Wow, it's been two weeks already....
Yesterday turned into quite the exciting little adventure! After my last post, I headed westward, but almost immediately ran into problems with Route 50 - mainly a lack of any shoulder at all! I decided to try the side roads, as this was still field country. A bit of trial and error had me headed in the right direction, with one interesting discovery of a tiny little community of about 3 blocks plopped down in the middle of a field (I had to explore the whole thing before I realized I needed to backtrack to head west). Fortunately, other bikers on these back roads sent me in the right direction!
This is where things get interesting. My goal was to get reasonably far into the city while still finding somewhere to camp, maybe alongside the river. Well, the route I was in was taking me into East Saint Louis (a separate city from St. Louis, this is still in Illinois), a place I had never heard of, and should have learned about BEFORE heading into. I headed towards a rise that would bridge me over rail tracks and saw a sign saying "watch for water on road", something I figured would be a problem for floods. This begins my somewhat unsafe adventure. As soon as I crested the rise and dropped down, I discovered that indeed, there were two spots where the road was covered in water, with swamp on both sides (only about 1/8 to 1/16 inch of water, I would guess). The sides of the road were a dumping ground for dozens of mattresses and couches, with a random truck stopped and two guys smoking marijuana out of the back of it. I kept following the road, frogs fleeing my approach and ended up in a pretty sketchy neighborhood.
I have been in the projects for Huntington, and several other spots like that, and they do not disturb me. They can't even begin to compare to this community - a place I was truly scared to be in. I just checked Wikipedia, and it is noted as having one of the highest crime rates in the USA. In the projects of Huntington, people still leave toys outside and neighbors provide a sense of community. In East St. Louis, nothing was left outside, half the houses were abandoned wrecks, and there was little neighborly interaction. It was like a community that had given up on itself, and I found myself in it as darkness began to fall.
I figured my best plan at this point was to keep moving to try to get out of the area. Pretty soon I ran into my second police officer of the trip. I had stopped for a second to check my map and try to figure out where I was when he came up beside me and noted "you're not in a very good neighborhood, sir". Gratefully, I got directions from him on how to get out of the area and across the river. Of course, I still managed to go the wrong way and it was pretty dark before I got out. I can legitimately state that being in East St. Louis after dark scared me a lot!
After crossing the Mississippi (picture to come when my battery isn't almost dead!), things were immediately much safer. I kept going, looking for somewhere to stay, only to find that the urban sprawl goes a loooong ways on the west side of the river. Fortunately, I managed to find somewhere to sack out, completely exhausted at around 1 AM. From now on, I intend to avoid such adventures, although the lack of traffic due to the late hour was nice.
Today dawned with a visit to an IHOP I found early this morning. Fueled up, but with chafed body parts from the long day before, I decided to make it an easy day, pedaling standing up 95% of the time to give my butt and inner legs a rest from chafing. Despite thinking this would slow me down a lot, I made decent time. What did slow me down was the weather - While you can hurry in cold weather, you can't go too quickly when it's 91 degrees and humid. I drank a LOT today and took frequent breaks to keep from dehydrating. With all the breaks, I got into some nice conversations with friendly Missouri locals, including two brothers (Doug and Dwight) who had done some shorter bicycling before and were eager to chat with me about my trip.
I ended up having a long day, despite my plan to go easy, after discovering that there are very few McDonalds' along Rt. 50 in Missouri. Linn was the nearest one after the morning, and a long ways off. Still, with the sun in the sky, I managed to make it (at least 90 miles) to keep everybody updated. I would also like to note that at least Eastern Missouri is not flat! In fact, compared to Indiana and Illinois, I feel like I'm already getting more rolling. I have been told things should be better tomorrow though! The battery is almost dead, so I may go for a short day and then a hotel to charge up electronics tomorrow night. If so, expect a picture and some more comments on these last two days - this post was a bit rushed for fear of battery life. Take care all!!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Day 13, or how I have a tough time taking it easy
First, I'd like to thank everybody for their support. It really helps me keep going on the longer stretches of the trip. I'm paying attention, even if I'm not commenting back!
Last night, I made camp around Xenia, a tiny little place which had a gas station (place to get breakfast!). Getting in early, I set up camp, and with no weather dangers, left the rain fly off of my tent. That let me see a great show of fireflies as the night closed in. Very pretty!
A restful night of sleep and I was off, a bit earlier than normal. Part of that was probably my getting to sleep earlier than normal. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and things did get a bit toasty, but by continually layering on sunscreen, and keeping on both long tops and bottoms, I avoided burn I think. Most of the way had good shoulder today, and it was all fairly flat. I was a bit more concerned about traffic, as this was Saturday, but things weren't that bad. I stopped for brunch at a grocery store and got some fresh fruit (YAY!) for a change. As I was sitting outside eating, two different people stopped to chat with me. Both were more elderly folk who chatted a bit about where I was going and life in general. Other than a few drivers, Illinois people seem to be quite friendly!
During the day, I passed a car with a sign on it, followed by a runner. I'm pretty sure it was this guy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/03/15/2010-03-15_retired_queens_businessman_looks_to_make_forrest_gumplike_run_across_us_for_char.html
We were headed in opposite directions, but I yelled good luck to him as we passed. The world is full of interesting people, once again! :)
Another thing I've been wondering about. Back when I drove across the US, I noticed a lot of fields full of plants with yellow flowers. I'd just assumed they were growing wild, but it's now clear that they're growing in fields between crops (or are they crops). My best guess is they're either plants with nitrogen fixing bacteria, or they're there to wipe out nematodes or keep down weeds. They aren't carefully planted in rows like crops are, but seem more growing at random. Another mystery to explore if I run across somebody to ask, or when I have a hotel stay!
