In the Club...

All this time I've just been a knucklehead out there putting one foot in front of the other. Time and time again I get passed by real riders with all their fancy clip shoes and their fancy clothes and their fancy muscles and I never really felt I was part of the biking community. Lately I've been able to keep up - or at least not embarrass myself - with the hotshots, but still.... there was something missing.... That one missing link was, of course, road rash. I didn't have anything to show off. No marks on the ol' bod. REAL bikers have scars. Well, no more being a pretender. I wasn't paying attention and came upon a manhole without the cover. Someone more skilled could have maneuvered safely (hell, DonCon would have jumped it just for the fun of it), but I went down like a sack of potatoes. Dinged up the bike too, but Michael at Century Cycle worked his magic and Bob's-your-uncle we're back in business.

Managed to squeeze in a game of (I am not making this up) cornhole the other night at the campground outside of Sandusky. If you would like more information you can (I really am not making this up) check out the ACA [American Cornhole Association] site. The membership is free and you can also "Be the first Cornholer in your neighborhood to have the patented Cornhole Scoreboard and Beverage Holder. " Necessity is the mother of invention, explains the site: "Ever been in the middle of an excit’n game of cornhole and forget who's win’n? It happens all the time in our family, especially after a few of our favorite beverages. "

Had a great stay in Cleveland with the McWilliams family and had the chance to meet River and Canyon, their two youngest boys, who are carrying on the family tradition of scholar/athlete. On Thursday, River was showing his stuff to the Atlanta Braves - as a junior in high school. The kid's got game. Jani whipped up a veggie soup with cornbread - yummy! I somehow managed not to get up at 6:30 a.m. to join Doug for a game basketball, but all due thanks for his suggested route out of town – a very pleasant ride through shaded residential areas. The rest of the day wasn’t quite so nice, but was joined by a few bikers along the way (no one seemed to pick up on my new body art, but that’s OK). I had to walk the bike up one hill - the first time that's happened since New Mexico.

Had a very nice visit with Margaret and Norm, a Scottish couple living in Champion, and they insisted I take a tomato with me. (??) Margaret had a good one – a woman asked a Scotsman “What’s worn under your kilt” and he replied “NOTHING'S worn under MY kilt!”

Finding a place to stay was a little tricky as all the local campgrounds were full because of the weekend - until I checked with Mosquito Lake State Park and for some odd reason they had plenty of openings! (go figure). While there I hung with three Amish kids who were rollerblading around the campground in their traditional outfits (Sarah, Matthew and Joshua). Matthew took me up on an offer to do a little fishing and one thing I noticed is that the kids didn't use any sunsscreen (all of them were pretty burned). I don't know if that has anything to do with their religious convictions. I hope not.

Today will cross us into Pennsylvania and on towards the big event in Pittsburgh. Can't wait!