Day 11 - Peace Is Always A Good Idea

Friday, September 20, Angola to Maumee, OH, 88.6 miles, 12.6 mph average, 28.8 mph Max, 6h59 riding time, 535 ascent, 908 descent.

To see the day's Map and Elevation Graph look here: Cycling map and data link (hover on 'Map' button in the upper left corner and click on Terrain).

We start riding at 8:35am EDT and it's a very sunny day with virtually no wind. We had planned to ride to Perrysburg but changed it to Maumee as it was easier to find a hotel. We head into Angola and see the towering Civil War monument there.

Civil War Monument

We see a Yoga Bike Shop combo called Bike and Soul with a slogan of Practice, Love, Ride (I guess in that order). We ride a cool bike path out to the local school. Next we get on Metz Road. This has the distinction of being the smoothest and best road we were on in Indiana. It takes us to the Ohio border.

The road conditions stay nice into Ohio. We ride back roads that are straight and long. It becomes apparent that there are many fields with no crops growing in them. I remember the guy in Mongo telling us it was so wet farmers couldn't plant this year because wet clay soil was too difficult to plow. Our first break from riding is in Montpelier at a municipal park. Seems like they have already locked their restrooms for the season as we can't get in.

Next we head to West Unity for lunch and see this nice building.

Pretty Building in West Unity

On the way out of town we miss a turn and go 1 mile too far south. We head east anyway and come to a T intersection. Some friendly locals in a truck stop and ask us if we are looking for the bridge. I explain to them where we are headed and they give us directions. Next, another guy stops and wants to know where we came from and where we are headed. This guy is a talker.

He tells us about the history of the area (many Mennonites) and that there used to be a large Amish population. He says we have to ride across the bridge. He tells us about the farm crisis here because so many farmers couldn't plant their fields. He is a hay farmer and didn't have any problems. He tells us we can stay with Mennonite families for free instead of paying for hotels. I ask him if they have Wifi and he doesn't answer. Next he tells us to follow him to this cemetery. I'm convinced he will kill us and put our bodies and bicycles in an open grave site and no one will ever hear from us again.

Fear not, he talks about the history of the cemetery (it's clay not sand - so harder to dig graves). He shows us his family grave (see pic) - it has a depiction of his family and he is the little boy on the end.

The Talker (he thinks Jim is taking a picture of the grave)

He's a nice friendly guy but can talk faster than anyone we've ever met. Several times we think he is done talking but then he remembers something else, which triggers another thought in his brain, and more talking. He talks about how Amish barns and houses are constructed, tells us we should go see Sauder Town (a tourist place with a Noah's Ark). We are near the Lockport Mennonite church and he tells us that during the Vietnam and Iraq wars, people threw rocks through the windows, because the congregation was liberal, and this is a peace church. They were persecuted because they wanted peace. He tells us that sometimes it's good to be for peace and sometimes it isn't. I tell him, "I think peace is always a good idea." He replies, "I do too." I can't even begin to remember all the things he talked about. We kind of wanted to get riding again as we still had many miles left to ride.

We ride over the bridge that cost over $1M dollars to construct (intended to attract tourists) and The Talker follows us, stops, and tells us to go to some state park to ride a bike path, along with many other things. We are somewhat relieved when he finally heads in a different direction than us. Again, he is a nice friendly guy, but he sure can talk forever.

The Bridge (The Talker is watching me take this picture while continuing to talk)

We head to Sauder Town and we're not that impressed, but then in all fairness, it is still under construction. It is a large construction project for this remote location. As my dad always said, "I hope it all works out for the best."

[[edit 21-Oct-2019]] As a follow-up, we did hear from someone that used to live in the Sauder Village area:

To expand a bit about Sauder Village. It has been a local attraction since 1975 as a living history museum. We visited there several times. Their website says that while doing parking lot construction this fall, they are still open with normal hours. They also feature The Barn Restaurant, a premier dining spot in the region.

We head to Wauseon (county seat) and get a cold beverage for refreshment. Next we stop by the local park because it is filled with large oak trees and many other kinds of large trees.

A Big Tree

It's getting late and we must pick up the pace a bit. We have a crosswind, to slight tailwind, as we head toward the Wabash Cannonball bike trail.

Cannonball Bike Trail

This trail is around 8 miles long and mostly a nice green tunnel through a forested area. It's in great shape and takes us to some connector paths. It leads to some roads that take us to Maumee. We arrive at our destination at 6:45pm after a long ride.