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Friday, May 29, 2009
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.
Watseka, IL to east of Monon, IN
56.5 miles. We crossed the Illinois-Indiana border today, although there was no sign at the border indicating that we had entered the Hoosier state. We were on a county road at the time, and since they are primarily used by local farmers the states probably figure it's a waste of money to tell people who live in the area that they are now in a different tax jurisdiction.
It was cool and overcast all day. There were a few drops of moisture from time to time but once again it never rained (I should know better. The more I talk about our luck with the weather the more likely it is we are going to get creamed very soon.) And we had another tailwind today, which made the flat terrain roll by quickly.
We are camping tonight at a campground outside Monon. It sits along a creek that feeds into the nearby Tippecanoe River. We are the only tent campers but there are at least two dozen travel trailers in here as well. However, there are only two other campers here tonight (a Thursday). The owners (a couple about our age who met in a campground when they were 12) explained that the travel trailers remain here year round manager), which I should have realized (some of them have wood decks attached, adjoining storage sheds and/or landscaping). The owners of the trailers (some of them from the Chicago area, two hours away) mainly use them on the weekends. They are not allowed to live here, so can't use their trailers as second homes. But the campground allows them to "store" their trailers at a nice place to also use them. Apparently this type of arrangement is pretty common in Indiana. It was a new way of doing things to both of us though.
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