Goodbye Great Lakes...

Hello heat, hills, and headwinds. I discovered this morning right after posting the entry for yesterday that I had lost over 20 psi in my rear tire over the night. It had a leak, not an unbearable one, but not good none the less. I should have realized from how low it was when I aired it up last night. I did the only thing that I know how to do, and that has worked so far, and deflated it and pumped in more sealant (having never done so on the back, only the front), the last of what I had. I ate the last of my trail mix as cereal with milk for breakfast, considering it was mostly granola and cereal left anyways. My host and his other guest didn't seem to be waking up any time soon, and it was already getting late, so I headed out around 8.

Getting out of Erie wasn't difficult, then it was 832, 98 until it turned into 19, and then 19 all the way until I took a few side roads at the end to my host's farmhouse. ...And nothing happened all day. I biked in the heat, with a decently strong headwind, up and down some sizable hills, with nothing to see for my efforts but farmland. The best thing I saw was the township of Hayfield, which was in fact just a hayfield, which probably wouldn't have even amused me half as much on a normal day when I wasn't so bored. Highway 98 avoids most the little towns, and there was a stretch where I was almost worried I would run out of water before I reached a gas station. But I ended up hitting one just before I ran out, and bought some riding food and restocked water in the bathroom. Funny enough, not long after that was when some nice guy pulled up and asked if I needed Gatorade at a stop sign. I'd actually bought some (which I almost never do) at that gas station, and told him I was good.

It was a great relief to reach the end of my ride and come inside from the heat. My host doted on me, getting some food and electrolyte solution in me right away, before sending me to shower while she made an amazing meal of grilled yams, stuffed mushrooms, and salad. She even asked me if I needed laundry done without me needing to. I felt like the red carpet was really rolled out for me, and after the long day, it was really incredible. Her friend chatted me up while I ate and my host did a few errands she needed doing, and I learned more than I ever would have imagined about the area. It was a wonderful end to a tough day.