Todays Distance: 74 miles
Cycling time: 4 hrs 11 mins
Average Speed: 17.6 mph
Today’s cumulative ascent: 1543 ft
Average Heart rate: 122 bpm
Distance so far: 2833 miles
Distance so far: 2833 miles
Ascent so far: 90,472 ft.
Centuries so far: 8
Punctures so far: 7
Today’s Profile:
Centuries so far: 8
Punctures so far: 7
Today’s Profile:
Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today’s cycle is dedicated to two people I have never met but who have been of great assistance in doing this cycle for Providence…. Andrew Perry and Ted Wetherill.(cf below) Thank you. Here’s 74 miles just for you.
A tailwind and generally level terrain made for a fast satisfying ride today and prepares us for two big ones to come. Another bit of investigation to be done on a familiar named place.
Last night about 9 pm we had a very heavy lightning and thunderstorm in Indianapolis and some were caught out in it as they returned from dinner. I was glad to be in and only had to put up with the awful rattling of rain on the window. It had been well forecast. Surely it wouldn’t last all night and destroy today’s cycle!
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Loading was conducted in the carpark at the rear of the hotel under dry but a very overcast sky. Wind was blowing and raingear was packed just in case. The atmosphere was very heavy ( or ‘high humidity’ here) and we knew perspiration would flow today although the sunshine never did become very strong.
Since our motel was in a central position, our early miles was straight through the centre of Indianapolis. Traffic was beginning to build up as we cycled from Maryland onto Washington and headed East. Washington turned into Route 40 and that led us directly to our motel in Richmond. Navigation was direct on that long stretch. Motorists in the city and all along the route are as friendly as you could ask for once we abide by the rules and are predictable and visible.
After 10 miles while we were on a slight detour around road construction Gary picked up his first flat of the day. Found the hole in the tube but could locate no offending object in the tyre despite close inspection. If it was a nail, the telephone pole beside us had a trophy cabinet of them. Apparently a popular spot for notices.
Any ascent or descent today was gradual and it was possible to maintain speed even on the uphill. We maintained a single paceline of four with Deb leading us out and tipped along at 20 to 24 mph. At one stage another group of 6 fell in behind and an impressive peleton swiftly ghosted across Indiana. All was progressing nicely till Gary had a relapse at the 20 mile mark. Another flat with the hole in the tube at the same spot. More microscopic inspection. The tiniest piece of stone ever was found embedded in the tyre. Apparently it was only when the tube was at 100 psi did the culprit do its damage. Another tube and it lasted for the day. From there on the four of us resumed and regained our previous speed.
SAG at the town of Dunreith at mile 40 meant we were well over the half-way point. A chance to refuel and swap the incidents of the morning so far. It was still only 9.30 am. This SAG was at a Post Office – a change from cemeteries. Another 34 miles and the day’s work would be done.
We cycled along Route 40 for the day. U.S. Route 40 is an east-west United States Highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and it originally ran for 3022 miles from Atlantic City, New Jerseyto San Francisco, California. The route as marked on the map is not unlike our route as far as Pennsylvania as it displayed on my Providence shirt. Route 40 is still a designated highway (Route 66 lost its official designation in 1985) but now terminates as Route 40 at Park City, Utah.
There were small towns every 10 miles or so (like Knightstown above) with services and some very old motels are still on the route. I spotted one – The Shamrock Motel. Didn’t look tremendously appealing at this stage.
Crops are becoming a little more varied. Corn is still there but not with blanket coverage. Plenty of trees on both sides and these small towns present a great display of flowers. I’ll check out tomorrow if this trend continues as we move on eastwards or is it just a local phenomenon.
Newspapers here are covering the effects of the economic downturn and the rise in gas prices. Petrol is now at $4.20 a gallon and TV ads are concentrating on offering cars that give 35 mpg as opposed to the 4X4 gas guzzlers. According to this morning’s front page headlines, gym memberships and the demand for plastic surgery have taken a dip. 
After 52 miles I took time out to do a spot of investigation as we all arrived into the city of Dublin (population 700). I just had to spend some time here and see if there was a connection. No need for a detour as in the case of Tipperary, Missouri.
The first shop I encountered was McCarthy’s Mart with big green shamrocks in the window. I reckoned that I had hit mother lode. Unfortunately the people of the house were away in Oregon and the lady minding shop wasn’t local and knew nothing. There was no Information Office or Chamber of Commerce. There weren’t too many premises in business in which to enquire. I hadn’t too much time to spend here. The Post Office seemed a good bet. It usually is. The postmistress wasn’t local either but had always heard that the town had no connection with Dublin, Ireland. She had it that in the days before roads had all-weather surfaces, that this area was a perennial mud-hole on the road. The pioneers had to use two teams of horses to pull the covered-wagons through this particular part i.e. doubling-up and hence the name. Was a bit disappointed.
But it was a nice tidy town with the roadsides having been beautified and footpaths re-paved. A number of nurseries about and potted plants on sale. It was quiet and its many antique shops were still closed. So I continued for the last 20 miles on my own still keeping up a good pace.In the dedication for today I mentioned two people who have been of great assistance. Andrew Perry (UK) did this cycle last year and I contacted him by e-mail as to what I could expect and any suggestion he would make based on his experience. My 6 line e-mail received two A4 pages of a response the very next morning. I knew he was passionate about this cycle. He encouraged me but was realistic. There would be down days. Keep a rein on expectations…it’s a long haul for body and bike. He stressed the need to take Multi-vitamins and Vitamin C considering that the body is burning in excess of 5,000 calories per day. Can’t drain the well completely in those early days. Thank you Andrew.
