Monon to Wabash, IN

66 miles. One of our longer days by mileage, but it was a beautiful day and we had yet another tailwind. The Indiana countryside was beautiful and filled with water sources - farm ponds, creeks and several rivers. We were on county roads almost the entire day with virtually no traffic, which also made the ride pleasant.

At one point while we had stopped to take pictures of some miniature donkeys, a guy pulled up in a pickup truck to ask us about our trip (a not uncommon experience). He had his young son with him and told us that when the boy gets older he wants to do a similar trip with his son. That was pretty cool and was not what many cyclists might expect to hear coming out of a pickup truck's window in rural America.

We also met Rocky today. Rocky is a chocolate lab who came bounding out of the woods by his owner's farm as we rode by. Being chased by farm dogs is not unusual (we also had a Jack Russell terrier come after us today) but Rocky was clearly just having a good time, bouncing alongside the tandem as we tried to pedal past him. Unfortunately he also ran in front of us several times, nearly causing us to hit him. After the second such episode (and Rocky repeatedly ignoring our requests to go home) we stopped the bike and, using an old Slim Jim meat stick as an inducement, got him to accompany us back to his house. But despite a severe scolding by his owner, Rocky refused to go in his house so that we could be on our way. He just loved Penny and would not leave her side. So Penny went into the house, the owner grabbed Rocky by the collar, and then Penny darted out the door. Rocky was no doubt fit to be tied and he never got the Slim Jim either.