Author: Jodi Eller

We made it to our 10^th state, Ohio! This state has a special meaning to me because it is where I was born and lived for the first eight years of my life. The ride today started through the familiar corn mazes we had been riding through since Illinois. As we approached the Ohio border, hundreds of wind turbines turned slowly with the morning breeze. We quickly flew through the small town of Payne and decided to stop at the local library in Paulding to take a rest. The librarian came out and took our photo to add to their library website, so we are slowly making the media rounds. Leaving Paulding we headed towards HW 424 and for the rest of the day had a refreshing change of scenery riding right beside the winding Auglaize and Maumee River. We passed through the small towns of Defiance and Florida and let the river lead us right into Napoleon, where we met up with Aunt Kim and Aunt Jody and cousins Katy and Matthew. They drove a few hours south from Michigan to take us out to dinner and bring us a goodie bag filled with amazing treats. We had a great dinner at Big Boys and was treated to a hotel room in town. We ended the night playing cards and said goodbye to our Michigan family. Thank You for such a special day and for making the trip down!!!

We had a fabulous send off this morning by the family. Chloe made Matt and I survival bracelets to wear on the rest of our trip! Thank you Chloe! Uncle David, Chloe and Ava also rode their bikes with us through downtown Wabash to see us off. These were our first biker escorts of the trip! I was thrilled to see them beside me on their bikes. We said goodbye to them after a few miles, and began biking solo. After the road turned from tree lined houses into cornfields, I noticed a car stopped ahead with a person hanging out the window. I thought it might be some kids that need help, so we slowed down and as we approached the car, my Mom, aunt Audrey and Megan were all waving out the window. Of course my mom was the one hanging out the side of the car! As they drove away, I started to cry. I always tear up when I’m leaving family.

After a few hours of riding we made it into Monroeville, IN. The town has set up an entire building for bikers, with showers, a kitchen and an air conditioned space to sleep in. We met up with the trio from California who are headed toward New York that we had met in Illinois. A nice man that runs the park showed us around and was real welcoming. Lois, from the local paper, The Monroeville News, came out to take our photo to put in the paper. She said she would mail a copy back home for us. She also brought cherry tomatoes from her garden and juicy watermelon. We devoured it! Monroeville seems to be one of the best biker friendly towns thus far.

Wabash was a much needed break, filled with wonderful food, including my aunt Audrey’s famous pasta salad and grandma jean’s blueberry pie. I was able to visit with my grandfather, Guy Buch, who is 91 and who continues to care for everyone around him. I miss him greatly and have been looking forward to seeing him since the beginning of this trip. I also got to hang out with my cousin Megan and her daughters Chloe and Ava. We spent hours playing in the pool, playing cards and we even got to see Ghost Busters before it left the theaters.  It was a great summer movie! Best of all, my mom flew up from Florida to visit and see us off for the next leg of our trip. We caught up on laundry, bills, and was able to watch a few of the Olympic games. THANK YOU FAMILY!

We created our own trail today, staying on highway 16 for most of the day. It was in the mid 90’s and we took breaks between corn/soy fields where we could find taller trees and some shade. I had picked up an avocado from the mexican grocery the night before and enjoyed it as my second breakfast. At around 5pm we made it to Denver, IN where our ipods changed into the eastern time zone. We ate a quick dinner at a sandwich shop and headed south on the Nickel Plate bike trail for a few miles before cutting east on 100 east into Wabash. We rode right up to my aunt and uncles house and had a great welcome from the Hahn family and my mom!!! We are taking a few days here to relax and catch up with family.