The Southern Pacific Railroad ran along our route for quite a while. There was about 2 miles of non stop rail cars loaded with coal. It was unbelievable to see such a long train.
Bridge extending overthe Wabash River and connecting Indiana and Illinois. On the Indiana side where this picture is taken is Vicennes, the first city in Indiana settled in 1732 with sister cities in France and Germany. The French founded the settlement of Vicennes along the Wabash to protect this important trade route from the English and to strengthen relations with the Indians in this area. The British took over following their victory in the French and Indian War. The river was of strategic imprtance to both the British and the Americans for control of the west during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
I'm sure if he had a bike, he would have riden it across the state line instead of just walking.
This picture doesn't capture the true beauty and vibrant greens of this farming scene.
Bridgeport, Bridgeport, the big city of dreams.
Nighttime activity: Bike and Build took over the tiny green space in town with a fountain and 6 old men gathered aroud chatting to project a movie onto the side of the building.
This was my favorite part of the day. I was riding my bike and all of a sudden this cite little dog appeared in the middle of the road. I rode towards him to try to scare him off the road so he wouldn't get hit by a car. He started running down the road like I was chasing him and for the next mile that's what it looked like. I kept biking and he kept running. And he kept running and I kept biking. He would turn around see me still behind him and keep running. It was hilarious.
The site of Fort Sackville, captured by George Rogers Clark and his heroic comrades from the British on February 25, 1779.
This monument leading into Illinois marks the route Abraham Luncoln traveled with his father's family in the winter of 1830, three weeks after his 21st birthday. It was the first time Lincoln entered Illinois where his rise to prominence started.
Enter: The Land of Lincoln
The Indiana scenary of constantly flat land with large farms.
Jul 12, 2010
Hello Mecca of my historical studies. The 92 mile ride was extremely enjoyable today as we started off in farmville USA and about halfway through started riding through small townships.i decided to ride alone today so I could go my own pace and not be pressured by a pack. It was nice because I could stop whenever I wanted to take pictures or empty my bladder, but the downfall was that I had no one to draft off of. So, I ended up doing a lot of work to break the wind for the whole day, but the serenity was well worth it. Middle America offered dazzling views of the horizon and a surprise around every corner. Indiana advertising is very strongly againy abortion. I know this because of several signs I had the opportunity to ride by slow enough to read. Whole billboards are devoted to prolife depictions. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a while different world from where I came from. Two nights ago in the bar, NASCAR was all over the TVs. Today we drove by streets like GTO Way and signs in front of peoples driveways that say Jeff Gordon. In the 2 1/2 days riding through Indiana, I saw more taxidermy shops than gas stations and grocery stores combined and certainly more than I've ever seen before in my life. My favorite part about this whole trip so far is the number of churches we ride by. Every one has a message board outfront with a different saying for me to ponder. A random sampling of what I've seen so far: The cross is the Christian's Statue of Liberty...If you're a sinner, you're not a winner. But my favorite ones are those meant to strike fear into readers, such as Stop, drop and roll won't save you in hell. There are plenty more gems that I have seen, but they're tough to remember all day long until the point I sit down to write this. I will do a better job at keeping track from now on and there will no doubt be more religious messages to come. I woke up this morning and my back bike tire was mysteriously flat at 55psi when the reccomended pressure is 120. Since the back is tougher to change and I'm a stubborn man who didn't feel like replacing the tube so early in the morning, I didn't. I just inflated it with a pump and rode it all day long as it slowly deflated. Every 15 miles I stopped and refilled it with the hand pump attached to my bike. This was most definitely not a smart decision, but I did it anyway and made it to the host safe and sound (where I immediately proceeded to change my tire). I've eaten so much in the last couple weeks, I figured I could go today without binging (I would have made it the whole day too if it wasn't for our again delicious dinner). Along the ride, there were two lunch stops. At the first one at mile 35 I just ate an apple and slice of wheat bread and kept on pedaling to the next one at mile 70 where I ate a peach and banana. Somewhere along the ride, I had a Clif bar too. But not stopping much and pedaling at a moderately fast pace when I was moving got me to the host ahead of everyone else and 2 hours and 15 minutes before the last group got in. This gave me plenty of time to rip my jersey off and then put it back on again when I realized there were 6 women in the church kitchen preparing dinner. I got a nice long stretch in while I enjoyed two $.10 bit o' honey candies I bought in Yellow Springs last week. I was happy to sit bathing in my filth with a sense of wonderment upon me as I thought back to the ride. I was thrilled to have biked atleast 6 miles of the path Abraham Lincoln traveled into the state. Simply amazing to be in the land of Lincoln.
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Eating dinners on this trip is the best thing ever becase every host wants to showcase their local dishes. This lets us sample a new variety of cuisine every stop we make. Along with the Sweet Tea, we were delighted to have tons of fresh vegetables and a gravy that could have made dirt taste good.
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