Week 4 of the Great Lakes Tour - done!

Only one ride this week was a struggle but all the others were successfully completed so another 300+ miles clocked up meaning that since arriving in the USA I have now completed some 1,330 miles in 4 weeks. I only have two more rides to complete to add another 100+ miles to add to the tour and finish with a visit to the Niagara Falls before catching my flights home back to England.

This weekend we are staying in Erie in Pennsylvania with Sunday as a day off but this week we have travelled from Michigan, through Ohio on to a small section of Pennsylvania, included in this journey was going through Cleveland, a city I also visited in 2022. (Unfortunately I forgot to bring my flags on this trip)

There was one tremendous surprise for me this week when someone offered to come and visit me while we were in Freemont, Ohio. As a traveller in a foreign country I was certainly not expecting this but it was with delight that I met up with Dan Sheridan. He and I first met on the 2019 cross country trip from Seattle to Washington DC, however, we made contact earlier than the ride as he was asked to help me prepare for the trip by being my ‘buddy’ on behalf of the Fuller Center. He and I have maintained contact and in 2022, I went to stay with him for a few days in the summer, then in September, he and a load of other friends can to England for a bike tour I organised. We also saw each other at a Fuller Center reunion ride in Ohio in 2023 but this was the first time we have seen each other since that ride.

Dan is an amazing bike rider who clocked up 100,000 miles on the 2019 and since then he has gone on to cycle over 154,000 miles, including various rides in Europe. It was so good to spend some time together again, with we had much to catch up on and discuss. Thanks Dan for making time for me!!

How about this for my bedroom on Thursday and Friday nights!! Yes! That’s a Steinway piano close to my sleeping bag! The only problem we had was finding the light switches to turn off all the lights. With the help of Tim from the church, we eventually found them!!

Another bonus this week was an additional day off on Friday, which, for everyone, was a great time to just chill and explore whilst in Ashtabula. Tim offered to take us on a tour to see some of the highlights in the region. Here are just some of the sites we visited, including my first Walleye freshwater fish lunch - Yum!!

After a relatively short ride (50 miles) from Ashtabula we arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania where it appeared that my reputation as a pianist had been made known to the church. I agreed to provide ‘a concert’ after the fabulous dinner the church had provided. This in turn led me being invited to play during the church service on the Sunday! What a privilege! Apparently this means my contribution is now on the livestream provided by the Luther Memorial Church, Erie.

My next blog is likely to be drafted after I return home on Wednesday but this does not mean the end of my adventures. In mid-August I will be welcoming 21 of my American friends to Scotland as we undertake a cycling tour of some of the Inner Hebrides. As part of this we will be visting Tobermory on the Isle of Mull.

Watch this space!!