Today’s Ride
The Stats
81 miles
1,857 ft. climbed
Milestones: 9th State and Eastern Time Zone!
Challenges: Some headwinds, but not that bad, and getting back on the bike after a nice lunch in town!
Miles Completed: 2,322
Miles to Go: 1,074
States Visited: 9 of 15
Total Climbed: 78,039 ft.
The Ride
Coming off a rest day, the breakfast room was abuzz at 6 a.m., fueled further by the fact that it was "helmet decorating" day. While some opted out, many of the group came up with super creative and festive toppers, reminiscent of the PMC helmet doodads that help the riders find their teammates among the thousands of other participants. As a nod to Team Big Jon, I brought my Lady Liberty with me for the occasion, though the rest of my decorating efforts made me think I should've spent more time on arts and crafts projects with the girls back in the day!
For the first half of the ride, there were many lights and workday traffic, and even some angry drivers shouting at us (I recall at least two). Others reported frightening "near misses" with trucks. So until the SAG, the ride itself wasn't that pleasant. We did have a few stretches on more rural roads, but it was a bit of "been there done that."
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| We've seen these before - though they are getting a bit less frequent. |
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| Does a hang count as a lean? |
Though the shake was pretty filling with only 20 miles to go, I opted for a lunch stop in "downtown" Crawfordsville, home to Wabash College, a "premier liberal arts college for men," as touted by the college's website. I chose Francis & Mount, a bit non-descript from the main street but a delightful space with hand crafted wooden tables and bar and supersized murals by a Venice California artist. As it was empty between the lunch and happy hour rushes, they happily accommodated my bike and I enjoyed a healthy spinach salad with grilled salmon, blueberries, and raspberry dressing (and of course a glass of Chardonnay -- finally a drinkable option at a local bar!) It was a welcome reprieve before heading to the usual fast food zone -- at least until I tried to bike to the hotel after lunch. Fortunately it wasn't far. But it crushed me a bit, and I crashed for a nap before dinner. It's also crazy that after dinner we had a group meeting about the logistics for the end of tour, which is just 2 weeks away!
Employee of the Day
I really enjoyed talking with McKenzie at my lunch stop. She's from the area, and informed me about the Wabash community and how quickly the artist created those murals. The building also has some history, and went through various iterations as a family-owned feed store and other retailers before settling into its restaurant phase, where it has been in its current form for the last 5 years. It clearly seemed to be one of the more upscale places in town. Thanks, McKenzie, for being so welcoming and engaging! Some Random Photos
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| I imagine everyone in Hillsboro knows who the soreheads are! |
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| Misspelled Monsey??? I think not! |
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| Thanks, Jill, for the photo! |
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| The lions continue to haunt my ride. |
Post-Script from Yesterday
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| Look how much progress we've made! |
So before heading to my room, I was chatting with Stephanie by our tour board when another traveler starting asking about our adventure. Patti and her husband were traveling from their "winter" home in Florida back to Minnesota, via a stop to visit their 90-year-old friend they used to play baseball with. She was so inquisitive about the trip, and we had a moment and hug after a while. She wished us well and sent us off with her prayers for safe travels. Thanks, Patti!
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| Great chatting with Patti! |
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