That diner last night turned out to be a truck stop diner, which was fine. They served breakfast all day so I had breakfast for dinner. I have been eating a lot less on this return trip which is good because sitting on your rear doesn't burn up too many calories. The Razor is my only shot at actual exercise. This morning they had a stationary bike at the hotel so I took a quick ride on that to get my points for the bike challenge. No goofy Razor today!! Packing in the morning takes no time, I got it down, really lean, and I slept in so didn't mash the starter 'til 8:00 or so. I continued on Rt 24 which is the 55 MPH 2 lane road that goes like clock work from town to adjacent town. These roads are the perfect combo of getting a lot of miles in and seeing a lot of the real town and people and farming (corn and soy). I ducked around Fort Wayne and picked up Rt 30 which took me into Ohio. This road goes from 2 lane to 4 lane and there was very little traffic (it is Sunday..) so I made great time and saw a lot of the back roads of Ohio. Still more corn and soy but the further east I got in Ohio, the more I sensed things loosing the square block layout and starting to get more congested. Then I saw it. The first one I have seen in days. It stood out like a sore thumb and I didn't realize how out of place it looked.
This really did mark the change I would now see. The turn was not because of any geographical feature, but rather because somebody built something that was not planned ahead of time like everything between here and the Rockies. From here east, I would see not square fields everywhere, but rather, odd shaped pieces of land and towns not lined up with each other. Things just got messier and messier in the back roads, in a good way. At Bucrus I headed north on Rt 98 to 598 then east on a long flat road called 224. Nice small roads and small towns and when I hit Rt 71 (big interstate) I stopped. From here on east the big crowded towns started and I had no desire to wiggle through back streets near these big cities. So I held my nose and decided to jump on the interstate (71) and leave this Popsicle stand called Ohio and get into Pennsylvania and call it a day. North to 271 and then the big road, Rt 80 (yuck). I hit Pennsylvania and sorta daydreamed and before I knew it, I was in New York State getting a toll ticket for the New York Thruway (Rt 90). So I stopped at the first service area to figure out what to do. I was feeling great and the map app said I could be at Deb's dad's house in 4 hours. So I called and they said they would still be up and I was welcome to stay. So tank up on coffee and crank it up to 65 and do the boring interstate thing for 4 hours. I arrived at 10pm and rode the last 2 hours in the dark. We chatted for a couple hours and then I crashed. Glad I rode the bike at the hotel this morning. Last thing I wanted to do was ride that #$%^ scooter tonight. So looks like I will get home tomorrow. Wow. This is by far the most miles I have ridden in 1 day and I am actually feeling really good, and I never had to go faster than the speed limit (ok maybe once or twice).
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