DAY 36. INDIANAPOLIS, IN TO RICHMOND, IN

73 miles today.  The sun was shining and  after a chilly start the temperature was almost perfect around 75 degrees.  The terain was mostly flat but a few rollers snuck in from time to time.  We were entering Amish country.

We passed Wilbur Wrights birthplace but I didn't have the energy to add 6 miles necessary to visit his home.

A few of us planned to have lunch in Hagerstown.  Prior to arriving in town I noticed a sigh stating "farm family of the Year, Strawberry Festival".  The sign pointed up the driveway so I decided to venture in for a look.  I found, 100 yds up the driveway a true festival.  Folks were selling homemade jam, bread, freshly picked strawberrys, jewelry, real old fashion homemade ice cream and more. Since my carrying power was limited, I could only manage a jar of freshly made jam from a very handsome Amish boy.  I'll test it in the morning.  Sorry, no pictures were allowed.

I headed down the road to meet the group for lunch and found Alan and Ross enjoying a piece of pie in the local hangout.  We got talking with two retired school teachers about the merits of good pie when thy asked if we'd tried Illinois Sugar Pie.  We hadn't so one of the gals disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a Sugar Pie for us.  We were fortunate to have one of the support vans  pull up so we could transport the pie for future consumption.

We continued on toward the hotel but stopped briefly to look at a beautiful rose garden.

We ate dinner at the local BOB EVANS (like Denny's) and then headed back to the hotel for an early evening......104 miles tomorrow!  (Before bed we sampled the Sugar Pie.....sweet but not bad ).

Best,

Michael

DAY 35. CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN TO INDIANAPOLIS, IN

Today was a good day.  Today was a short day, only 59 miles so we arrived at the hotel around noon.  Most of ride was on back country roads past acres and acres of corn fields and fields of soy beans.  The scenery was picturesque.

Alan was able to arrange a tour of the ZIPP wheel factory this afternoon.  For those of you not familar with bikes, ZIPP manufactures (here in Indianapolis) high end carbon fiber bike wheels.  Prices start around $2,800 for a set of wheels and go up from there.

We returned from our tour of this high tech facility, had an hour to clean up before heading out for a Thai dinner.  I didn't know what to expect but the meal was very good.  After our meal we celebrated Geoffrey's 66th birthday.  

Geoffrey is the oldest rider on the tour.  He hails from the UK and is a great guy.

As I sit relaxing with my feet up watching the World Cup, I realize that 2 weeks from today the Tour will be over.  The past 5 weeks have gone by quickly yet we have traveled a great distance.

I have so enjoyed traveling with this wonderful group of new friends.  I only wish Michelle could have enjoyed the whole trip.  I can't wait to have her back riding with us for the final week of the Tour (everyone feels the same way).

Best,

Michael

DAY 34. Champaign, IL TO CRAWFORDSVILLE, IN

Finally.  We started out the day in heavy fog but after an hour it lifted and the day became quite nice.  We even enjoyed a slight tail wind for part of the 79 mile ride.

We crossed our 8th State line into Indiana.

Pictured are, Richard, Barry and me.

The day was quite reasonable, getting us to the hotel at 1:00 pm. (Actually 2:00 pm since we're now in the Eastern time zone).

Cracker Barrel for dinner tonight ??  I hope they offer breakfast ....eggs are usually safe as opposed to chicken fried steak.

Off to Indianapolis tomorrow.  

We're getting closer!

Best,

Michael

Day 33. DAY OFF IN CHAMPAIGN, IL

Our day off was very welcome after completing a very high mileage week.

We enjoyed meeting a special guest.....Tim's wife Kitty flew in from the UK to spend our day off with him.  We enjoyed a great steak dinner during her visit.

The restaurant was a "cook your own steak" or pay the chef to prepare it (an additional $2.69).

I was leery about the guys hanging around the grill (Stuart and Alan) so I had the cook prepare mine.

The best part of the dinner was the skillet chocolate chip cookie with ice cream and hot fudge.  Delicious!  It will be difficult forgoing all these wonderful treats after the tour ends.

Back on the rod tomorrow.

Can't wait to meet up with Michelle, Mike and Heather next week in Niles, Ohio.

Best to all,

Michael

DAY 32. SPRINGFIELD, IL. TO CHAMPAIGN, IL

86 miles in the wind and heavy rain, enough said.

I'm glad tomorrow is a rest day, by the end of rhe day I didn't have any pedal strokes left in me.

Tims wife flew in from the UK as a surprise!

Great news, MICHELLE went for a ride today and she completed the ride pain free.  Looking forward to seeing her in Niles, Ohio.

Best,

Michael

DAY 31. Quincy, IL TO SPRINGFIELD, IL

Not much to report other than to say today was a very tough day.  I covered 109 miles in just over 8 hours.  The first half of the ride was, once again, up and down.  After we crossed the Illinois River the terrain flattened out.  We still can't catch a break with the wind.  We battled a 10 mph head wind the entire 109 miles. (I made a 2 mile error in direction; the planned course was only 107 miles).

The highlight of the day was dinner at Randy's house.  Randy started the tour with us but was forced to stop riding due to leg / knee problems similar to what Michelle experienced.  Randy and his wife Kathy spoiled us with a beautiful spread in their georgeous home.

Tomorrow is an 86 mile day in what is forecast to be very wet weather.  At this point, I would trade the wind for some light rain.

Wednesday is a much needed rest day.

Best,

Michael

DAY 30. KIRKSVILLE, KS to QUINCY, IL

Today was a pretty good day.  We had 3 highlights.......1st we reached the 2,000 mile point of the tour, we crossed the Mississippi River and finally we crossed the 7th state line into Illinois.

Tomorrow we push on to Springfirld, a 107 mile ride.  This is followed by a 86 mile ride to Champaign, Il and then a REST day!

Best,

Michael