Todays Distance: 106 miles
Cycling time: 6 hrs 59 mins
Average Speed: 15.1 mph
Today’s cumulative ascent: 2428 ft
Average Heart rate: 119 bpm
Distance so far: 2939 miles
Distance so far: 2939 miles
Ascent so far: 92,900 ft.
Centuries so far: 9
Punctures so far: 7
Today’s Profile:
Centuries so far: 9
Punctures so far: 7
Today’s Profile:
Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today’s century is for Felicia, Bantei and Shimbor and all the children in Providence who are so eager to learn and pleasant to deal with.A special day today – another century and another state. Beautiful weather without the humidity of yesterday but worrying at the start.
After yesterday’s cycle into Richmond I sensed that my left knee wasn’t just right. Perhaps I had knocked it of strained it too much when the I felt the paceline slipping away. I applied ice and took some Brufen to reduce the inflammation but the night was uncomfortable. This morning when the alarm sounded it seemed too stiff and if I were at home I wouldn’t have gone out cycling. But in this situation it is different. For me, opting out is not an option. I spent a while massaging it and stretching it before breakfast and even up and down the stairs loosened it out. By loading time I felt more upbeat about the day. I told the other three I have been cycling with lately that I would go off on my own at first and spend the first six or seven miles warming up and loosening out the knee. We might team up later but I intended taking it easy on any hills and not to strain. As it turned out the knee was grand for the day and I intend using the same approach tomorrow again. Remember there is another fortnight to go still.
Within three miles of leaving the motel the Ohio stateline appeared ahead. The road was narrow but everyone as they approached had to have a photo. This is our ninth state of this trans-continental adventure. It is the 7th most populous state and often referred to as the Buckeye State after the buckeye tree. Stangely enough the state motto is ‘With God all things are possible’. It was that same excerpt from St Matthew’s Gospel that I came across in a Christian Bookshop in Shillong in 1999 that confirmed to me to actually bring Abbey students there. Is ait an mac an saol.(Life is strange) it will take us three days to cross this state.
Todays route for the most part is a designated bicycle route - Cardinal Trail Bicycle Route. It was so pleasant and quiet till we actually came within 2 miles of Marysville. Plenty of trees offering some shadow. Smaller farmyards than before showing some early morning activity with the associated smells. Felt homely.
The timber frame dwelling houses surrounded by the barns and corn silo and all so tidy and well presented.Yesterday I thought that I had nearly seen the end of corn. Not so, but it is in smaller fields.
Today’s route was quite fragmented with many turns and often it meant cycling zig-zag through corn fields. The corn is quite developed here in comparison to further west but still showing no sign of a cob. 
Plenty of moisture in the ground and in places the remains of recent deluges were visible. Today I came across a number of good sized rivers that were crystal clear and so inviting in the heat – that’s a change from the silt-laden ones we’ve been seeing since Missouri. 
Still plenty of soya but at an early stage. Possible to confuse it with strawberry plants at this stage. 
With the south west breeze we got the full benefit of this spraying operation as we passed by.CUESHEET
Today’s cue-sheet contained two pages of turns and directions. It helps better than any map especially when all the roads are named at each junction. Cycling on my own, it didn’t present any problem. On your own you tend to concentrate more than when in a group. Three lines from a cue-sheet looks like this:
Read as: 6.1 miles after the previous point, when the computer reads 103.1 miles, turn left into Maple Street at the STOP sign. Continue for 0.4 of a mile till the computer reads 103.5 miles and then turn right onto Fifth Street at the T-junction. After 1.5 miles on this street and when the computer reads 105 miles go straight through onto Hanna Road at the traffic lights.An accurate cyclocomputer is a must to follow the sheet. These sheets and some extra route-relevant information are given out given each evening at Route Rap generally at 5 pm just before we go for dinner.
At the first SAG stop (41.2 miles) Gary decided to come with me for the rest of the trip and we moved along at a fine steady pace for the next 64 miles. 
The second SAG was at a cemetery again. I noticed 5 graves of Russell’s just inside the railing. The day was really heating up at this stage and the only way to combat it was to keep moving i.e create your own air-conditioning. I had consumed two bottles of water between the SAGs.
Traffic was heavy as we rode into Marysville and our motel was on the far end of town. Marysville has a population of 16,000 and is the headquarters of Miracle-Grow that is used for lawns and gardens. On the way in we passed by a major Nestle research centre located here and the smell of roasting coffee was uplifting.
Gary and I arrived at the motel at 3 pm and really appreciated the fruit salads the staff had waiting for us. We had completed the 106 miles in just under 7 hours cycling. Not a bad day’s work.A day that turned out better than I had imagined at the start. Under no pressure out there and looking forward to another century tomorrow. Hope this knee subsides overnight.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.
Heard Today: ‘Mathematics teachers …. the ones that really count’.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
