Grove City, OH. On my journey from Columbus to London I choose the Ohio to Erie bike path. I wanted to walk in peace without worrying about car traffic so this was the perfect option. It was a little tricky finding it but well worth it!

Start of my path down the bikeway nestled between railroad tracks and large stretches of farmland.

On the path I met Liz, Maggie, and Matt who I believe were cycling to London, OH and back. They were very friendly and seeing them ride off made me miss my single-speed bike back home. It was nice meeting them, I wish them many great rides throughout the year.

Farm silos with train loading station, the town's skyscrapers.

Glen and Allen. I met these two gentlemen sho were cycling on the path they stopped and questioned me about mission. They happen to be Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails, so they monitor and maintain the bike path within the county. Along with giving me directions to a hostel in London they (with another fellow named Gary) made donations to the American Diabetes Association, which I was greatful for. Thanks again!

Resting of feet is a must especially when breaking in new boots.


1/12/13

Columbus, OH. Leaving from Powell to Columbus I took the bike path down the Olentangy River. It was a nice, warm, sunny day and in this large beautiful park area I encountered a lot of runners & cyclists along the way including:

Ashley - Beautiful runner that gave me directions, walked, and talked with me some of the way. She is a "new" runner, loves it, and revealed she originally forced herself into running much like I did.

John - Cyclist who assisted me along the way, we spoke about my journey, and before leaving he gave a small donation.

Craig - As I exited the bike path to navigate to the main street heading south (to reach my destination in German Village faster) a small dog approached me barking. This is such a frequent occurrence that does not bother me. I met the dog's owner, Craig, who was taking down Christmas lights. We spoke some about what I was doing and he took a picture with me before I parted.


1/11/13

Ashland, OH.

Happy New Year! There is something about starting on a clean slate that motivates one to take on goals, tasks, & challenges with renewed rigor or a different approach. I myself didn't set any traditional resolutions, nothing against them, I'm still working on my multitude of goals previously set. Some will be completed soon, others later in the year, and some I'll be working on for a lifetime which I'm totally fine with. Whether your goal is to lose weight, get out of debt, make more money, etc. as long as made it clear in your mind and have made the first step toward the goal (regardless of the circumstances you may face), you are on the right track -- just don't give up!

My New Years was very low-key which I was fine with. I spent large portion of it planning my donation process from receiving contribution, to distributing donation gifts, to giving the proceeds to the American Diabetes Association.

It is a lot of work and still have more work to complete. I'm not complaining because it is something I whole heartedly believe in. I'm not afraid of the word "no" so I will be contacting everyone I know, people I meet, asking for referrals, and asking individuals I don't know via phone, email, text, Facebook, this website, mailings, and face-to-face -- can't stop, won't stop.

I ordered a large quantity of business card to hand to people I meet. It will help getting the word out so people will remember me and most importantly remember to donate. Business cards will make the bond between myself and the person I'm interacting with that much stronger so even when I'm gone down the road to the next town that card is still in their presence.

Above are the boots I just ordered, from a recommendation from Brother John. My current shoes could not stand 16-hours of marching through the deep snow. That issue lead to me marching over 5 miles one night, so I have to keep my socks covered in shopping bags (McDonalds plastic bags work the best) until I get my boots. I just hope the height of the shoe doesn't restrict my ankles.

I've been truly blessed to receive free food along the journey. I don't look for it, it just happens out of the blue. Subway is my favorite restaurant because they are the friendliest so I know they will continue to hook a brother up, on the other hand McDonalds workers seem very programmed and scared. Sometimes I know they want to start a dialog about where Im going or doing but something always holds them back.

This week I'm headed to Lexington, Mt. Gilead, Delaware (the city), and then Powell/Colombus. This is my home stretch before I spend some time in Powell and Columbus, and then I pick up pace and work my way south to start walking the American Discovery Trail. The ADT is the longest non-motorized trail that stretchest from coast to coast.

Day 39 was a tough day. It was the coldest, windiest day I have experienced and was so cold I took no breaks unless I had to eat or go to the bathroom. The only way to make it through was to focus on my breathing, turn my thoughts off, go into a slight walking trance, and focus on the snowy & icey 5 feet in front of me.

It worked perfectly until another police officer pulled me over. He told me it was too cold to be walking the highway and offered me a ride, I declined and told him why I walking and that I was on a mission. He didn't like the sound of that, they never do, and proceeded to ask me for ID. How does it go from offering me a ride to running my record? Anyway, I went through the regular "yes'm boss" motions, he gave me my ID, and wishes me a good trip.


[Just deleted a whole rant.]

While walking the last leg of that day's walk, a couple pulled over and offered me a ride (which happens often) and I graciously declined. They respected that request and told me if I was hungry the house was a mile down the road, so I thanked them. That mile was the longest mile in the world. I was cold, tired, and hungry.

I finally made it, almost walking past the house. Jeff greeted me at the door and welcomed me in and introduced me to his beautiful wife Stephanie, his two children Samantha (whose going off to college in Venezuela) & Steven (who works doing construction) and their very energetic dog, Terrapin.

Their family lifted my spirits and fed my belly with both German stew and Spanish soup along with grapefruit juice, one of my
my favorite beverages. The way their family interacted wasn't anything extraordinarily, but I was in awe because it was just something I had and then lost after my mother passed away 17 years ago. Anyway, I talked with them for a bit, thanked them, said my good-byes, and then departed as I finished my day's journey near the heart of town.

A big part of life is loving and helping others, I try to practice this daily, and if an individual is not... they're truly missing out.

The towns in Pennsylvania that I will travel through the next week and a half before I reach Ohio are (in order):

Curwensville
Luthersberg
Reynoldsville
Brookville
Strattenville
Clarion
Knox
Shippanville
Kossuth
Cranberry
Franklin
Polk
Sandy Lake
Clarks Mills
Hadley
Greenville

I'm gonna bump up the mileage by 5 miles a day to 25 miles for the next 7 days. If I can do this then I'll be in Ohio in a week and a half. In order to accomplish this I will have to:

* Go to sleep earlier
* Wake up earlier
* Streamline my morning routine
* Less sit down meals during the day
* Walk longer hours
* Finally of course walk faster