Kokomo to Canton



Near campsite

 From Kokomo Indiana to just outside Canton Ohio, today’s ride was 493.5 km. Having had things all packed and ready to load before going to bed last night meant I could get on the road fairly early and was on my way by 7:15 (okay, fairly early for a Sunday morning.) I rode for 3 hours stopping only to get gas, trying to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. There was a light fog when I started and no one else on the road. You’ve gotta love Sunday mornings whether you’re sleeping in or enjoying having the road to yourself. I took a short detour back to Wabash then headed east again toward tonight’s campsite.
By nine there were a lot of bikes on the road and I do mean a lot. I thought that maybe I was witnessing the beginnings of a major pilgrimage to Sturgis until I talked with a Goldwing rider at a gas stop who told me there had been a large bike rally in the area (VanWert) and folks were just leaving. I rode along with him for a few kilometers, until he headed off, with a wave, in his own direction.



Painted ponies
by the roadside

I’m at a fairly large campsite/ranch which the weekenders have deserted. It has a huge pool where I headed immediately after setting up the tent. I managed to arrive by 2 this afternoon just as the heat was becoming oppressive and now, having had a two hour swim and vittles am sitting in the somewhat air conditioned games room. The games room, an old converted barn is like the campsite, deserted except for the big video game machines, lights flashing, voices every once in a while blaring – “Gadzooz” … It’s a bit like being in a thriller movie sitting here, just me and the possessed video games – spooky!

Ohio back road

The countryside is beginning to roll again, the prairies are behind me and I can tell I’m nearing the gentle, old eastern mountains. I had to laugh going through the town of Swayzee. Their sign boasted they had the only town in the world named Swayzee. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rode through places with the same name I’d been through in the state before and sometimes even in the state before that. It can get a little confusing. If only all towns were like Swayzee.



Sometimes - but not today.









Kokomo Indiana

I woke up this morning to a tent drenched and dripping wet from dew. There had been no rain but unbelievable condensation had build up on the tent fly which had dripped onto the inner tent and was beginning to pool on the floor. After an hour of drying and shaking I was no further ahead of the game and had to roll it and pack it wet. Trying to roll and stuff a wet tent into a small sack is somewhat like trying to pull a spandex swimsuit up over a chubby, wet body. There was a lot of inching and grunting involved. I talked to a resident camper who told me he’d never seen dew that heavy in the campground before! Needless to say I had already worked up a sweat in the burgeoning heat and didn’t get on my way until after 9am.
I haven’t made much progress today. After a few disagreements with Dan, country roads with slower speed limits, lots of map checking stops and a major construction detour I rode only 353 km and have fortuitously ended up in Kokomo Indiana. I had never heard of Kokomo before but it seems to be a lovely little city that has just about everything one could need including a Motel 6 that charges only 39.99 a night – and in 95 degree heat at 5 in the afternoon that is a beautiful thing.

Thanks Mom
for the Motel Mad Money

And speaking of Motels … I am having a bit of a battle with the first hotel that I stayed in on this journey. As a very disgruntled customer I’m not afraid to say it was a Days Inn. My first planned hotel stay was to be at the Days Inn in Reno Nevada since the campground was not available for tenting. I have been booking campsites and hotels the night before since travelling by bike I’m never sure (like today) that I will get as far as I have planned. I booked the hotel late in the evening then realized there were two Days Inn hotels in Reno and I had not booked the one that I had told my friends and family I’d be at when I got to Reno. I immediately cancelled the incorrect hotel and booked the correct hotel. The Days Inn has since informed me that, since I did not cancel before 4pm the day before my stay (as per their cancellation policy), I have been charged for the hotel room I did not use. The major flaw here is that I hadn’t booked the hotel room before 4pm and therefore couldn’t cancel it before 4. Not that it makes any difference to the hotel chain but I will not choose to stay with Days Inn again and hope you will join me in my boycott. Tonight I am at a Motel 6. It might not be frilly but it is air conditioned, very reasonably priced and quite adequate. Hey you never know who you'll meet at a Motel 6.