Moments that Last

With the lower milage, strong tail wind and riding friends we made along the way, we made it to our destination by lunch time. Huron, OH

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Today was packed. We left our camp in Gibsonburg around 7:45am and arrived in Huron about 1:00pm. During that time, a lot happened.

First, we met Jan. We were cruising down a pike path when two guys came toward us from the other direction. As we passed them, one of guys pulled a sharp u-turn and started riding along side us. This would be Jan. We found out later that Jan is a sixty-five year old local who bikes 40-60 miles a day. He told us later when he saw us coming we looked like we had a story to tell and told his riding buddy that he would be going where we were going. Jan joined us for the next twelve miles and we swapped stories about our local towns, trips we were planning to take, and Jan showed us a shortcut not on our maps.

Jan showing Joelle the way down a road not on our map. At first, we wanted to trust the map but when we heard Jan rides several hundred miles a week and never leaves a 20 mile radius, we decided he probably knows his way around. Clyde, OH

Later, when arrived at our hotel, we met Angie. We had made good time today. The wind was with us and riding with Jan had made us pick up our pace so we arrived at our hotel earlier than our check-in. Angie is the General Manager of Comfort Inn in Huron, OH and when she heard we were going to Maine she got really excited. We learned she grew up and there and we quickly learned the inside scoop on the roads we had to ride while there and how beautiful Acadia is. We also got a free room upgrade.

But the highlight of today was seeing Anna and Micah Poteet. Anna is Joelle’s sister and Micah is our brother-in-law. Joelle has one sister and I’ll leave you to figure out the odds of both of them marrying a guy named Micah.

Our first sight of Lake Erie from the town of Huron. Sometimes things don't make sense. Huron, OH

This trip has changed how I see and feel about many things. Seeing Lake Erie today, knowing our tired thighs and sore bottoms carried us this far, it started to sink in that, perhaps, we can make this journey. But something else that has changed is how I perceive moments. So many moments feel like a snow globe. Pristine, idealistic and beautiful. A farmer waves from his front porch as we pass. A group of bikers pass us going west (and remind us we’re not the only fools out here). American flags wave over small towns. But at the end of the day, these moments feel as fleeting as the fake snow in a snow globe. They may be beautiful but they’re gone as fast as we can bike by.

But seeing Micah and Anna today reminded me that we have reality. We have friends. We have family. We have people who care enough to drive hours to see us. Moments on the bike may be quintessential, but in a few weeks they’ll be surrendered to rest in the photo book. But I get to look forward to everything life with sisters, brothers, parents, aunts, uncles and friends has to offer. And unlike moments that whirl by at 12 mph, I’m looking forward to a lifetime with these guys.

As photos goes, we nailed this one. Huron, OH

Today’s Stats:

Left: Gibsonburg, OH, 7:45am
Sleeping in: a hotel in Huron, OH, arrived at 1:00 pm
Total mileage: 51 miles.
High Speed: 19.5 mph
Avg. Speed: 12.1mph
Overall weather conditions: Sunny
Elevation Gain: -121 ft
Total Trip mileage: 444