Day 50 – July 22 – Ft Wayne, IN to Defiance, OH (Powell Creek Camp) – 69 Miles

My mother got up early to put together one great breakfast.  We had an egg casserole along with a mixed berry fruit salad, coffee and juice.  We were on the road by 8:00 in the midst of an unexpected but needed rain.  The drought has hit the Ft. Wayne area as it has much of the Midwest.  There was a light rain coming down as we were preparing our bikes.  It was warm enough that I did not wear a rain jacket, but the rain covers on my panniers were a must.

Joe, Dylan, my brother Bryan and myself headed out in steady drizzle.  Our plan for the day was to head east through Ft. Wayne on the series of bike paths and river greenways.  They would take us east near New Haven, IN where we would get on county roads that would take us into Woodburn and eventually into Ohio.  The bike paths amounted to 20 of our first 30 miles into Woodburn.  The rain finally moved to the south and east as blue skies pushed in from the northwest.  In Woodburn, Bryan left to make his return trip back to Ft. Wayne.  Joe, Dylan and I continued east into Ohio.

Our first day in Ohio was aided by a wind from the southwest.  The humidity had returned, but the temperatures had remained tolerable.  We passed through Paulding, OH and proceed east then north toward Defiance.  For the evening we found the Powell Creek RV Park south of Defiance.  The tent camping site is near a small lake.  Swimming was permitted, so we took advantage of it to cool off.

Over the rest day I had the opportunity to sort thru my trip supplies.  Some of things I no longer needed were the maps we had already used.  Those 7 maps amounted to a fair amount of weight.  Having only three remaining map sections in my hand gave me a new perspective on how far we have come.  Several challenges remain.  The grade climbing through the Green and White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont will provide a big challenge.

Tomorrow we push farther into Ohio on a generally northeasterly direction toward Cleveland.