Ride to Hartville Market, Hartville Ohio, July 4, 2011

After my first day riding 46 miles as part of my abandoned cross Pennsylvania tour, I'd kept my road riding in Ohio to a minimum. Part of it was that I didn't like the roads, part of it was that my host didn't think bikes belong on roads, and part of it was that with all the trails nearby I didn't need road riding. But I wanted to do at least one trip from my hosts' door and back, and so July 4 I set out on a short ride of ten miles to the Hartville Market, one of the largest indoor farmers and flea markets in Ohio.

Since I didn't know what I'd find there, I brought the trailer too. This caused a problem when I didn't find any bike racks at the market building. So I decided my bike and trailer were my shopping cart, and I took them inside.

Maneuvering was a little tight but I made it work. Bike, trailer, and rider walked up and down every aisle, and later visited the food court. One of the vendors gave me an American flag, which I flew on the back of the trailer.

 I picked up a few items, unfortunately most of them being food a fat cyclist should stay away from. One item I regretted not having the cash or room for was the Pepsi trike. This machine has a built in cooler!  I wasn't sure what I'd do with it, and I'm still not sure, but it was a curious looking machine.

In retrospect, I wish I had gone on to historic downtown Hartville, but my host had company coming and I wanted to be back to meet him. Oh well, I'll have to save it for my next bike adventure in Ohio....