BEST ACCOMODATIONS EVERRRRR!!!!!!

Wow. I pretty much love Cincinnati, OH. The ride here today was so picturesque -- this part of southern Ohio is totally like Knox and Licking Counties (which are further north by my old stomping grounds), and even though the land is scarred by farms and telephone polls there is just something about the straight rows of corn and soybeans growing on rolling hills under a cloudless blue sky that is so beautiful.

This morning I rode with Becca, Roshie, Erin, and Kristi, and we had several of our normal adventures before it was even 10am. For example: Rosh, Kristi, and Erin all almost were flattened by a semi when they decided to cross the yellow line (a huge Bike and Build no-no). Apparently a dog was headed out into the road and since Roshan has already run over one dog (don't worry, he escaped with only a broken leg), she was not going to take any more chances. Apparently it was safer to cross the dotted yellow line in the path of a semi/huge farm truck instead. I actually wasn't sure which was more dangerous -- my 3 friends swerving to the left or Becca yelling herself hoarse somewhere between sudden high blood pressure and having an actual heart attack on her bike. Yeah...it was pretty scary having that go on from next to me.

Of course there are other more hilarious adventures, like Roshan's first time peeing on the side of the road. I'll spare you the details, but will quote Kristi: "Roshan on Bike and Build is like Paris Hilton at summer camp." She is so accurate, it's hilarious. Roshan is pretty much the JAPiest Iranian I know...haha love you Rosh.

Just before lunch Becca and I broke away from our sidekicks to take a detour into UDF. For those of you who are unaware of the wonderfulness that is United Dairy Farmers, I'm quite sorry for you. It is an Ohio chain of (yes, I am not making this up) gas stations and ice cream. YUM. Becca and I split a large raspberry chocolate chip milkshake. Did we care that it was 11am? Absolutely not.

We rolled into lunch about 5 miles later and bought some peaches from the farmstand whose grassy lawn we had taken over. Most of us took naps or chatted on the phone with family and friends, staying for about an hour before rolling out to Cinci.

During the afternoon I rode with Becca; the ride was mostly thru the outer suburbs, including the super nice Indian Hill. Unfortunately, we got a call midway thru our last 25 miles from Mariah, who was driving the van. She told us that Kristi had in fact been hit by a car (not her fault though) and needed to go to the hospital. Luckily though, she is alright and sports only a nice bruise on her elbow. The Perkoset she is on is also helping.

Ok -- so here is the reason I am so pumped about tonight. While it sucks to have home stays that make our group get split up, it is quite nice. We rolled into the Dwyers' driveway around 4, and Becca, Roshan, Erin, and I quickly hijacked the van and went to find the nearest Graeter's. AMAZING. Because I had gotten a raspberry chip shake earlier, I opted for my other fave flave -- peach (in a homemade waffle cone, of course). Rosh and Erin opted for raspberry chip and Becca decided to eat 2/3 of my double scoop of peach. Oh and of course we listened to Rent on the way to and from Graeter's. Obvi.

Tonight we are staying at one of Dwyers' friend's house, somewhere outside of Cincinnati. It's AMAZING. We went for a swim in their pool when we got here, ate food that did not include pasta and cookies (instead it was chicken, fruit salad, and more Graeter's!!!!), took a nice relaxing shower without worrying about the long line behind you and the hot water running out, are able to get on the internet and again not have to worry about a long line behind us, and later on we're planning on playing some Corn Hole (ohhhhh the midwest, gotta love it) and then having a slumber party snugfest-style while watching The Holiday. And did I mention we're sleeping in beds tonight? It really doesn't get much better than this :)

Tomorrow we head into Indiana -- it's really going to start to get flat now! I'll miss Ohio but am so pumped for new places, spaces, and people to see. Best summer ever, no doubt.