After three near 90-degree days, storms were forecast as a front was expected to pass through the area. I ate the salad I bought at Wendy’s last evening, mounted my headlight and taillight, and headed out before sunrise in an attempt to minimize the chance of riding in an oncoming storm.
I passed through the southwest Columbus neighborhood of Hilltop in the early dawn and picked up the Camp Chase Trail.
The Camp Chase Trail parallels an active rail line. Local artists had painted Trump signage on a parked grain car.
In the interest of political balance, here is (an edited) Biden sign painted on the same rail car.
A history of Camp Chase is posted on a sign at a rest stop.
London is the county seat of Madison County. This town is like many small towns I’ve seen in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts in that they formally remember those who gave their lives in service of our county
I was just south of London when the promised rains finally arrived. I rode for a while in the rain, and then pulled off into a shelter. I was soon joined by Dan, a Columbus resident out for a morning ride.
It turns out Dan is planning an autumn ride on the Great Allegheny Passage, a rails-to-trails route that runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md. [Editor: I rode in GAP as part of my 2017 Cleveland to DC trip and I later emailed my trip report to him.]
I again was unable to find lightweight, disposable overshoes that fit my size 12 shoes. I went with the plastic bags and rubber band method.
On the way to Cedarville the OTET is routed on the Prairie Grass Trail. Having been raised and still living in northeast Ohio, the words “prairie grass” brings to mind Nebraska and the upper Midwest, not Ohio. Yet, as the saying goes, here we are.
Two houses on the same street in South Charleston
The land is flat. US 42 is in the seen in the foreground.
The Prairie Grass Trail may be the most flat and straight part of the OTET.
I wonder if the high school in Cedarville will change its team mascot to the Guardians.
Although unused today, Cedarville (population 6,500) has an opera house that was built in 1886.
The shop across the street is almost named after a famous opera.
Watching the rain fall while seated on the patio at the Cedarville Inn