Van Buren, OH to Willard,
OH
58 miles (or 56 with a shortcut)
"Shall we dance?" [Deb Klein to Mark Bazerman in Bascom, OH]
Today was a day for taking our time. Rob Christian, Sandra White, and Win Westervelt spent about four hours in Fostoria, including talking to the local newspaper and getting a free lunch. Mark Bazerman and I spent almost three hours in Tiffin, also taking to a local newspaper (and restaurant owner) and getting advice on a shortcut to Willard. It was a good day.
After dinner most of us went to a local bowling alley for bowling, pool, and some libations. Tomorrow we rest before the final week of riding.
A barn outside Van Buren, with two bicycles out front:
When someone before us tried to take a picture of this house just outside
Fostoria, they were told they could not, so Mark Bazerman and I went back
and took pictures (although I don't think we were seen doing so):
The sign outside a store in Bascom reads "On this site in 1897
nothing happened" (Mark Bazerman, doing his best Mr. T imitation):
This is Smitty's Soda Shoppe & Cafe in Tiffin (33 S. Washington
St. 419/443-0025), were we spent much time eating and talking to the owner,
Jerry Ison, who also publishes a local newspaper and who recommended a
backroad route to Willard which saved us at least a couple of miles (Mark
Bazerman, Mike Weston, Jerry Ison (behind counter), and another customer):
Here is the outside and several shots of the inside of the Ritz Theater,
which is across the street from Smitty's and is being restored (and which
we only got into with Jerry's help):
The scenery along Seneca County route 36 (aka Coe Road or TR 106), which
is the shortcut which Jerry Ison helped us find (on the positive side he
gave us a motorcycle escort through town and along the first few miles;
on the negative side we did run into a short stretch of gravel road which
Jerry didn't mention):
Mark Bazerman and Mike Weston play pool after dinner:
David Blair bowling, Brian Holsenbeck scoring, and Beth Wallace (David's
wife) observing:
More bowling (Sandra White, Brian Holsenbeck, Rob Christian, and Tsung-Pao
Chien):
At 10pm, which is about when we left, the bowling alley goes into "intense"
mode, complete with black lights, disco lights, fog, and 70's music:
