Day 40-- Richmond, IL to Marysville, OH -- 107 miles!!!

Hello from Ohio!!!!

Today was really a great day and a great ride!!! The sun was shining, it was warm out all day, and we had nothing but tailwinds the whole day!!! We all headed out about 7am, and crossed the state border early, after just riding about 3 miles. Another state down!!!

I've never been to Ohio, and really didn't know what to expect. I have found it thus far, to be a fairly nice and pretty area. It is full of a lot of more farmlands than what we passed in either Indiana or Illinois. We passed endless cornfields and soybean fields all day long. We passed by a few cute farmhouses and I am seeing fewer abandoned homes here in Ohio than I have in other states that we've riden through. I am also finding it to be very very green out here with a lot of trees among the cornfields.

We passed by Bear's Mill which is right near the border of Ohio. It was built in 1849. It was not open when we passed by there, and given the long day we had ahead, we did not wait around for it to open. As we continued on into the first town, we passed by a few areas that were raising goats, and had some pony's and horses, something I don't usually see everyday. We went through New Madison, OH, which is another small town. We stopped to have lunch in St. Paris. It was a small town that seemed to only have one cafe there. Given that that was our only choice, we ate there and they did have great smoothies. This cafe is owned and run by the mayor of St. Paris. Here is my pic with him.

We continued on passing by a few cemetaries, and rode through the small town of Woodstock, OH prior to arriving in Marysville. From what I've seen of it, Marysville seems to be a nice and quiet farmtown, although it is much larger than the farmtowns I've passed through. The sign says: Marysville--where the grass is greener.

Today I passed the 3000 mile mark. This means I've rode over 3000 miles since
June 7th!

Tomorrow is another long ride of approx. 103 miles. I've been warned it will be more difficult than today was---meaning more hills and more climbing. I seriously doubt it can even compare to what Mt. Rose was in California!!! There is also a slight chance of rain tomorrow too.

That's all I got for now!!! Adios!!!

Meiri.

Day 39 -- Indianapolis, IN to Richmond, IN -- 76.02 miles!

Hello Everyone!

Today was another fun day today. I was really tired this morning, and it was humid. There was a storm we were all trying to out-bike-- to no avail. The rain came. It was quite a downpour! I actually stopped and stood under the front porch of a farmhouse that was on the side of the road because the rain was coming down so hard. After maybe 15 minutes, it calmed down, and turned into a bit of a sprinkle. We were only about 5 miles out from our first destination, which was the Hoosier Gym. This was the gymnasium where the movie Hoosiers was filmed (way back in 1985)!!!! It's been awhile, but I do remember it was a good movie.





The man who gives the tours showed us around, and we shot a few baskets while we were there. He shared how the gymnasium was chosen for the film-- The Indiana Film Commission was given the assignment to find a gym that fit the era where this film takes place -- apparently they put an ad in the paper. A resident from Knightstown, IN wrote in to tell the film commission to come see this gym -- this is how it was chosen. As for the extras during the basketball game scenes-- again, the producers put an announcement in the Knightstown local paper telling people who want to be in the movie to come dressed up in 1950's outfits, and to be willing to have a stylist do up their hair for that era. They had boards that had the cheers they wanted the extras to shout out during the scenes. It was a pretty cool tour. This gym is used for many events even now, from birthday parties to wedding receptions. And according to this man, many tourist still come after all these years to see where this movie was filmed!

After this tour was done, so was the rain. The sun came out, and we were able to enjoy a nice flat ride for the rest of the way into Richmond, IN. Along the way we passed one small town after another..Dunreith, Lewisville, Straughn, Dublin, Mt. Hermon, Cambridge City, Pennville, and Centerville. We took US 40 going through this route, which also is a historical road, the one that built the nation according to this sign....

We passed more corn fields, and after passing through Cambridge City, we passed by Huddleston Farmhouse museum. It was an original farmhouse that was built back in 1841. Apparently, the Huddleston family were Quakers, and built this right when this historic road was forming. The people here have maintained the house and farm over the years. They take reservations for having hearth cooked meals. This is a pic of the fireplace that is still used in this original house that was built over 100 years ago. (Okay, just look at the house with your head tilted)!!! :)

As we were leaving Centerville, we also came up to one of the last wooden (log)cabin that was used as a courthouse.

There was a lot of interesting history on this trip today. Tomorrow is a long day, 105 miles. We will be going to Marysville, OH.

That's all for now. Meiri.

Day 37-- Crawfordsville, IN to Indianapolis, IN -- 72 + miles! Day 38-- Rest Day!

Hello from Indianapolis, Indiana!

Well, the past two days have been busy and fun. We started out yesterday at Joey's Main Street Cafe yesterday. We had eaten there the night before, and it was a good breakfast. Yesterday was a really short ride (it was suppose to be 62 miles but ended up being 72) so I was in no hurry to get into Indianapolis, especially knowing we didn't have to ride today.

Our route took us through a lot of little towns, Mace, New Ross, Jamestown, Lizton, and Pittsboro. Between all of these towns of course were more corn fields, soybean fields, and farm houses. After a quick snack at the sag stop, we went into Brownsburg, and on the way out of this town, we stopped by for a tour of the Roark Bike factory. This company makes custom made bikes that are made of titanium. It was pretty interesting to see, and hear how they got started...(a few bikers at the titanium factory decided to make a bike...by word of mouth others wanted them to make one too...and now they only make custom made bikes for people). I believe they have a website..I think it is www.roarkcycles.com

I took a wrong turn, and saw a minor car accident (a huge truck was going down one lane...but due to construction...the road was not that wide, so the truck side swept the car waiting at the stop light in the other lane). The car was hurt more than were the persons involved. I got back on the correct route, only to get off the route again (again due to more construction). Once backtracking, and going through some nice neighborhoods, I finally made it to the entrance of Eagle Creek Park. -- A park, that is like the mountains without the mountains. Norb and I decided to get our 3 dollars worth, and bike through the park. We biked down to the marina, and sat by the water doing nothing but enjoying the sun. We also ran into Brian, another biker here, and we all just hung out by the water for nearly an hour. It was beautiful out, and was a great way to enjoy the start of the afternoon. We then went and checked out what they call a beach here. It looked pretty much the way that the marina looked, except it had a slide for kids to slide down into the water...and it was fenced off.


Once we entered out of the park, it was constant turning left and right - just as the day before had been. Taking these turns though led us to the entrance into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We went in, and took a bus tour on the track. It was fun to see, and to see the red brick finishing line.


We ate lunch there, and moved on. We took more left and right turns which took us to the Lake Sullivan Sports Complex. Here we rode on the Major Taylor Velodrome. My time wasn't superfast, but I did have fun riding it! It would have taken me a lot more time and practice for me to get up to a fast speed. Here is one of the pics of me riding on it.

When we left the Velodrome, we took a few more turns which led us on a nice bike path throughout downtown Indianapolis. We rode along the white river, and passed a golf course. The bike path took us right into the center of town. We passed by the NCAA hall of champions, and found a starbucks too!!! (I think I was more excited about finding the starbucks!)....Indianapolis is really, to my surprise, a nice little city. It reminds me a lot of Denver, and the center of the city, is in a circle- very much how columbus circle is set up in NYC.

When we finally made it to our hotel yesterday, we had some drinks and appetizers(Korean food provided by Zero- and some of his friends). We had a voucher to go eat at the Olde Spaghetti Factory, but some of us -- Norb, Leigh, Sean, Tom, Jack, Brian, and I decided to go instead to Ruth's Chris Steak House. The food and drinks were amazing after having eaten buffet food for over a month!!! It was quite a night!

Today- Day 38 --Rest day, has been wonderful! I slept in until 8 am! What a treat that was! I was out the door by 10, and of course went up to town to have my starbucks by 11. I just hung out in the city today, did some errands, and ate lunch. Here they have a Rock Bottom Brewery --I haven't been there since living in Denver, so Norb and I had lunch there today. Just blogging now. In about an hour, we are all going over to Jay's for dinner. Jay was one of the bikers in the beginning, who completed his tour across america when he finished his last segment from San Francisco to Salt Lake City last month. He has been gracious enough to open up his home to all of us and have a barbeque at his place so we can all catch up with him and tell him the stories/experiences we've all had since he's left.

I honestly have no idea where we are going to go tomorrow. I hear it is suppose to be rainy tomorrow....and I also heard it will be a long day -- I think over 100 miles tomorrow. That's all I've got for now! Talk with you all later! Meiri.

Day 36-- Champaign, IL to Crawfordsville, IN -- 81.22 miles!

Hey All!

Today was a really good day today. The sun was out, there was hardly any wind and no rain! I was feeling pretty punchy today too, as the miles were fairly short today, and the route was pretty easy (that is, not a lot of climbing)! We started out early loading up the van and heading off to breakfast, again at Bob Evan's Restaurant. This was not the first time during this trip that the one waitress assigned to serve the group of anywhere from 23- 35 of us, gets flustered, and I am sure it won't be the last. Remind me to tell you all more about that later.

Let me just start, that I have corn coming out of my ears! That is the scene we all have seen for many many weeks now...is corn, corn, and more corn. I want to know where do they grow the green peas and the green beans? It certainly is not in Kansas, Illinois, or Indiana!!! This morning a bunch of us were riding together and decided to take a "corny" picture. From left to right is Bruce, Chuck, Alex, Norb, Me, Carol, Leigh, Hans and Chris. The next photo is of the bikes being engulfed by the corn!
I could continue to post more corn fields, but I think you get the idea!!! There are plenty of soybean fields out here too, so those will be posted (with the rest of the corn fields) on flickr in a few days!

They had fresh peaches at the sag stop this morning-- an unbelievably delicious snack on a hot riding day! This gave us the energy to continue on as we crossed over the Indiana state line!!! Birthplace of Meiri McClelland!!! (That is what the sign is suppose to say underneath anyway!)

We continued on, passing more corn fields and farm houses, when we came across a fair. Norb and I decided to check it out. It was a countwide 4-H fair. They had kids trotting their horses for judging, had sheep, cows, and pigs all about. Now, I know they had 4-H out in Colorado, but I was never involved in it, and never really knew what it was all about, so I had a lot of questions re: this fair. Norb and I spoke to one lady who let me take a picture with one of her steer. There were two of them that were up for show...this photo was one of them.......
After this pic was taken, Norb laughed saying that he wished everyone could have seen my face when the lady who was answering all my questions told me that this steer would be in her freezer next month!!! :( I asked why this one and not the other, she said the other gained more weight so was worth more! :( The poor steer! She also taught me the difference between a steer, a bull, and a heffer! I learned a lot today at the fair. I also took a few pics of pigs and sheep that were there as well. I asked a few ladies if they would let me milk either their cow or their goat. I had explained to them that I was from the city and had never done this before. They all had the same generic answer.. "I don't think it is milking time yet!" I guess I will have to go visit a farm in upstate NY to fulfill that dream!!! We continued on with only 20 or so miles left, and we entered the town of Hillsboro, IN. Here is a photo of their welcome sign... I found that to be funny!!! In this same town there was an ice-cream shop--ready to open next week so we didn't get to eat there... but I liked how they had the old bikes hanging off the side of the building!








We finally arrived to our hotel, today it is at the Quality Inn. I was able to do my laundry finally, after four days without a facility! We ate at a local restaurant called Joey's Main Street Cafe. Now typically over the past 36 days, we've been eating at all you can eat buffets for dinner. Today, they served you regular portions of a protein, vegetable, and starch followed by a regular size scoop of ice-cream. Everyone at our table was laughing over how weird it was to be eating "normal" portions... and how we'll all be running into each at the McDonalds by midnight because we are so hungry! We all realize that this extreme amount of exercise is coming to a close, and that we will all have to dramatically cut our portions when we return home in a few weeks.

Well tomorrow should be another really great ride. I haven't yet checked the weather report but, we have a short 62 mile ride tomorrow with only a 700 foot climb throughout the whole route. Our destination is Indianapolis, IN-- and once there, we have a rest day! I have decided that I am going to skip any massage on this rest day, and just sleep to my heart's content!

Hope allis well with you all! Talk to you later! Meiri.

Day 35 -- Springfield, IL to Champaign, IL -- 113.29 miles!

Hey All!

Today was a good ride today. Though it was humid, it was overcast, and we had a tailwind most of the way. Our route today was full of TONS of left and right turns every few miles or so. We first went through a very small town outside of Springfield, and then passed by yet again, lots of farms and corn fields. At times, the corn fields can be a bit more freaky than the open fields I encountered in Kansas. This is due to the fact that the corn is taller out here, and they are both to my right side and to my left side as I bike down these empty roads. Leigh calls them "corn tunnels" and they are! It is freaky!! Today, I attempted to overcome my fear, and actually went to the edge of a corn field, this is one of the pics I have posted. I can't say I am cured of this very odd fear of mine, but at least I am trying! LOL!

The ride was going quite well today. Early on in the ride, Norb and I rode along with some of the faster riders. I couldn't help but wonder, were they just riding slow today? or were they just being nice and decided to ride with the slow-pokes today? or am I really that much stronger and faster? I decided it was all of the above! LOL! However, after a quick snack at the sag stop, Norb and I, along with Zero -- who is another rider (originally from Korea and riding this ride for training for his 1/2 iron-man this year) all got to talking, and we missed our right turn at mile 41. Norb brought this to our attention at mile 48. So, we had to backtrack into the headwind to get back on route! We ended up eating lunch at a convenience store once we got back on track again.

It was only an extra 16 miles that we had to ride. This turned what was suppose to be a 97 mile ride into a 113.29 mile ride. As I said many weeks ago, and it still holds true... after 80 miles, what is 90, or 100, or 110 miles? The body still feels the same by then! So, the pic that I have posted is also of me looking a bit lost. The others are of the lovely corn fields of Illinois, where it looks exactly the same as it did when we were on both the wrong route and the right route. Can you tell the difference? Yeah, I thought so!!!!

