Yellow Springs, Ohio

This may have been one of the best days of my life. The ride from Columbus to Yellow Springs was only 54 miles and flat as the ice after a zamboni rolls over it. For twenty miles of the day we were on a bike path which meant clean smooth pavement, no debris, and best of all no cars. The pace was a ridiculous speed and with a group of three to draft with we got into lunch before 10 am and to our host site before noon. We knew we were speedy so atthe lunch stop I just had and apple so I could kick it into Yellow Springs and have time to eat at a restaurant and explore. The people at our last stop described this city as a haven for commie liberals. That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron but it excited me nonetheless. This town of 4000 and home of comedian Dave Chappelle is a beautful hippie village nestled between horizons of Ohio farmland. It is a totally happening town and they show their dedication to charity by boasting their 125 non profit organizations; probably the best ratio of residents to non profits in the country. I adjusted my bike seat last night because the upward tilt of it was putting slot of pressure on my prostate and in addition to being extremely uncomfortable also made me have to pee often. That made this morning a much more comfortable ride as more pressure was distributed to my butt fat. We got into Yellow Springs and were greated at the church by the nicest host to date. This town had really set up some great plans for us and is really into what we are doing. The first step was to find lunch. A group of four girls and myself went to a local cafe that was reccomended to us. They said they were all craving salad but when decision time came and we placed our orders, four of us decided on burgers. The meal did not disappoint and after that we wondered across the street to a bike shop and then back to the church. The towns main street is an interesting place as you get to see the pulse of the artsy and independently hip community. Trees benches and sign posts have knitted sweaters and sidewalk art adorns the walkways in front of cute little shops. Last year when bike and build stayed here, they didnt get in until very late when the arranged showers at the local pool had already closed. So two girls got naked outside and started showering together with a garden hose. The people at the churh said this community is cool with stuff like that, but just not in front of the churh. So they called church members to tell them what was happenig and convince them to offer up their homes. Because of that, this year there were three prearrainged homes for us to shower at. I chose the one within walking distance of the church so i didn't have to be shuttled there and boy am I happy with that decision. I kid you not when I say this was the best shower of my life. The Hoover family opened their bathroom to us and their luxury shower. This 7x9 open tiled knook off the bathroom had two showerheads for a surround experience. There was room
to walk out of the water and wash yourself and really ample room to set up a couch and flatscreen tv. The best part was that they provided towels which meant I didn't have to get my stuff wet or use my multi purpose drying shirt (there wasn't enough room in my bin to pack a towel). Ok but the real best part was to not have to share a bathroom with 32 people all wanted to shower, change, brush their teeth, urinate, etc at the same time. I could actually relax and take my sweet time enjoying the space warmth comfort and absence of knocks on the door. So as is customary on bike and build, I kept the sweating up after the shower because no one here is ever really clean.
Two of the kids on our trip are from the area so I decided to pal around with them and some others to show me a good time. And a good time I had. We went to beautiful hiking trip through some trails along a river and cliffs that they knew about. I was drentched in sweat but the beauty of Ohio nature was totally worth it. When we got back, I jumped in with a different group of people and we tried to explore every shop in town. I got the best coffee of my life at Brother Bear's Coffee. I ordered it because it was the daily special called the berry poppins. It has raspberry, strawberry, and white chocolate. It was an iced coffee topped with whipped cream and the only time I have actually enjoyed drinking coffee. This was a great feel of the hippy nature of the town as an old man in a UN shirt was playing a young boy in chess as the employees in Grateful Dead shirts churned out coffee orders to customers relaxing in the felt flower covered atmosphere. Simply perfect. We shared some awesome bourbon chicken from a street vendor and looked at an interesting range of merchandise in all the small stores. I chatted it up with a lot of the workers an random town people. Everyone here is so happy and laid back with a willingness to help. On the way home a couple of us were trying to take a picture in front of a wall mural and some random lady driving by stopped and took a picture so we could all be in it ad we didn't even know her or ask her too. Every Thursday we have a town hall meeting where we sit in a circle and as we are opening packages and letters from the mail drop, we go over our highs and lows of the week. At this meeting, we got some interesting news. When at the church in Columbus, we were confined to the basement and not allowed upstairs. There was even a night guard who told us this several times. However, two people decided to sleep upstairs in the sanctuary and ended up missing the shuttle to the build site because they were still sleeping. They were found and woken up by the lady who works at the church and told us we weren't allowed upstairs. She was pissed! So tonight their punishment was revealed that they have to find food for the whole group the whole time we're in Missouri. Holy cow that is going to be a difficult and stressful task. The meeting wrapped up and dinner was served by church members who at we us. We had home made lasagna, about 5 different kinds with several vegetarian options. There was a smorgasbord of sides and thankfully plenty of vegetables. I didn't overeat because I knew we were going to get ice cream later. I gave up ice cream for the year starting January 1, 2010 because it's one of my favorite foods and I wanted to see if I had the will power to do it. It's been a rough six months, especially at bike and build where ice cream is eaten everyday. However, this is world famous Young's Dairy and the church gave us all gift cards so I couldn't pass it up. I tranferred the weightlifting motto of me jay and pierson to life in general: go big or go die. I ordered the biggest thing on the menu; the cow trough. 5 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings, whipped cream, chocolate chips, cherry on top, two Oreo cookies and two CC cookies. My flavors were cotton candy, butterscotch toffee, American celebration, banana, and chocolate, topped with butterscotch and extra strawberries. This place was the most crowded dairy bar I've ever seen and when someone orders this they ring a big cowbells and scream "Cow Trough!" then of course everyone looks at the person who ordered it, knowing they're a fatass and sizes them up wondering if they can eat the whole thing. Of course, I had 32 people with me so they all cheered and took pictures. People from our group gathered around to see if I was disgusting enough and physically able to finish the whole thing. I did t want to be pressured and didn't think I would be able to do it so I told everyone I wasn't even going to try. But since I am a bottomless pit and president of binge eaters anonymous, I did the deed like it was nothing. I had no pain, no illness and no brain freeze. I finished my ice cream before some people finished their one scoop. Sure I'm a pig, but that's a talent too, right? Anyway it was kind of cool because in the last few bites people were cheering for me when I wasn't even full. I guess cycling really makes me hungry, but even random strangers who saw me order asked me if I ended up finishing. I even went inside after and had free samples of their cheeses and breads. Also, next store they have a small petting and feeding farm so I got to play with goats and cows. A light rain came over our area but lasted shortly. It was just the perfect amount of time so that when we got home, there was the biggest and most distinct rainbow in the sky I have ever seen. I dare say today was the perfect day because Ohio is living in paradise.