Day 26 Circleville, Ohio-Parkersburg, WV 102 miles

Today we had the excitement of lightning to frighten us as we rode today, along with accompanying heavy rain to make us wet, but otherwise the ride was very nice. The morning thunderstorm hit about 15 miles into the ride and when the lightning got too close for comfort, many of us took shelter in a farmer’s car port for 10 minutes until the worst had passed. The rest of the day was pretty damp, but at least that was the end of the rain.

Other than wet feet, gritty clothing, and dirty bikes, the rain also makes the road kill wet and fresh-looking. As any cyclist knows, we encounter a lot of road kill, just about anywhere. On this trip, there have been a lot of deer and many skunks, as well as raccoons, squirrels, snakes, frogs, birds of all sizes, and maybe a fox or two. One of the Australian riders commented that road kill smells the same all around the world, though he is more likely to see kangaroo.

Anyway, the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio was a delightful change of scene today. The road was quiet, narrow, winding and more hilly than we’ve seen in a while. Although it might have been nice to see this area in sunny weather, the lifting rain had its own charms as we rode through some wooded areas. Later, we had a spectacular crossing of the Ohio River into Parkersburg and a first glimpse of some more hills that are on the route tomorrow.

Today’s pictures are:

- queue of eager riders, waiting to load luggage
- final lunch stop in Ohio (village of Stewart)
- lunch line-up was excellent
- homemade cookies from a rider’s wife
- Ohio River bridge
- made it to West Virginia
- cleaning up after the rain

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