Ted Wetherill is from Providence, Rhode Island and has spent some time assisting in Providence, Shillong. He has been in constant touch by e-mail and of great assistance in suggesting a route from Portsmouth to Providence and he is co-ordinating those final days. I will finally meet him for the first time then. Thank you, Ted.
As our motel is on the east side of Richmond, the last few miles went through the centre of town. Its population is 40,000 and has had a strong music tradition especially jazz. Louis Armstrong recorded his first solo here in the Starr-Gennett Studios as did Hoagy Carmichael, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Glen Millar and others. Richmond has a Glen Millar Park (194 acres) but is not connected with the band leader. Colonel John Millar was the original owner of the land and ‘Glen’ came from the topography of the area.Wilbur Wright, co-inventor of the airplane with his brother, Orville, attended school in Richmond, Indiana.
I finally arrived at the motel at 1.15 pm after another satisfying day.I enjoyed the cycling in the group of four and also on my own. Being on my own affords the opportunity to investigate and to stop for interesting photos. It’s nice to do it now and again. There’s another century on the menu tomorrow and also on Friday. Need plenty of sleep and hydration tonight.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.
At 7 am we loaded the bikes onto the van (not the usual loading) and clambered into the back for the hour’s transfer back to Crawfordsville. Seating for three of us was on the floor but the prospect of recapturing the lost day made nothing of the discomfort.
We moved westwards while the morning was still dry though dark. Radar pictures on the TV were favourable and a West or South West wind was predicted. Within an hour we were back at the hotel in Crawfordsville to pick up where we left off. $20 each was all the transfer cost us
The weather was favourable with a light ind coming in over our shoulder. At least we were not heading into a gale. We set out from Holiday Inn on N Lafayette Road at 8 am and settled into a steady pace. The other three were stronger riders than I but stated that they would keep the pace easy. I normally take about 10 miles to warm up but they were quicker off the mark. Within 2 miles as we moved up an incline into downtown Crawfordsville I reckoned that I’d only be able for about half of the route at this pace. But they nursed me through; I wasn’t ambling along at a snails pace. On the level we moved at 17 or 18 mph. Not a bad rate of progress. Gradually I settled in.
After 14 miles the Welcome sign caught my eye…New Ross. It was a small place with a population of 329 and a large grain facility. It was still early with very few about and I didn’t stop to make further enquiries. It was established in 1836 (before a lot of the Irish came) so it may have no connection with Wexford. Officially 6% of the popu;ation claim Irish ancestry.
Most of today’s route was on Rt 136 but occasionally it moved onto quieter roads. Corn was still the predominant crop on either side. We were conscious of the possibility of thunderstorms coming at us from the rear so constant progress was important. Roadworks were present but with a bike there as no need to make long detours. A pleasant request and we could circumvrnt the obstruction on foot. We were keeping within our target.
After 42 miles our route took us straight into Eagle Creek Park. Uncharacteristically we were ripped off here with an entrance fee of $5 to cycle through 2.75 miles of the park. The roads were nice and quiet but you’d need to be spending the day here to justify that fee
Before we came into Indianapolis we turned down Georgetown Road to the Speedway (or the Brickyard as it is also referred to as). The Indianapolis Speedway covers an enormous area. We cycled almost a mile behind the stands to come to the visitors entrance. It has a capacity for 250,000 seated around the outside of the track on permanent seating and the total (outfield and infield) is 400,000. The track is what might be described as a ‘rectangular oval’ 2.5 miles in length with banking of 9 degrees at the corners. As is pointed out in the museum, the infield area could accommodate Vatican City, the Coliseum, Wimbledon, Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl and Churchill Downs Racetrack all at once. It is the home of the Indy 500, the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, the largest single-day sporting event in the world. There was a queue at the entrance so we reckoned that it would be better to move on. The outside itself told a story and indicated the dimensions.
Our next port of call along the route was the Major Taylor Velodrome. A banked cycling track opened in 1982 and named in honour of ‘Major’ Taylor, the first black World Champion at any sport in 1899. A native of Indiana, tracks banned him, other cyclists refused to compete against him and he was forced to perform abroad. Teams ere practicing as we arrived there and after our warm-up of 56 miles, we didn’t want to embarrass them!
At this stage we were in the greater Indianapolis area. It is the capital of Indiana with a population of almost 2 million. It hosts a lot of sporting events and from this motel room three major sporting arenas are to be seen – Lucs Oil Stadium, RCA dome and the Victory Field. We came into the central part along the White River Parkway and then the White River Trail which passes by the Zoo and the Indiana State Museum.
Before 12 noon we (L to R Larry, George, self and Rick) pulled up in front of the Motel and felt doubly satisfied. We had rescued yesterday and had completed the 62 miles in under 4 hours. For me that was good. The others could have done it faster. To gratify myself. I looked on the situation that I was the team-leader and that they were obliged to cosset me against all attacks. That’s my story anyhow!
On Rest Days we arrange our own meals and I had dinner in The Old Spaghetti Factory, a family owned restaurant since 1969 in what looks like what used to be a warehouse. Beautiful décor. For those who may be interested, I started with a crisp green salad with croutons and blue cheese sauce. For main course I had strips of marinated chicken breast with marinara and Alfredo sauces over penne pasta topped with shredded Romano cheese complete with a half carafe of Chianti wine. And the lot sweetened with spumoni ice-cream for desert.
I liked it and I finished the lot. And all for just $20 ( Euro 14). My waiter was JJ. I had to ask him if he was James Joseph or John Joseph. No. He was Juan Jesus.
Cyclists and bikes were to be shuttled to the motel in Indianapolis over the course of the day. Visibility on the road was as above. No place for a cyclist.
