Columbus

I packed up my gear and hit the road around 7. Even though it was almost 2 miles out of my way I rode to a Starbucks for a latte.. It was so good. I filled both my water bottles there with ice and water. Today is going to be very hot. I wanted to get as many miles in dureing the morning as possible.

I hadn’t gone very far when I came to Pittsburgh Plate Glass Factory. The factory is closed but they turned it into a park. Up until 1979 it was the largest producer of plate glass in the world. The smoke stack was 280 feet tall and there is steps going up to 140 feet to an observation platform. I started up them but didn’t make it too far being as my legs hurt enough as it is. Climbing 200 steps would not help. The factory was over 1 million square feet and sat on 250 acres. Its a beautiful park now and some of the old buildings are converance and events centers some just have picnic tables.

I was fascinated by this place and spent way to much time here. Ohio does a wonderful job with its parks and recreation areas. So much more enjoyable then a chain link fence and no trespassing signs like most closed factories!

I had not gone more then 2 miles before I stopped and talked to a man on a vintage Schwinn. We had a great conversation about many things. He had hiked most the Appalachian Trail and did quite a bit of bike touring, he crossed Canada among other things. But the coolest thing was he was friends with Earl Shaffer. Shaffer was the first person to through hike the A.T. He also was the first to hike it southbound which is the direction I went when I through hiked in 06. When Shaffer was 78 he through hiked it one more time.

Later in the afternoon I came across a great blackberry patch. I stopped and ate sun warmed berrys for half an hour. I don’t think I left any that were ripe.

I met a man who started in Seattle and was headed to D.C. We did not stop to talk but we were both moving so slowly because of the heat that we had time for our brief exchange while passing.

I was on roads off and on today. Long, straight and enjoyable. Mostly it was farmland, corn and soybeans. Ohio grows close to 5 million acres of soybeans a year. Last year it produced 263 million bushel making it the 7th largest soybean state.

Shortly before lunch I passed through Centerburg. Centerburg got its name because it is the center point between Columbus and Mt Vernon. Somehow though eventually it became known as the center of ohio. Here is what Google says.

There seems to be some confusion as to whether or not Centerburg is the “geographical” center of Ohio. There is a large stone located in Centerburg that declares “Centerburg Geographical Center of Ohio” but is Centerburg really the center of the state? Actually no. According to the Ohio History Central, an online Encyclopedia of Ohio History the geographical center of Ohio is a spot in Delaware County about 20 miles east of Centerburg and 25 miles northeast of Columbus. That seems to be pretty official, but does it answer the question: Where is the center of Ohio?

In the small town of Sunbury I cooked my lunch in the city park.

Back on the OTET late in the afternoon I talked to two women who highly recommend the Olentangy River Trail. It wasn’t too far out of my way so I decided to take it. It was busy and a lot is beside a main 4 lane road. Where i camped for the night the sound of the waterfall helped drowned out the sound of the traffic.