June 9:  Oberlin to Hudson, Ohio  66.7 miles

Weather Forecast::  HOT, HOT, HOT!!!  While the terrain promised a few rolling hills, the big focus of the day was the high humidity and the 90 degree temperatures.  Loaded with water, map cueing all the possible "ice water" spots, and a good tail wind pushed the group out the door of the hotel and down the road.

The route today traveled through much of the distant residential areas around the city of Cleveland.  While most of the time the feeling was one of farmland and rural, the reality was that these are mostly gentlemen farms with the main owners probably working in Cleveland and returning each evening to their "estate".

The town of Medina (pop 25,153) was the first stop of the group.  Lattes and smoothies for a morning break were in order.  Originally, the town was aided by the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal , which helped transport agricultural products to markets. The Ohio and Erie Canal was constructed in the early 1800s and connected the Ohio River at Portsmouth and Lake Erie at Cleveland, Ohio. The canal carried freight traffic from 1827 to 1861, and then freight traffic rapidly diminished due to the construction of railroads. From 1862 to 1913, the canal served as a water source to industries and towns. In 1913 the canal was abandoned after much of it was destroyed by a flood. 

Also, the town was known for Amos Root, who in 1869 founded the A.I. Root Company in Medina as a manufacturer of beehives and beekeeping equipment, and the town became a center for beehive manufacturing. The Root company had 96 workers in 1886, making it the town’s largest employer.  Today it is a candle manufacturer!

On to Peninsula by way of a state park with covered bridge and all.  The temperature was going up and up and up, but fortunately for the group the hills were rising at a much slower degree!

A quick stop for lunch, a necessary scooping of the local bike shop (the town sits on the old Ohio and Erie Canal beds and thus is a popular bike, hike spot) and on to the city of Hudson (pop 23,000).  The Underground Railroad passed through Hudson, which was also John Brown's childhood home. John Brown was born in Torrington, Connecticut in 1800. His family moved to Hudson, Ohio in 1805.