I've discovered that one of the things you really notice as you bicycle is terrain changes you would ignore if you were driving. Ever since areas of WV where I would get into small valleys, cross them, and head into the hills, I've been curious about what exactly caused some of the terrain features I've seen (glacial valleys? would I see moraines? etc.)
Indiana is proving to be a very odd region in this way. I'll spend an hour bicycling through flat plains, with occasional tree breaks, then hit another section of what I just think is trees, only to discover that it is a sudden set of hills and valleys breaking up the terrain, then after a few of those, I am suddenly back to plains.
Usually when I have done cross country travel, fields have have crops that are fairly large in them. This time, it is early enough in the year that some fields are still lying empty, while others just have the tiny start to corn or other crops in them. I expect that I will get to watch the corn grow day after day as I pass through corn fields. For now, looking across empty fields lends itself to a sense of loneliness. While it might be well into spring, many of the fields are brown and filled with the stumps of corn from the last year. Along with that are the small towns that are plopped down in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on all sides by fields. I can't help but think that it would feel very desolate to live in a cluster of houses, surrounded on all sides by fields and lines of trees. My brother was old enough that living in West Virginia made him feel claustrophobic, unable to see very far. I'm beginning to suspect that spending most of my life in WV has done the opposite to me - I enjoy being surrounded by hills on all sides and find large flat areas to be very exposing. We'll see if that feeling holds up when I get into the desert scrubland or other areas with more terrain and cover.
Today, I should either get close to the Indiana, Illinois border or actually across it, depending on how the road is. Keeping up a good pace.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yo Tom, Looks like you're making wonderful progress! I've been following the weather, and fairly heavy storm fronts have been breaking up before they reach you. As you get closer to tornado alley you may want to track weather reports a little closer. So far, numerous tornadoes and golf ball and even baseball sized hail have remained well south of your route.
ReplyDeleteoh Tom you sound like such a physical geographer! I totally understand what you mean about feeling more comfortable enclosed by hills! flat expanses of land make me feel so vulnerable!
ReplyDeleteI second that...although living in Savannah for almost for years now and 2 more to come I have gotten used to the flatness, but once I get close to the mountains I love their embrace...
ReplyDelete