Day 53. Toledo to Sandusky, 61 miles

I spent so much time on trail today, and it was glorious.

I was reconnecting with the ACA route sometime today or tomorrow, but still mapping myself for today, and I grumbled a little that Andrew got to drive along the coast—water on both sides at one point!—and I had to drop south into a headwind just to ride north again to Sandusky; both the ACA route and Googlemaps routed south. But the trail was the reason, and it was worth it.

To get there I departed through the southern outskirts of Toledo, with the same dispiritingly neglected and worn-down feel as every other city’s far reaches. Even Rogers Park, the vibrant neighborhood where I live, gets poorer and dingier as you approach the border with Evanston.

Despite the headwind, I moved at a good pace. It’s still very flat; other than an unexpected 1600+ feet of elevation between Flint and Ann Arbor (of course), the climbing has been minimal and unremarkable.

And then the trail! I had 25 or so miles on beautifully well marked, paved trail—the Inland Coastal trail, which appears to run 70+ miles—running through farmland and trees. There were ample sit spots and bike repair stations and lots of folks out using the trail on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Even when it went through Fremont, a city of 16k, the bike route was well enough marked that I didn’t have to stop for map checks. ❤️

And then a tailwind as I cut back north to Sandusky, which, Andrew texted to say, had an unexpectedly charming downtown. And it did!

I arrived early afternoon, and we headed out for a walk along Sandusky’s waterfront.

We took a break for beers at Daly’s Pub.

Then we headed back to the motel for showers before another foray into Sandusky for dinner and cocktails overlooking the water.

With an early morning departure ahead of us—Andrew is taking me about 30 miles down the road to avoid a long day through Cleveland—we went back to the motel and hit the hay.