IN OHIO now, riding north out of Columbus, haven’t decided whether to slab it home on I-80 or I-90 or jump back onto the blue routes. I’m about 700 miles out.
This was sunset Tuesday, as I was making my way to the At Ease RV Park in Branson, Missouri, there to finally meet Stray Dog in person, and his wife, Alicia. The bride asked what Ronnie is like, I said what you saw in the movie, that’s him. An interesting man. A philosopher, really. A Socrates of the Ozarks.
I stayed for two nights, until forecasters predicted a heavy 3-day rain for Branson. I split for Illinois, Indiana and points east.
There was rain coming everywhere but the radar told me I could avoid most of it by moving more east than north when I put Missouri in the mirrors yesterday.
This was Oklahoma the day before Branson, but you get the idea. Did a lot of this yesterday. Pull over and wait out the worst of it with an overpass for an umbrella.
A fuel stop in Illinois. Quite a name for a town. What do you suppose the kids call it?
I was hoping to get east of Indianapolis before I stopped for the night, but there was weather ahead. It made for a dark, wet ride. I put my lights on every bare aluminum trailer I could find and drafted my way through the night. Not too worried about debris in the road, wouldn’t have been able to see it anyway. Poor practice, I’ll admit, just hoping things go right. Is there such a thing as angels? I doubt it. But is there one on my shoulder? Let’s find out…
Again, I didn’t bother with the rain gear, rode soaked from the knees down, boots squished when I walked, gloves and shirtsleeves soaked but… it was warm last night.
The I-70 welcome center, Terre Haute, Indiana. I rode up on the sidewalk and sheltered the piggy under a roof with two picnic tables. We made 430 hard miles for the day, not bad considering we left Branson around noon.
I slept on a table from 11:30 to 3 this morning, rode 230 miles in the dark to Columbus, Ohio, slept on the ground for two hours, 7:30 to 9:30.
Could have made myself a good breakfast, still have plenty of food aboard, but here I am having Egg McSlop and the not-terribly-godawful coffee so I can mooch the free wifi and scribble you this update.
Back to riding now…
Tony DePaul, September 7, 2018, Delaware, Ohio, USA
Greetings from Akron! You’re probably past me already. Good timing as the remnants of TS Gordon are bringing 6-8” of rain this weekend. Stay safe!
Hey, Chris. Yeah, I rode through Akron yesterday afternoon, slept for two hours last night on a picnic table in northeastern Pennsylvania, rolled on home in time for breakfast. Rain threatening the whole way. Rode through some light rain in New Jersey this morning. Nothing like it was in Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois.