Day 18: Wheeling, WV to Barnesville, OH

Distance: 33.5 mi, Climbed: 2,044 ft
Completed: 619.0 mi, 37,981 ft

Today was supposed to be a relaxing 34-mile ride. And it started out that way. But then…

Joanna and I rode out of Wheeling, West Virginia with a six gun in our hand on the Wheeling Heritage Trail, which is right next to the Ohio River. A nice tranquil start to our day. As we exited the trail, Matt, a local parking enforcement officer, stopped and greeted us. He tries to greet all the cyclists riding through. We learned a lot about Matt in just a few minutes. He grew up in Wheeling, he had four kids by 23, and he now has four grandkids. He told us stories about how as a kid he used to bike ride across the Wheeling Suspension Bridge to ride on Wheeling Island because Wheeling itself is so hilly. He was also kind and pointed out a shortcut for us to get to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, our next stop.

As someone who enjoys engineering, it was a treat to see and ride over the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, built in 1849—the oldest still-in-use suspension bridge in the United States. The bridge is only open to pedestrians and bicycles so we pretty much had the bridge all to ourselves.  

We rode across Wheeling Island and then took another small bridge over the Ohio River into Ohio, our sixth state. After the obligatory picture, we set off for our one big challenge of the day, a one-mile, 10%-average-grade climb. The climb was impossible. At one point, Joanna’s bike computer said 24%. There was no way for us to ride most of it. We had a nice walk up a beautiful hill.   

At the top of the hill, we met Paul. Paul was super excited to meet someone riding across the United States. He is a carpenter who does some work for the local Trek bicycle dealer. He really liked Joanna’s Trek Checkpoint. He was on a Trek e-bike, which he let me try. The e-bike made me feel like Superman. I could gently pedal and zoom off. The hill we just walked would have been easy on his bike. Hmm…

We meandered around the plateau on top of the climb for a few miles before descending in Neffs, Ohio. Neffs was the only food stop on today’s route so we stopped for a little lunch at the Dollar General. We got sliced turkey, bought some tortillas, and created a makeshift meal. Perfect.

The sun was hot so I decided to roll my bike around to the side of the building where there was some shade. Big mistake!!! When we went to leave, I discovered I had a flat tire. I am using Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, which have a reputation for being virtually indestructible. But, apparently there were thorns on the side of the Dollar General, and a half-inch thorn punctured my tire. Sigh…

I pulled the wheel off, removed the thorn, put a new inner tube in, and then went to remount the tire. The Schwalbe Marathon Plus has a very tight tire bead. I had a lot of trouble getting the tire back on the bike. I ended up watching a YouTube video to figure how to get it mounted. First problem solved.

With the tire on, I inflated the tire, but it was not sitting evenly on the rim. Apparently, part of the tire bead had not set properly. I removed the air and tried again. Same problem. Around this time, Scott Blacker pulled up in his pickup truck and asked if we needed any help. He used to do long-distance bicycling touring himself and told us how last year he rescued a cyclist with a flat tire as well. He offered to take me to a local shop and get the tire inflated properly. The local shop used soap and water on the bead while blowing the tire up to get the bead to sit properly. Second problem solved.

People can be so nice. While I was at the bike shop, Joanna was in the Dollar General parking lot with her bicycle and mine upside down missing a tire. Tonya drove up, planning to grab a loaf of bread before her night shift started. Well, Tonya saw a fellow bicyclist in need, so she stopped to offer assistance. When she understood that I was with Scott getting the tire fixed, Tonya stayed with Joanna until we returned, chatting about bicycling and life.

The next problem was that with all this socializing, walking our bikes, and getting my bike tire fixed, it took time. It was 5:30 pm, and we had only ridden ten miles. If we continued at our leisurely pace, we would have finished long after dark. We needed to ride with a purpose. The second half of the ride was beautiful, but we barely noticed as we wanted to get to Barnesville before dark. With a concerted effort, we managed to ride into town just as the sun was setting. Relaxing ride? Not exactly.