Day 4: Tuesday - September 15, 2015 cont.
The Finish Line |
CINCINNATI TO LEBANON
Judy and I formed what would be a challenging plan to meet in Devou Park. I crossed the streets of Bromley and Ludlow to Covington that I worked in nearly 30 years ago and then headed up the hill in this long ago but still familiar land as Judy found her way through this (to her) foreign city terrain.
At last overlooking the summit Cincinnati was at hand. The taste of victory palpable.
When I worked here in 1983 urban repair was only a plan and Covington had no skyline!
Crossing the Ohio River by Bridge From Covington into Cincinnati
DOWNTOWN CINCI
Ohio Rails to Trails System Past Lunkin Field
The sound of hundreds of geese finding a roost for the night along the adjacent Little Miami River was surprisingly unexpected. I could no longer see the river much less my noisy new fowl friends. My phone and other batteries failing shadows grew taller until they owned the day. The pictures below would be the last as I covered my phone to keep the light of incoming messages from concerned family and friends from destroying my night vision. The next four hours would be the hardest and yet the most rewarding. A successful conclusion to this adventure was nearing and provided the extra motivation needed to complete an 80 mile day.
I navigated the foreign dark unknown to me Buck Eye trails I found covered by a thick canopy of tree limbs that hide the night sky.
Except for the wind created by my bike as long as I kept moving the air had become heavy. This old rail road line converted to green space trails was once illuminated by the bright beacon of powerful locomotives rumbling over the same path I traveled. Three flickering bike lights dim in comparison lit the way as I bobbed through the night until one road crossing opened into the now empty streets of Lebanon. The open lighted street looked more inviting than the dark Happy Hollow like trail head looming straight ahead. ("When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" Yogi Berra.) I took a quick navigation check......"At last! This is it!" I thought.
Once in the open night air I could feel a refreshing summer breeze. Except for a single car (and what may have been a homeless person or transient) the busy human filled day had yielded to eerily empty and an otherwise deserted city street. One block after another, street light after street light I traversed the heat of the summer Lebanon night in a way few seem to take the opportunity. After one last turn on what I hoped would be my brothers street I was relieved to see a flashlight wave in the distance! At last I was met with a smile and a hug from my concerned but happy and excited brother Bill. It was 10:15 PM.
I navigated the foreign dark unknown to me Buck Eye trails I found covered by a thick canopy of tree limbs that hide the night sky.
Except for the wind created by my bike as long as I kept moving the air had become heavy. This old rail road line converted to green space trails was once illuminated by the bright beacon of powerful locomotives rumbling over the same path I traveled. Three flickering bike lights dim in comparison lit the way as I bobbed through the night until one road crossing opened into the now empty streets of Lebanon. The open lighted street looked more inviting than the dark Happy Hollow like trail head looming straight ahead. ("When you come to a fork in the road, take it!" Yogi Berra.) I took a quick navigation check......"At last! This is it!" I thought.
Once in the open night air I could feel a refreshing summer breeze. Except for a single car (and what may have been a homeless person or transient) the busy human filled day had yielded to eerily empty and an otherwise deserted city street. One block after another, street light after street light I traversed the heat of the summer Lebanon night in a way few seem to take the opportunity. After one last turn on what I hoped would be my brothers street I was relieved to see a flashlight wave in the distance! At last I was met with a smile and a hug from my concerned but happy and excited brother Bill. It was 10:15 PM.