Friday June 24, 2016

The alarm went off for Ralf at 5:15. “I came here to ride”. I heard other people moving around at 6:30 and the sun was warming the tent, I got up at 7:00 and headed for the shower trucks.

I picked up a coffee and Mark (Minardi) told me about the Brexit vote. The Brits have voted out of being in the EU – 52 to 48. OMG. What changes will happen to the pound and Euro and the financial situation in Europe. France and Germany cannot financially support the rest of Europe. I wonder how this will affect expats living and working in Europe. As far as Schengen and ease of travel for British Passport holders, I guess it will mean more restrictions. I can see there being a huge backlash from the main European countries on this vote. Interesting times.

I met Deb and Sue and Sue’s sister Pat and we headed out for breakfast. While we were having breakfast, Anne and Barry (the two people who introduced us to GOBA and the Dayton Cycling Club) were at the school hoping to see us. We headed back to the school to meet them, but they had already headed home. It’s a shame we couldn’t have got to see them again, as we really appreciate them telling us about GOBA. We have met some really nice people on this ride.

We headed out once again to the Indian Mound. The Mound is 65 feet tall and 800 feet in circumference. It rests atop a 100 foot ridge above the Great Miami River. The Mound is a reminder of the American Indians who once lived in Ohio over 2,000 years ago. The Mound was a burial mound and had been excavated in the late 1800s.

After climbing the steps to the top of the mound and chatting to one of the historians from Ohio History Connection we headed downtown. Deb hadn’t heard of Merino wool before and the excellent ‘no stink’ properties of the wool. Both Deb and Sue bought a couple of t.shirts that were on sale.

Ralf enjoyed his ride, although he got two flat tires and had to buy a new tire.  The ride took him along the river trail towards Dayton.

He passed the Dayton Air Force Base Museum and stopped to take some photos of the planes that were on display.

Later in the day after Ralf had an afternoon ‘nap’ we headed downtown with Dick.

The angel wings are painted on the wall next to the Art Downtown shop. All of us had our photos taken.

As you can see my wings are a little too big, Dick’s halo is a little off-kilter and surprisingly Ralf’s wings seem to fit perfectly.

Dick told us about the flood of 1913, he wasn\’t here to witness it!

We had a beer and a big sandwich with fries for a late lunch/early dinner – thanks Dick.

On the last night of GOBA there is a song contest where participants write their own lyrics to popular tunes. The songs are about GOBA and can be quite funny. We opted to stay at the school and have an early night.