Indiana

July 12

Dayton, OH to Rushville, IN - 60 miles

We departed our host in Dayton, excited to cross into our tenth state. I was disappointed that we did not see a state sign, since I was determined to get a picture with every state sign, but it was fun to ride in both states for a mile on State Line Road. Much of our ride was on roads surrounded by cornfields, as anticipated. 

My first impression of the people of Indiana was formed by a burly, bearded 60-something year motorcyclist named Shrimp. We were resting on the side of the road when Shrimp pulled over on his motorcycle to lecture us on the variety of comfortable bicycle and motorcycle seats available to consumers. In a very one-sided conversation, he expanded on this topic for several minutes, slowly losing our interest. We were accustomed to standard conversations with locals during which both parties talk about themselves and we pique the other party's interest by talking about our cross country bike trip. But upon learning this piece of information, Shrimp nodded his head and continued sharing his opinionated rant on cushioned seats. 

We arrived at our host in Rushville, IN and were immediately greeted by a kind man sitting with his children under a tent near a table that displayed fruits, granola bars, water, and Gatorade. At 6 PM, we hosted our second bike clinic, which had a much more successful attendance than the last clinic - about 15 kids versus one. We played "Simon Says," to teach them hand gestures we use on the road and set up an obstacle course for them to practice on. I had a lot of fun interacting with them. 

The pastor and her husband were really cool and to my surprise, motorcycle enthusiasts. The host provided us with one of the best and most diverse dinners we have had. They encouraged us each to take two plates at the start and we gladly complied. My plates were piled with fried chicken, a slice of pizza, a baked potato (with bacon bits!), carrots, green beans, macaroni, a bread roll, a slice of pork, a taco, and pineapple. I proceeded to eat dessert which was a meal in itself since they offered cupcakes, an award winning chocolate cake, brownies, cookies, banana pudding, peach pie, and apple pie. I proved to myself that night that I have little to no self control. After dinner we went down the street to a free outdoor country concert - an event held every weekend over the summer. I enjoyed seeing and being amongst the locals of the town, even if country music isn't my preferred genre of music.

July 13

Rushville to Bloomington: 86.6 miles

Our host outdid themselves again with an extravagant breakfast, which included bacon, egg casserole, scrambled eggs, home fries, fruit, donuts, and apple fritters (I love apple fritters!). We set out on our ride, feeling bloated and energized. Much to our dismay, the host forewarned us that the ride would be hilly, especially through Brown county - we expected Indiana to consist entirely of flat terrain and corn. He further noted that part of our route is included in an annual bike tour called the "Hilly Hundred" - self explanatory. We set out on our ride, which started out flat but had a harsh headwind. The headwind got stronger and the ride hillier. We finally arrived in Bloomington, which had noticeably more culture than the small towns we had ridden through - i.e. there are Indian and Thai restaurants and artsy looking shops.

A Humpty Dumpty statue in town - not exactly representative of Bloomington or Indiana, but a worthwhile picture nonetheless:

I associate Bloomington with a movie I enjoy called Breaking Away, a film about the Little 500 race at Indian University. 

The campus:

Souvenir IU sticker:

We stayed overnight at Indiana University and had dinner at Trinity Episcopal Church in the downtown area. I discussed basketball and Larry Bird with one of the volunteers, assuming this was a topic of interest to him. We concluded the night with a town hall meeting.