To see the day's Map and Elevation Graph look here: Cycling map and data link (hover on 'Map' button in the upper left corner and click on Terrain).
We start riding at 10:05am because it rained from 7:30am to about 9:30am. It's also cloudy at the start. This is not our first day of riding the wet road rodeo. There's a 10 - 15mph wind out of the west that should help dry the roads. This should also provide a nice needed tailwind since we're running late.
We initially head southeast, after winding through Norwalk, and can feel the helpful push from the tailwind. Soon we pass by a race track.
Summit Motorsports Park
This is the Summit Motorsports Park where, last weekend, some races occurred. Jim and I feel like racers with this tail wind. After a stretch on a highway we reach this nice back road.
Zen Moment
You can make this road be whatever you want it to be. A sense of calm and serenity overcome us as we continue on. It's still cloudy and we feel a few rain drops. Then we realize that in this zen moment - we can make these rain drops go away. And they stop.
OM(Om is the "primordial seed" of the universe - This whole world, says one ancient text, "is nothing but om." [Richard Rosen: The Om Mantra - Yoga Journal])
Nice tailwind on this back road. Next we head north for a few miles and lose the tail wind, but the next road is a 25 mile stretch, straight east, and we roar along. This is a tailwind extravaganza!
Pretty Fair Weather Cumulus Clouds
The clouds are breaking up and there is some sunshine peeking through. We also stop in LaGrange for lunch about the half way point on this stretch and get this photo.
Civil War Monument in LaGrange
The flags show the nice tailwind today. At the end of this stretch we head north and enter into an exurban area of the Cleveland Metro Area. We ride a few too many miles of rough roads in heavier traffic. It's not even rush hour - it's only 2:30pm. There are more twists and turns as we navigate. It's also a hillier area and this slows us down. At one point we crossover the Ohio Turnpike.
The Ohio Turnpike
All-in-all it was a great day of riding. We were delighted to have this great tailwind. And, even though we started late, we managed to arrive at our destination by 4:30pm. We couldn't have done that without the tailwind.