Rack 'n' Roll

Crossing into Ohio didn't seem much different from Indiana at first, but I did notice that some areas must have had a more affluent past judging from the size and style of the old houses. Beautiful Victorian mansions sit on the prominent corners of some small towns, many of them must be quite costly to maintain.

These artificial swimming ponds seem to be really popular in rural Ohio

Fostoria

I haven't been impressed with the roads in Ohio though, they're narrower, a bit busier and in some cases built with the annoying practice of putting rumble strips when there are little or no shoulders. It forces me to ride well into the roadway which is fine when traffic is light and courteous, but it makes getting off  the road difficult when there are large trucks behind me and another one on-coming.

These rumble strips make the 6 inches of shoulder useless to me

After making my own route for several days through endless cornfields, I decided to hook up with AdventureCycling.org 's Northern Tier route. I was surprised to find out that the roads they picked weren't that much better than the ones my GPS recommended. At one point their selected route was under water! Some parts went through some excellent paved trails though, so it was nice to ride relaxed away from traffic. This being a fairly popular route, I've also met the first touring cyclists I've seen since leaving the Grand Canyon. I kept on running into another cyclist, Hannah, who was cycling from Seattle to Maine.

Switched to my sandals to ride across this flooded road, the water was almost a foot deep

After spending one night inland in Findlay, I was anxious to set my sights on Lake Erie which offered welcome change of scenery. If I had more time I would have loved the thrill of some of the world's best rollercoasters at Cedar Point in Sandusky, but that'll have to wait for another trip maybe with friends and/or family. Glimpses of the lake itself are rare along the route, obscured and made inaccessible by private property, but occasionally a park would provide public access. Lake Erie is the shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes, and I noticed it has more of a greenish tinge compare to Lake Ontario. Some nice beaches but not a lot of people swimming — I know I would have issues with bathing in Detroit's effluent :)

Cleveland is the self-declared "Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll" — in 1951 Alan Freed, a DJ in one of the city's radio stations popularized the term to describe the new musical genre he was playing on the air. Although the city itself isn't particularly a hotbed of musical talent, Cleveland managed to snag the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of this heritage. Well, getting into Cleveland and its waterfront attractions was a rock and roll performance for me, avoiding cracks, rough patches and storm drain grates along the way. Despite its fairly flat terrain, the city doesn't seem to have invested much in cycling infrastructure. The "Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway" was mostly just a bunch of signs along ordinary streets that had no particular provisions for cyclists.

The classic Trek 520 should be inducted into Rack and Roll fame

I spent a bit of time hanging out in the waterfront area before heading down more bumpy streets to find a place to stay. With no campgrounds within this stretch of urban sprawl, I settled for another one of those motels along an Interstate junction, with the usual fast food and chain restaurants — kind of like the experience of listening to Top-40 radio :)

Why is it called Eat 'n Park when you're supposed to park and then eat?