Today is the last day in Zanesville. The weather was warmer today than on my Sunday ride but the hills are still here. It was 70.3 degrees, scattered clouds, 81% humidity, breeze from the WSW at 2.0 mph and gusts of 7.0 mph. Because of this I was able to ride without leg warmers but I still used a long sleeve and short sleeve jerseys. After a couple of miles of hills I was warmed up to where the 65 degrees at my start time was not even noticed.

The route overlapped my Sunday route somewhat but I did get an extra mile or two. While I was riding around the Zanesville Municipal Airport a private twin-prop plane took off. When I was growing up Lake Shore Airlines used to fly DC-3′s on a scheduled basis to Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and other cities from this airport. That has long since disappeared.

After all of these hills I think I would have no problem with the hills at the Pineywoods Purgatory in Lufkin. This ride has some large hills on the 65 mile route.

Today’s ride statistics:

• miles 22.33
• riding time 1:41:36
• average pace 4:32 min/mile
• average speed 13.2 mph
• max speed 29.4 mph
• average cadence 63 rpm
• max cadence 99 rpm
• Elevation Gain: 1,091 ft.. Elevation Loss: 1,077 ft.
• Min Elevation: 749 ft., Max Elevation: 996 ft.
• September miles 224.39
• YTD miles 3991.27

I did not take pictures on the Sunday ride so I went back today and took some of the points of interest on the route. The first picture is a steel bridge from the National Highway that was the major road west when Ohio was settled. This later became US 40. The steel bridge is at the Zane Grey and National Highway Museum on US 40 and I-70 across from Baker’s Motel. Picture two is a mileage marker from the National Highway also at the Zane Grey Museum. Along the National Highway were a number of “S” bridges. This one is on the west edge of New Concord. Pictures three and four are “S” bridge related. Picture five is a marker at the Zane Grey Museum commemorating Col. Ebenezer Zane who cut Zane’s Trace Trail in 1797 into the Ohio Territory. Picture six is some early road construction equipment at the museum.

Yesterday we arrived in Zanesville, OH from Hershey, PA. I grew up in Zanesville but when I lived here I was not into bicycling in the way I am now. One thing I have to get used to is the amount of hills. In the years past when I have brought my bike along I have ridden the highways in the area. US40 has bike lanes to the west of Zanesville and some portions of it to the east have bike lanes. This morning’s ride had a shoulder all of the way and a bike lane for about half of it. Since it was Sunday traffic was very low. I spotted at least three roadkill skunks and one doe deer. Muskingum County has one of the largest deer populations in Ohio.

The temperature was much cooler than I care for and I dressed as warm as I could with a long sleeve jersey, short sleeve jersey and leg warmers. When I left the hotel the temperature was 55 degrees and when I got back it has made it to 67.5 degrees. Clear skies and a light breeze of 2.0 mph and gusts to 6.0 mph. Humidity was 76%. I remembered my sun glasses to keep my eyes from watering when I went downhill.

Road conditions were generally good but you can see what the temperature changes during winter do to asphalt laid over concrete: expansions joints caused heave places every so often. Salt for ice causes the shoulder to crumble and heavy trucks finish off the weak points. The bike lane was in good condition though.

Today’s ride statistics:

• miles 20.38
• riding time 1:30:18
• average pace 4:25 min/mile
• average speed 13.5 mph
• max speed 28.4 mph
• average cadence 66 rpm
• max cadence 102 rpm
• Elevation Gain  930 ft., Elevation Loss  909 ft.
• Min Elevation  748 ft., Max Elevation  1,015 ft.
• September miles 202.06
• YTD miles 3946.61

Jordan Morozowsky of Roseville

So if you are interested in how a small town in Ohio can host the MTB championship take a look at this link and the one below. The stories are carried by the local TV station (WHIZ) and the newspaper, The Zanesville Times Recorder. There are some good pictures.

Excerpt from the WHIZ website:

Dillon State Park Hosts Cycling Race
By: Katie Jeffries
It was off to the races this morning in Dillon State Park. Professional and novice cyclists alike gathered to compete in the Ohio Mountain Bike Championship. The professional cyclists practice almost everyday and were ready for the race to begin.

And from the Times Recorder:

Mountain bikers flock to Dillon State Park
BY JIM BARSTOW • Staff Writer
NASHPORT — Things got a little rocky for Jordan Morozowsky and about 100 of his friends. A resident of Roseville, Morozowsky navigated over and around hundreds of boulders strewn along the wooded hillsides of northern Muskingum County Sunday and captured first place in his class during the Ohio Mountain Bike Championship Series at Dillon State Park.