AN EARLY RECORD RIDE--

We rumbled our bikes into the parking lot of the little mom and pop restaurant in Millwood that recent morning and passed some customers evidently wary of our presence.  The likelihood of danger from we strange bikers was mitigated, however, when the collective quantity of our gray hair became obvious.

"Pshew," one of the customers chuckled when Ken joked with his favorite tale about us setting out that morning looking for some rival bikers' clubhouse then choosing, instead of that potential ribaldry, to enjoy the local, blue-plate special.

We had ridden from Bellville through Butler and Mohican State Park, turned south on SR 3 to Jelloway then sluiced our way through the hilly curves of SR 205 through Danville to Millwood.

The weather was perfect, the route was made for motorcycles and the breakfast was dandy.

I could really get to like this I mused silently; my first outing with Ken Johnson (right above) and his longtime pal--and brother-in-law--Dick Stauffer.  A saddlebag full of years ago, Ken met Dick's sister Joanne and proposed marriage to her on their first date.  The rest as they say is happy history.

We chuckled our good-byes to our new friends at Millwood and rode back through Danville to Brinkhaven for the above photo.  That's Ohio's longest covered bridge in the upper background.  Our plan to head on to Killbuck and Glenmont was thwarted by a detour on US 62 so we headed north on OH 514, a local road that deserves to wear the crown of a state scenic highway.

My status as a rookie rider was evident when I failed to anticipate the slick little wave with which riders salute each other in passing.  Twice.  Cyclists simply drop their left hand slightly below the handlebar with the palm extended flatly and flick their wrist.

You can be sure I didn't miss any more of those the rest of the ride.

In Greer we turned left and headed up the Wally Rd, toward Loudonville, another scenic dandy which was paved the last time I had passed by.  That day we encountered gravel soon after Greer and had long stretches of that cycling treachery.

Can you imagine roller skating on a floor covered with ball bearings? 

I was leading that segment of the ride, dropped into granny gear and eased gently along with my heart in my mouth each time a tire would ricochet through especially loose and often muddy stones.  We stopped a couple of times to consider our alternatives but rode that stretch safely and ultimately concluded it was a good baptism of experience for yours truly.

As we said our "good byes" in the Bellville area I noted I had 85 miles on the cyclometer so I whistled by my home road and continued down Rhinehart to Possum Run to SR 95 to Butler and back to my home road; rolling down my driveway with105.2 miles clicked into the log book.

Made me feel like I want to live forever.