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[Scared Straight?]
[I think hobbits might live here]
[This is one of three full size fighter planes that we saw today]
[Call any board member, huh? And their numbers are???]
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Another two days of riding have brought us to the end of yet another of the 50 states. Indiana has flown by with images of corn, pigs, and lonely roads still dancing in our heads. Yesterday was a great day for riding, but not as great for camping. We started by retracing our path from the day before back into the city of Rensselaer. From there we returned to the deserted county roads that zig-zag through endless fields of corn and soybeans. We did manage to find a lake at our rest stop in Fletcher. It wasn't big, but it did break up the monotony of the farms. We ate lunch at the cemetary in Fletcher next to the church where they are apparently marketing for repentance. After lunch in Fletcher we continued on to Deedsville, plotted by a certin Mr. Deeds. To our delight we came upon a brand new bike trail that was marked as a railroad on our map. After questioning a highway worker we found out it was just being completed and that it would take us nearly the entire way to the campground outside of Peru where we had planned on staying. Although it was not yet finished (they were still putting up the guard rails and signs), the pavement was done and it was a railroad grade trail. A quick trip down the trail later we found our way along Lover's Lane (literally) to the Indian Trails Campground. The place is enormous, but has seen better days. The owner was very friendly, however, and gave us a site and great directions to food establishments. While it was not a terribly hot day (only 90) is was very muggy and that made sleeping difficult. The difficulty falling asleep was exacerbated by the fact that we had also crossed into the eastern time zone somewhere along the way. 6 am (which was going to feel like 5 am) was going to come much too quickly.
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I was a little slow getting out of bed this morning. A very warm evening and no breezes made for fitful sleep. Once we were up we discovered that a raccoon had stolen our cinnamon-raisin bagels from the vestibule of our tent. That's why they wear masks - so they won't be identified when committing grand theft bagel. It was cooler, but the fog betrayed the ever-present humidity. We were off our mapped route and decided to take the main highway into Huntington where we would meet back up with the route. The shoulder was wide and smooth, and apart from the occasional pile of debris and constant roaring of passing cars, it was very nice riding. We found our way back to the route and made our way to Monroeville, IN, which lies right on the border with Ohio. Enroute we passed three towns that had full sized fighter planes as monuments in their parks. By the time we reached this evening's destination we were hot and very sweaty, but after having done only 73 miles, not worn out. In Monroeville we were greeted by Warren Fluttrow, the man in charge of the city park. There is a very large air conditioned community building in the city park in Monroeville that is a cross between a reception hall and a church basement and Warren is the key master. Cross-country cyclists have been invited to stay in the building free of charge since the 1970's. Recently they have added a cyclist-specific bathroom that contains a toilet, shower, washer, dryer, and a cabinet full of towels! It is truly a biker's paradise. We have tons of room to dry/air out tents and sleeping bags, we can do our laundry for free, and the showers and sleeping conditions are on par with a nice hotel room. I would highly recommend this as an overnight stop for anyone on a bicycle in the area. Tomorrow we begin the crossing of our second to last real state (we're not really counting Pennsylvania because we are only going across 45 miles of it). The time is really starting to fly by!
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