Wow, that was a real day brightener!

We plan to take a day off tomorrow to visit family here so we left the tandem at a bike shop in Euclid (east side suburb) for some 'tune up' type work. We've been on the bike for 8 straight days, so it's time for a well-deserved break. Despite having traveled over 1,800 miles so far under a tremendous load and the pounding it took today from the crappy road surfaces, the bike has performed remarkably well. We've only had three flat/worn tires, a wobbly front wheel and a couple of fixable chain problems the entire trip - not bad.
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