After taking a bit of a detour (due to construction) we finally made it to the hotel at about 5:30 this evening (had we not gotten lost, we would have made it to the hotel a few minutes before 4). It was a fun day though. It did rain on us a couple of times, which in this humidity was very welcoming and very refreshing!

Tonight dinner was at another buffet down the street, and tomorrow we eat at Bob Evans - the same restaurant we ate at last night and this morning. I've never heard of Bob Evans restaurants before -- I think they are more east coast, cuz I've heard they are all over in Pennsylvania also.

Tomorrow, we load up our luggage at 6:15 and will be off a little after 7 am (after breakfast). Tomorrow-- ha ha ha-- is a short day -- just 82 miles! Funny, it wasn't too long ago when 82 miles of biking was sooooooooooooooooo long for me!!! Now, I consider it a short day!!! Tomorrow we go to Crawfordsville, IN. That's right! Crossing yet another state line!!! This is going by soooooo soooo fast!!!!! I haven't watched the weather channel yet, so I don't know what the weather is suppose to be like yet for tomorrow. I got new biking gloves yesterday, they made such a difference wearing them today! They are so so comfortable!

Okay, that's all I've got for now! Hope you are all doing well! Talk to you soon!

Meiri.

Day 34-- Quincy, IL to Springfield, IL -- 107 miles!

Hello from Springfield, IL!

Today was a good day, a long day, but a good day. The day started out as usual. We mounted our bikes and we were all on our way toward Springfield. Our support vans passed us by as they always do, but this morning shocked us all as one of the vans carrying all our luggage and our computers was driving down the highway with the back door wide open!! Immediately the staff was flooded with calls from all of us. What is amazing is that not one piece of luggage had fallen out!!!

It was EXTREMELY humid out here today, but there was a slight breeze that kept us cool for the most part. The route today was long, but much easier than yesterday, as there were hardly any hills, and we were going down most of the time. It took about 7 hours by the time I got into Springfield. I didn't take too many pictures today, as the sights were not super unique --- just more corn fields and more farms. The sights however, are much better than Kansas, as there are more trees and more green to look at, rather than just a huge empty field. We stopped through a few places called towns, which literally included one building that was closed up! One town we did stop through was of Jacksonville. We took a quick ride through the town and came to an abandoned square. On the way out, there was a mural on a building, stating that President Lincoln had presented a speech helping to abolish slavery at this abandoned square. That is one of the pics I posted. The other pic is of his home that he lived in when he lived here in Springfield. I unfortunetly, did not have time to go tour inside his home tho... will have to do that on another visit!

Tomorrow is another long ride, about 97 miles to Champagne, IL.

I'm tired, so am cutting this short tonight. Meiri

Day 33 -- Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL -- 97.15 miles!

Hey Everyone!

Well, I crossed another state line today! I am now in Illinois!! The day started out foggy and drizzly, which was a nice refreshing cool change from what we've had. Eventually tho, the sun did come out, and the humidity was pretty high, but nothing unbearable. We traveled from Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL today. It was a more challenging ride than other days have been, as there were more hills that were steeper than yesterday. It was also more challenging because I wasn't expecting as many hills as we encountered. The roads as we were leaving Missouri were also quite bumpy, so it wasn't the smoothest of rides either. But, that being my only complaint, it was a great day! The scenery was still very green. We still passed by a lot of corn and wheat fields (I am coping), and passed by many farms, homes, and barns that have been abandoned. I stopped and explored a few of them. I found nothing of great interest inside (most places were trashed inside), but it was still fun to look around!

Our first stop was in a small town, or what used to be a town, of Barring, MO. It had an abandoned hotel, bank (built in 1896), and cafe. It is right next to the railroad, so back in the day, this was a lively town! The cafe was the only place still open. Interestingly tho, there were a good handful of homes that surrounded this little abandoned town!

We made our way into the town of Canton, which is right alongside the Mississippi River (on the Missouri side). We ate at John E B's bar and grill. The waitress who served us just graduated high school, and was happily engaged. She said she grew up in Canton, and the population is about 2,000. Her graduating class was 55, the largest yet according to her. She stated it was a rather boring place to grow up, and that most of the people there go across the river to Quincy, IL to have fun. As we left, we spoke with another lady who stated, "yes, unfortunetly I am from here." That would be Canton, Mo -- if you ever wanted to come visit! I myself, found it more alive than Green River, UT tho... although, I did visit Green River on a Sunday...

After lunch, we took a ferry over the Mississippi River, and wha-la...ended up in Illinois. We rode alongside the Mississippi River for awhile, and ended up in Quincy, IL. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant next to the Comfort Inn which we are staying at.

Tomorrow is a long day, riding to Springfield, IL-- 107 miles!

Adios! M