XC Day 4 - Marshall MI to Rossford OH
Today was a long day, not just because of the 120 miles between Marshall MI and Rossford OH, but also because of the strong crosswinds and headwinds for the last 80 miles of the ride. However, much of the ride was on good roads with nice scenery which helped. The picture above was shortly after we left Marshall in the morning.
We rode through Marshall proper after leaving the hotel. In the town, there was this great mural on one of the buildings.
The first 40 miles of the ride were really terrific. The weather was in the upper 50s when we left, but soon warmed up to the low to mid 60s which I find ideal for riding. There were lots of varied and scenic views such as this one.
We were riding through farm country, so we did have plenty of corn and soybean fields.
However, there were a surprising number of ponds.
We had an 8 mile stretch on a bike path. Unlike the bike path I often ride on Cape Cod, which has lots of bumps caused by frost heaves and roots pushing up the pavement, this one was very smooth. Most of the roads for the first 40 miles were also terrific with a number feeling like they had been paved this summer. Biking on smooth roads is always such a pleasure.
Yet another example of a beautiful view from the bike path.
Most of my photos today were taken from the first 40 miles of the trip. This is partially because that portion was very scenic, but also because the last 80 miles were so affected by the wind. When riding in a strong crosswind or headwind, you can save a lot of energy by following closely to the person in front and being partially sheltered from the wind. However, this also makes it much harder to take photos.
In this photo, you can see how each of the last two riders are behind and to the right of the rider in front of them. This is because we have a very strong crosswind coming from the left. The crosswind from the left merges with the headwind from cycling to create a diagonal wind matching the angle of the riders. This type of diagonal riding is called an echelon. To take this picture, I am fully in the wind which makes cycling much harder.
I did occasionally snap a random photo while riding like this one, but frankly they weren’t very interesting.
Eventually, we arrived in Rossford. We were very happy to get to the hotel. Tomorrow we have an 87 mile ride to Oberlin OH.