Day 13: Youngstown, OH to Canton, OH

Total Distance: 63.8 mi
Moving Avg: 9.4 mph
Moving Time: 6:48 
Climbing: 2500ft
Elev: -40 ft

Route Summary:
OH 193 S to
local streets to
US 62 W (with a few detours) to
OH 173 W to
OH 44 S to
OH 153 W

This morning I encountered the most motorcycles I've seen in any one
place. I was just riding along and I heard a siren, so I pulled over
a bit more than I already was. I look back and I see a column of
motorbikes that stretches further than I can see. They were passing
me for about 10 or 15 minutes. I guess there were about 10,000 of
them total. I'm not sure what the event was, but it was kinda
fun. Most of them were really nice. And there were lots of cute
tattooed biker chicks. I want one =)

Other than that it was a pretty uneventful day. I didn't get very
far, partly due to a late start (as usual) and partly due to stiff
headwinds for much of the day. 

I stand by my previous statement about the quality of the roads in
OH. Some of them are OK, but on average the quality is much lower
than all the other states I've been through. The drivers were a bit
nicer today, but still not great. 

I was lead to belive the midwest was flat. Either I'm not in the
midwest yet, or they lied to me, as there were a lot of hills for
"flat." And looking at the map, tomorrow ain't much better. But after
that it should flatten out. Of course I've said "it should flatten
out" before. The hills aren't nearly as bad as Vermont, but they
definitaly do slow me down a fair bit.

Finding a motel in Canton was a pain in the ass. I rode around for
about 30 minutes, mostly in industrial areas since there isn't much
else around, looking. When I finally found one, it was really really
skeezy. But at least it is dirt cheap. 

Oddly enough, I get cell coverage here. Most likely since I'm right
next to an interstate. I'll bet interstates are some of the first
areas they cover. I have finally managed to get the laptop to use my
phone as a modem to try and connect both to MIT's pasta pads and to
AOL, but in both cases all I get is "NO CARRIER", which means the
problem is now in the phone. Great.