Day 36: Indianapolis to Richmond, IN

Waiting for the OK to depart in the morning

Welcome back LR12 followers. Today was kind of an uneventful ride of 84 miles to the eastern boundary of the state of IN. We are less than 3 miles from the boundary so tomorrow we will enter our 10th state!! It doesn't seem possible.

I departed with the rabbit group at 0720 this morning with pleasant temps in the upper 60s but with the relative humidity in around 85%. Now of course as the temperature of the air rises the RH will drop but it was still quite stifling. When cruising along at 16 mph, I noticed my legs were glistening with a rather thick layer of sweat. The water has no place to go as evaporation is much reduced. I kept my white sleeves and head drape saturated with water from my bottles (as we did in the desert) hoping to stay cool but I'm not sure how helpful it really was.

We spent more time on busier roads today and not as much on the nice isolated farm roads. There are some pretty nice homes or 'farmhouses' out here with large yards and thankfully chained-up barking dogs.

There was one 11 mile stretch of road that was resurfaced last week with a bright grey crushed rock and slurry type top seal.

Although the surface was smooth from the standpoint of cracks and potholes, the actual road surface was very rough. As a result there was a constant, high frequency vibration that was transmitted into the bike frame and up into your hands and arms. Riding on this surface was tough on the hands and wrists; my hands are still a bit sore from this treatment. I hope we don't get anymore of this road type again.

Some colorful flowers along side the road today which were beautiful

Our SAG today was at a combination post office and volunteer fire department building. Occasionally, you see something that gives you a tag glimps of this not-so-complicated life style.  Here is a picture of our parking line-up that I hope captures what I mean.

Post Office, Volunteer Fire Department Building AND a U-drop your sewer payments here box.

I saw one sign of a horse and buggy with the note '11 miles' evidently a warning of slow moving Amish buggies in the area. I was surprised since I thought the Amish communities were essentially in Pennsylvania.  I kept a keen look out but no buggy sightings today.

Michele and I went out and grabbed a quick lunch sandwich at the Steak and Shake. We had chicken sandwiches which were not too bad. This is a big chain in the midwest and it kind of had a little 'In-n-Out' burger feel. My strawberry milkshake was delicious :).

Well, time for a nap before our 'route-rap' meeting and dinner.

Have a great weekend and a special Happy Fathers Day to all those dads out there.



104 miles to Marysville, OH tomorrow. It clouding up outside today with a few light sprinkles so I hope we don't get a thundershower tomorrow.

Take Care

Tom

A picture from yesterday of me and my cousins Jeff and Jerry on the porch at Jeff's

Click here to see details of today's ride:
Day 36: Indianapolis to Richmond, IN by xctom2012 at Garmin Connect - Details