(Click on envelope for e-mail – go to http://olympia.thebeaconjournal.com/odyssey/ for new stories added to the Odyssey page)
I took my own digital camera on the trip, but abandoned using it after a couple of days. There were too many other things to juggle, and besides, I had a professional photographer at my side – didn’t see a lot of need for my snapshots.
Now I wish I had kept snapping. Denny Gordon (photog) will be giving me a set of photos for my personal album, but, until then, I have to rely on my memory. Already, things are starting to fade. I just flipped through the online photo album - http://hogan.ohio.com/ohio/odyssey/album/ - and relived some of the fun days. But, there was so much more.
Jan Leach, the Beacon Journal’s former editor and the person who first suggested a bike trip, e-mailed me today. She suggested a book. Many have encouraged us to do just that.
I may try to do a book, even if it means one copy just for me. When I’m old and gray … ok, when I’m old … ok, when I’m older than I already am, I can sit in my chair, page through my book of memories and remember the 20 days of the Ohio Odyssey.
Others have suggested breaking the Odyssey into 3 weeklong sections and doing one every year … and inviting others to ride along. Yea, you bike riders know where that’s going. I think Ohio already has a terrific annual weeklong ride in GOBA, and I have no desire to get into the bike-trip business.
I really need to mention two people before I go any further in this blog. There were two people whose incredible generosity made the last two days of the trip infinitely more enjoyable.
On Thursday, we had a fellow rider for most of the day. Wiley Dixon rode the 40 miles from Coshocton to New Philadelphia. He was a delightful riding companion. Wiley (named after Wiley Post) heard about the Odyssey through long-distance bike riding circles and thought it might be fun to ride along. In fact, he thought he’d be one of a large group accompanying us. That actually never developed like we thought it might.
Anyway, Wiley arranged to come along and then discovered a strange coincidence. He has applied to the same aviation missionary maintenance organization as our host for the night, Brian Pottinger. Wiley knew some of the same people as Brian, but they did not know each other and Wiley didn’t know where I was staying Wednesday night. Very odd.
Anyway, that’s not why I need to thank Wiley. In a generous offer, Wiley’s wife drove the van from Coshocton to New Philadelphia. There’s more. So that his wife could get back to Coshocton, a friend of theirs also made the drive in a separate car. That was so helpful.
Then, on Friday, Jack Kindelberger did the same thing with the Mount Eaton to Akron segment. Jack and his wife drove from Glenmont in Tuscarawas County to Mount Eaton, picked up my van, and drove separately to Akron. Then they returned to Glenmont in their car.
This was July 4th. This took a chunk out of their holiday. They did it happily, without any need for payback or anything like that. Sooo generous.
Jack also arranged the stay with the Yoders on Thursday night. That was a lot of trouble, seeing as many residents of Mount Eaton still remember an article from the Beacon Journal from 10 years ago in which the writer called it a “hick town” – repeatedly. But Jack found us a great family, which led to an interesting experience.
To both Jack and Wiley – my most-heartfelt thanks.
To everyone else – thanks for coming along for the ride.
(I’ll be writing more in this blog in the coming days and weeks.)
4:31:58 PM 
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