Saturday, June 13, 2009

Indianapolis to Richmond, Indiana

84 miles, 5:12 riding time, 1,524 feet of climbing, 4,093 Calories

Yesterday, they called me from the front desk at the hotel and said I had some mail. It was a letter from my dear friend and hero, Walter. He enclosed the above cartoon from his previous rides across the country.

It took a long time to get out of Indianapolis proper. We rode through the suburbs on the east side of town for almost fifteen miles before breaking out into the countryside. Once again, we were in the midst of small farms, offset with woods. The roads were quiet on a Saturday morning, with little traffic. Although the skies were cloudy, we didn't experience any precipitation and today the wind gods were at least benign. Peter, Big Al, and I rode together for most of the day. Chris, Mike, and Rick caught us at the first SAG stop and then left us in the dust as we rode the last miles into Richmond. Having checked into the hotel, we went looking for some food and walked over to the Steak 'n Shake. As we were ordering, Debbie Lanham walked up to the table and said, "I though I'd find you here. I missed you at the hotel and then thought where would Jim go to get his milk shake?" Debbie had driven up from Dayton to intercept me on my way to Boston. Debbie and I went for an early dinner and had a marvelous visit. I'm very fortunate to have such good friends.

We're beginning to see lots of cemeteries, large and small, beside the road. Front yards of homes are full of lawn ornaments (ducks, deer, gnomes, etc.) and each one has a Christmas tree growing somewhere near the house. We are also moving into Amish country attested to by the road signs.

Trivia: Richmond has been called the "cradle of recorded jazz." Some of the first studios to press jazz records were located here. Richmond was also the lawn mower capital of the world when several manufacturers were located in the city. Orville and Wilber Wright went to school here. And, finally, of the three Egyptian mummies in Indiana, two are located in Richmond, giving it the highest concentration of mummies in the state.

5 comments:

  1. I'm glad to see that your beverage habit helped your friend Debbie find you.

    Nancy

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  2. Beach Bike Trek Update:

    No riding stats to report today, as the two domestiques are taking a few days off of their biking schedule to attend a local performance event.

    Trivia: The event is being held in Cerritos, formerly known as Dairy Valley. During the 1950s, the cows outnumbered the city's residents by 29 to 1. [The chickens outnumbered the residents by over 30 to 1.] At its peak, the city produced more dairy than any other place in the nation, surpassing even the entire state of Wisconsin. Cerritos is also the childhood home of former first lady Pat Nixon.

    Oh, the places we've seen!

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  3. I became exhausted thinking about your long range ride. I drove to Jack n the Box and got a shake. It did make me feel better!
    Bill (diver)

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  4. It was wonderful to see you and spend a very enjoyable afternoon! Debbie

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  5. Ok Ok if 'I' ever and 'I' mean EVER bike across this U.S. of A the obvious thing to do is to start backwards...Boston to Los Angeles, or bust....thanks alot Walter; Jim you have the BEST of friends.

    Jaime

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