Day 16: 12 Miles

Columbus, OH to Columbus, OH

Today was a planned rest day. I’ve now been on the road 2 weeks and have covered over 700 miles. My legs were ready for a day off. I actually can’t believe I’ve made it this far already. The first few days of this trip were brutal. I was stuck in the rain and cold for 2 days and then got attacked by a dog. At that point Pittsburgh seemed far away, but I’ve blown past there and have already made it a good chunk of the way through Ohio. Camping the last two nights was a good experience, but I was ready to be back in a city to relax for a couple of days.

Last night’s time in Columbus was a lot of fun. Today was a rest day, so I decided I would do some drinking last night and found 3 breweries within walking distance of my hotel. It was great to try beers from some breweries I’ve never heard of and talk to some people.

My first stop was the Elevator Brewery taproom. They had 10 or 12 beers on tap so I started with a flight of 4 beers. I asked the bartender about the brewery and some of the others nearby and he handed me a Columbus Ale Trail passport. There are apparently 37 breweries in the Columbus area and each one will stamp your passport when you stop in. If you get enough stamps you can pick up a free ale trail tasting glass. Columbus didn’t look like a very big city when I spotted the skyline from the suburbs, so it was great to see there were so many beer options in town.

The next stop on my mini brewery tour was Wolf Ridge Brewery. They had an interesting selection of infused beers. I went for the Sky Barb (Lemon Rhubarb Cream Ale) and the Warmug (9% golden fruited coffee sour). I’ve become a bit of a lightweight since this trip began. By the time I got to the 9% beer I was already feeling the effects of my previous beer choices. I also realized that I had neglected to eat lunch because I spent the whole afternoon trying to outrun a storm. I needed some fried goodness immediately or I was going to crash. I ordered a fried chicken sandwich with garlic fries that really hit the spot and gave me enough energy to get to one more brewery.

The final stop was Platform Beer Company. They are based out of Cleveland, but recently opened a taproom in Columbus. They had a decent selection of beers as well. I sat down at the bar and struck up a conversation with a guy named Eric who was also a cyclist. We talked a bit about my trip and he gave me some good info on the surrounding area. There were also a couple of guys next to us that turned out to be from Bethlehem, PA (where I went to grad school). They were in town for the Rock on the Range music festival which is taking place in Columbus this Friday through Sunday. I realize now that the hotel rooms in Columbus were so expensive this weekend because of the festival. The headliner for tonight’s show was supposed to be Soundgarden, but their lead singer Chris Cornell passed away on Wednesday. The festival was going forward, but will certainly have a different atmosphere with many of the bands now planning tributes to Cornell.

By 10:30 I had consumed enough beer to put me to sleep, so I decided to walk back to the hotel. It was nice to sleep in this morning and not have to be on the road by 9:00 AM. I ate some breakfast and checked out of the hotel around 11:00. I had a 12-mile ride from downtown Columbus to the west side of Columbus where I’ll be spending the night tonight. The 12 miles was entirely paved bike path and got me outside the ring of highway the encircles the city. This should make it much easier to start off my ride tomorrow morning. I stopped about a half mile from tonight’s hotel to do a load of laundry at a laundromat.

After checking into the new hotel I walked down the road to find a spot to get a beer and some food. Soon after sitting down, an older guy grabbed the seat next to me. He quickly began instructing me on how to play Keno. I looked around and realized everyone in the bar was watching random numbers pop up on screens rather than paying attention to sports on TV. It turns out my Keno teacher was a 68 year old state worker and was very proud to be the only guy to test positive for marijuana twice and keep his state job. He talked my ear off about medical marijuana for a solid 30 minutes, which was totally unexpected. The bar I was at had 22 oz. drafts for $2.25 and the waitress always asked if I wanted another with my glass still half full. With a storm passing through, I was happy to drink some beers and play Keno to wait out the rain.

After my day drinking through the rain I went back to the hotel and planned my route for the next few days. Then it was time to head to the casino down the road. I figured I’d play some craps and watch the basketball game on TV. I didn’t come out a winner with craps, but the casino was an interesting place. The Gas Pump Jockeys, “Columbus’s premier oldies band”, was there playing some Beatles hits. By 10:00 I’d had enough and headed back to the hotel. I hadn’t planned on a rest day in Columbus, but I definitely had 2 good days here so I’m happy I stopped through. Onto a new city tomorrow. The next big city on the trip is Louisville, Kentucky, which is a few days away. It looks like the route is relatively flat though. Look forward to a recap of the distilleries in the Louisville area once I make it their.