Peanut Butter in the Middle of Nowhere

Sharon and Ron

We left Monroesville, and were heading to Zanesville where the map said there was a grocery and restaurant.  It was hot and we hadn’t seen a grocery store in miles and really didn’t have any food to speak of.

We were riding on Yoder Road in the middle of corn fields and more corn fields, when up ahead we see two cyclists coming the other way.  They have rear panniers and are clearly touring.  We all stop to chat.  The woman, whose name was Sharon, was wearing an Oregon jersey and I asked if they had come from Oregon and they had. (The fellow was named Ron.) We told them that we had come from the Boston area.  I asked them if there was food in Zanesville and they said no – there was a soda machine and a pizza joint that did not open until four. 

I was discouraged and trying to figure out what we were going to do, when they asked if we had food.  I said not really, that I had some dried ramen noodles but that was about it.  They offered us bagels with peanut butter on the spot.  We thankful took up the offer.  Sharon pulled out bagels and made the sandwiches as we stood there on the edge of the empty road.  They also gave us two bars to eat later.  They said that there really was no food on route for a long time.   Given their information, we decided to go off route into Huntington to restock our food and to stay at an inexpensive motel, as it was our seventh anniversary.  (Sharon and Ron celebrated their 37^th anniversary on their tour!)

Ron and Sharon saved our day.  We exchanged information, and they may be home by the time we are in Oregon.  It would be lovely to see them again, but either way, we were so glad to have met them in the middle of nowhere.