Day 42 - July 19 - Wooster, OH to Niles, OH - 93 miles

The day didn't start out so happy. Lois and Topper had a collision, and went down. Topper was just a little scraped up, but Lois hurt her leg pretty badly. When I arrived on the scene, she was lying in a ditch at the side of the road, not moving, not even making much noise. Topper and Jason were with her, so I went on to the sag stop. But it was okay, because I got to direct the Sheriff and the Fire Dept, who had gotten bad directions. In the end, she didn't have anything broken, but some deep bruising. She's on crutches, so she won't be riding for a couple days.

Bud, who's from Akron, went home for a day or so, and re-joined the ride at mile 31. He took most of the group to the headquarters of the All-American Soap-Box Derby. It was apparently a lot of fun, but they were leaving about the time I got to the sag stop, and it was 5 miles out of the way, and up some more hills. Andy and I had a leisurely sag, and got to the hotel ahead of Team Bud for the first and last time.

Niles, Ohio, is the birthplace of President William McKinley, who led us into the Spanish-American war when it was politically expedient, and who was assassinated in 1901. (If you're familiar with Boiled in Lead, this is the subject of the very peppy song "Hard Times.") They built a honking big memorial and presidential library in the center of town. There's a statue of the Great Leader, and busts of other notable Ohioans - Presidents Teddy Roosevelt (good), William Howard Taft (bad), and Warren G. Harding (worse); and Marc Hanna, who fixed the elections for all of the above.

We've definitely hit a new low with this motel (Niles Inn). It's under new management, which hasn't put anything into renovations or demolition. Remember that Dan's an amputee - they put him on the second floor. Then it turned out that his room didn't have water - no flush, no sink, definitely no shower. We have water, but no water pressure. Bud have mold; Steve and Eileen have filth. Everyone has threadbare towels and dirty sheets. We're only lacking bugs, and I'm not entirely sure about that. This place is a Dump. The desk clerk is pleasant enough, but it's like talking to a mannequin. He's just not interested in doing anything. When I asked about a roll-away, he said "If it's not already in the room, it'll be there shortly." They don't actually have roll-aways, but he didn't know, and didn't care. This makes the Econo Lodge (last night's accomodation) look good. We usually stay in the Day's Inn (just down the street), Holiday Inn (ditto), and the like, so it's surprising that they'd put us here. A local newcaster who was interviewing Dan just asked "Do you know what goes on there?" Emily slept in her clothes. Suzanne slept in the van. Yechh.