Crawfordsville to Indianapolis, Indiana

46 miles, 2:51 riding time, 900 feet of climb, 2,214 Calories

The further east we ride, the more densely populated the countryside. We pass many more homes and the farms are much smaller here than they are in the western states. We are beginning to see smokestack industries in towns, in addition to the usual grain elevators.

Today's ride took us into the biggest city we've visited since leaving Los Angeles. Indianapolis is the capital of Indiana and the fourteenth largest city in the U.S. We took a circuitous route from Crawfordsville, with many turns and byways. As the crow flies, it's less than forty miles between them, but the CrossRoad's route was for a ride of 62 miles to get there. Fred, who is from Indianapolis, had his friend, Bob, ride out to meet us and bring Peter, Al, Fred, and I in to town by a shorter route. Peter's knee is bothering him, so we took the short cut. Fred left us when we got near his home. He is leaving the ride at this point and not going on to Boston. We will miss him. The picture above is of Fred and me. BTW, a big thank you to Bob; it was great meeting and riding with you.

The Major Taylor Velodrome is located in Indianapolis. Used for track bicycle racing, the venue is named for Marshall "Major" Taylor (1878-1932), an African-American cyclist who won the one-mile track cycling championship in 1899 after setting numerous world records. I had hoped to ride a lap at the velodrome, but, alas, it wasn't open to the public today.

There are only two state capitals whose names incorporate the name of their state. One is, of course, Indianapolis. What's the other?