Waking up before sunrise never thrills me but today had special significance, the beginning of another ride. The return of the rental car was paramount. Off I drove hoping to return it to a downtown location. No such luck, to avoid an additional fee up wards to $75, I dropped the car off at the airport and took bus 24 back to town. Breakfast at the hostel followed and after a few quick photos in front of the hostel, I was rolling by 10:14. Keeping the water to my left, I finessed my way through town with only one wrong turn. The signage was less than adequate but my maps filled in the gaps. City roads mixed in with the canal trail took me north until finally the city hustle faded into the background. Turning east the Canal straightened out and its beauty came to life. Shifting from paved paths hugging the canal to numerous connecting secondary roads I made my way east. My compulsiveness pushed me to complete fifty miles. After encountering several great blue Herons scattered along the canal, I road into Medina. The last ten miles had my legs talking to me. After a few phone calls, I came upon a hostel just recently opened. Seventy-two dollars for a hostel is steep but the rooms are all single bunk beds, new and well designed. Beats paying well over one hundred dollars. Took in the town as I headed to and from Fitzgibbon’s for dinner, a nice Irish pub. NAFTA did a number on the Medina with several large corporates packing up and relocating in Mexico. Such is the case across the country. Trump saw it and made his pitch to the suffering working class man. The rest is history. The town is slowly revitalizing itself. Nice downtown area with many brick and sandstone buildings. Grand old buildings are still seen boarded up but there are several downtown buildings under renovation.
Rain is forecast for the next three days along with possible thunderstorms. The ride could get dicey as I progress eastward.
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