Stuart: Cleveland, Oh hello!

We rode onto the rainy, empty streets of Cleveland on Sunday. Eventually, we found the lakeside path (reminiscent of Chicago) and sure enough a bicycle rider with huge legs caught up with us and engaged us in conversation. His name was Bill and he was a retired fire fighter who's lived in the Cleavland area for most of his life. We caught him on his daily 27-30 mile bicycle ride (not so bad considering he was over 60!), which coincidentally took him straight through the city to the east side of town, in the exact direction we needed to go. It also happened that his house was a half mile off the road and he had some orange juice that he was willing to share with us so he invited us over for a glass. Bill poured us some orange juice, got out a whole assortment of nuts and seeds, fruit and offered us beer too! It was quite the feast and he told us that he likes to pass on the kindness that he received when he went on a long bicycle tour in the 1970s with his friend (so it was a glimpse into our future). He told us funny stories about being a fireman, like when a “big-boned” woman got hopelessly stuck between her toilet and the bathtub. They tried everything, oil, grease, tugging, but at last they had to shut off the water and take out the toilet. He said those stories were the ones they try and hold on to because there were gruesome stories too that are still difficult to deal with. We had such a good time over there, we invited him to come along (after he said that he wanted to), but it turned out he couldn't because his girlfriend from Florida was flying in to visit for a month. It was a bummer for us, but great for him. Stuffed with nuts, fruits and orange juice, we left Bill in his cozy, dry home for the soaking wet outside world. It was tough. Thanks Bill!