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DAY 36 of 54: CHAMPAIGN (IL) TO CRAWSFORDSVILLE (IN)

Time Zone : Eastern (GMT -5)
Todays Distance: 83 miles
Cycling time: 5 hrs 05 mins
Average Speed: 16.3 mph
Today’s cumulative ascent: 1533 ft
Average Heart rate: 115 bpm

Distance so far: 2697 miles
Ascent so far: 87,818 ft.
Centuries so far: 8
Punctures so far: 6
Today’s Profile:

Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today I cycled for all the boys and girls at Providence in Shillong including Ridalang,Mebalare and Pynshngainlang so that thy will get an opportunity of receiving a sound complete education.

A day to look forward to with a new state and the fourth and final time-zone. And the prospect of light early morning traffic for the third day running.
Shortly after 7 am all were ready to move out of Champaign on very quiet roads this Sunday morning. It takes a few miles for the muscles to warm up and for the various groups to form up. To-day was to be relatively short and with no hills worth mentioning.
As we moved along Bradley Avenue the cyclists were confronted with a long train stopped right across a level-crossing. It had been there for some time and some early departees had been waiting for a time. In our group, Deb and Gary knew of a slight detour to an underpass of 1.5 miles which we took and as we came back onto Bradley the train was still stuck on the crossing. Kudos to Deb, she owed me that since the Donner Pass day when I drew her back from navigational errors.
Once we got onto 1800 East we were in open country with the road to ourselves. It was a perfect morning for cycling – sunshine with cool air, deserted roads and good company. It was Sunday morning and at home we would all be doing this anyhow.

Still in very fertile country with corn dominating the crop scene as it has been for days. For the next 18 miles we turned left and right repeatedly as we threaded our way along the better surfaced roads of the horizontal/vertical grid pattern. By this stage the four of us moved along at a steady 17 mph and were making good progress.
Our first SAG at 30 miles appeared quickly and for the second time in two days it was located in front of a cemetery. Were we being told something? Was it that we were dead slow or were we to rest peacefully? Either way it was welcome especially with the sliced oranges. There was a run on sunscreen as the sunshine was getting stronger by the minute.
At the 45 mile mark the Indiana Stateline came into view just after Danville Correctional Centre (prison). This is the eight state on this trip, the smallest state west of the Appalachians with a population of 6.5 million and there had to be photos. It is sometimes referred to as the Hoosier sate and the term Hoosier used for a native of Indiana. Hoosier is the title of an award-winning 1986 film starring Gene Hackman based on the story of the Milan High School basketball team. The states are tumbling away fast at this stage.. 8 big ones gone and 7 more to go. The stateline also marked our passage into Eastern Time (GMT-5) so the watches put on 1 hour. . Crossroads of America refers to Indiana being the hub for several major Interstate Highways and the base of many transport and trucking companies.


Second SAG was in Veedersburg a small town on Route 136 but with a café that was exquisite in pies and in speed of service. It was located on a corner across the street from our stop and did well as a result. I had a beautiful Almond Joy and two glasses of cool lemonade for only 2 dollars. We filled half and locals filled the rest of the seating. The place was a tonic just for the atmosphere. Pity that the photo didn’t come out clearer…flash was turned off.
The soil at this stage seems to be more sandy and less organic but the corn is still thriving. Roads weave and twist with an amount of tree cover affording some shade to weary travellers. At this stage we had only twenty odd miles to go and still cranking it out at 18 mph on the level.
Shortly after 2 pm (Eastern Time) we approached Crawfordsville which is surrounded by an amount of deciduous forest. It is our destination for the day and the location of Wabash College, one of the four all-male colleges in the States with a roll of 900. Our motel is located on the western edge so we saw very little of the town of 15,000 so far. ( For dinner we had a shuttle to Joey’s Café on Main Street. We’ll cycle through downtown tomorrow morning.
Our group of four pulled into the Holiday Inn Motel at 2.15 very happy with our day’s cycle and there were high fives all round for Forest, self, Deb and Gary. I headed off to the room to ring home for the Leinster final result. If it had been different it would have capped off a wonderful Sunday. Ah well, the dream of the double isn’t over yet.

Another most enjoyable cycle and all looking forward to tomorrows trip into Indianapolis. It’s great to go to bed at night looking forward to the next day.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

Heard Today: “You bike?” Concise American for ‘An dtéann tú amach ag rothaíocht ar do rothar go minic mar chaitheamh aimsire?’