Day 9 87.5 miles, 3529 feet of climbing, 13.5 Average speed

Chillicothe OH to Westchester OH

Another great biking day for the Eliminator Crew. The temperatures were in the mid to high 60’s which is perfect for cycling.

Joe and Ken did not hit the sac until 2AM the night before. They were trying to get the laptop’s WiFi operational. It looks like the port that receives the card is defective. This means we will need a wired hook-up to upload photos and receive email.

Our alarm seemed to come quick when it rang at 6:00AM. We got up packed up the bikes and left Chillicothe for Hamilton Ohio. One of the dictating factors with how far we travel each day is availability of motels. Today the motel came up early at 87 miles. Having had a late night fighting the laptop the “short” day was welcome.

It looks like we have left the major climbing for a while. Flatter roads should mean a faster average speed. But of course nothing is as easy as it seems. Any cyclist will tell you a head wind is worst than climbing a mountain. Team rider JP Crozet puts it simply….. “the wind…she will kill you”… he is right. Nothing worst than pushing hard and going nowhere.

Our bikes equipped with panniers (saddlebags) act like parachutes grabbing the air and slowing you down horribly. It is possible to be on a flat road and not be able to go over 8mph pushing hard! Add the howling wind noise in your ears for 8 hours and you can become crazy.

Wind is the main reason 99% of all cross-county cyclists ride west to east. We are going east to west. The prevailing winds and weather generally comes out of the west. We have noticed how fast the weather approaches as we ride into it. Something for us to remember in Tornado Alley.

We have a big day planned for Sunday if the rain passes overnight like the weatherman has predicted. If the weather is dry we should be able to leave Ohio after only 2-1/2 days and enter Indiana.