It's only about five here and they sun is high in the sky. Right now I'm in Lebanon, Il. and am quite tempted to maybe make a go at getting through St. Louis today. I should have at least 3 more hours of sunlight, and getting through at a time where traffic should be low has its advantages. See, I said I wasn't very good at "taking it easy". If I do, I'll spend the night in Missouri, and even if I don't make it, I suspect I could find somewhere along the Mississippi river to make camp.
Crossing the Mississippi is going to be a big deal for me. Even though it's closer to the 1/3 point of my trip than anything else, it has been looming large in my mind for quite a while as a major bisector of the US. We'll see what I can do while it's still warm and sunny out!
Take care all!!!
Last night, I made camp around Xenia, a tiny little place which had a gas station (place to get breakfast!). Getting in early, I set up camp, and with no weather dangers, left the rain fly off of my tent. That let me see a great show of fireflies as the night closed in. Very pretty!
A restful night of sleep and I was off, a bit earlier than normal. Part of that was probably my getting to sleep earlier than normal. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and things did get a bit toasty, but by continually layering on sunscreen, and keeping on both long tops and bottoms, I avoided burn I think. Most of the way had good shoulder today, and it was all fairly flat. I was a bit more concerned about traffic, as this was Saturday, but things weren't that bad. I stopped for brunch at a grocery store and got some fresh fruit (YAY!) for a change. As I was sitting outside eating, two different people stopped to chat with me. Both were more elderly folk who chatted a bit about where I was going and life in general. Other than a few drivers, Illinois people seem to be quite friendly!
During the day, I passed a car with a sign on it, followed by a runner. I'm pretty sure it was this guy:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/03/15/2010-03-15_retired_queens_businessman_looks_to_make_forrest_gumplike_run_across_us_for_char.html
We were headed in opposite directions, but I yelled good luck to him as we passed. The world is full of interesting people, once again! :)
Another thing I've been wondering about. Back when I drove across the US, I noticed a lot of fields full of plants with yellow flowers. I'd just assumed they were growing wild, but it's now clear that they're growing in fields between crops (or are they crops). My best guess is they're either plants with nitrogen fixing bacteria, or they're there to wipe out nematodes or keep down weeds. They aren't carefully planted in rows like crops are, but seem more growing at random. Another mystery to explore if I run across somebody to ask, or when I have a hotel stay!
It's only about five here and they sun is high in the sky. Right now I'm in Lebanon, Il. and am quite tempted to maybe make a go at getting through St. Louis today. I should have at least 3 more hours of sunlight, and getting through at a time where traffic should be low has its advantages. See, I said I wasn't very good at "taking it easy". If I do, I'll spend the night in Missouri, and even if I don't make it, I suspect I could find somewhere along the Mississippi river to make camp.
Crossing the Mississippi is going to be a big deal for me. Even though it's closer to the 1/3 point of my trip than anything else, it has been looming large in my mind for quite a while as a major bisector of the US. We'll see what I can do while it's still warm and sunny out!
Take care all!!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Taking it easy! (Day 12)
Whenever I go on long trips, such as hiking or bicycling, one thing I always have issues with is slowing down and really taking in the scenery. Whenever I do, I always have all the extra miles I could be laying down running through my mind. When I looked at the distance between here and St. Louis, I had two options - push really really hard for two days with the goal of getting through in the afternoon of the second day, or to relax, and take two days to reach the outskirts of the city, giving myself all of the next day to navigate my way through the city. I've already had some fun times getting through major cities as night closed in ( Baltimore and Cincinnati come to mind). I decided to slow down to really relax the next two days and cut my milage down from the between 80 and 90 mile a day average I have been going to around 50 to 60 for the next two days. A really challenge, but I've pulled it off so far, and what an interesting day it has been!
After waking up a bit later than I would camping out, I grabbed my gear. Apparently hoping my stuff, even though it is sythetic, would completely dry overnight after a washing in the sink was a bit overreaching, but it was only a little damp. I took the time also to check the weather, and saw that other than a small patch of rain ahead of me, things looked good. I had a strong hankering for pizza all day long, but most pizza shops don't seem to open until the afternoon, so I was out of luck with regards to that. I stopped by a gas station to grab enough fuel to get me to the next major town/city - Olney Il. I had read on wikipedia that there were white squirrels there, and I wanted to see one! After the twenty miles into town, I needed something to fill up the tummy (running on empty again!), so I stopped at a local diner - good food and friendly people!
I also asked for advice on where the best spot would be to maybe see one of their squirrels - it was already quite clear that they were a major aspect of the town, with squirrel crossing signs and town signs celebrating their white squirrel population. They directed me to the local park, where I saw a few gray squirrels, then finally spotted this guy (you can click to expand the image):
I was hoping to get a closer shot, but being a squirrel, (s)he was quite skittish. Still, I was happy to grab a shot of the critter. I also had cell phone access for the first time in a while, so I made some needed calls, and watching a threatening set of clouds rolling in.
Sure enough, here came the rain again. I was fairly dry, and wanted to stay that way, so I retreated to the park shelter where I relaxed as a downpour struck. Half an hour to an hour later, the storm was over and the sun was shining, and I was still dry! :) Full of good food and happy about seeing the squirrels (I also noted a placard that made it clear - they're albino gray squirrels), I made decent headway for a bit before a decent headwind began hitting me. Progress slowed a lot, but with the sun shining a fair bit for the first time in about five days, I was in good spirits!
A few miles on, I was stopping to reapply sunscreen to my face, as well as the two different lip balms I'm using (sunny weather actually gets me dressed more heavily to avoid sunburn, with long biking bottoms and a long sleeve shirt), I saw a biker coming up behind me. He came up pulling a trailer. For those of you non-tour bikers, you can carry your gear two ways - panniers (saddle bags) like me, or with an attaching trailer. The debates over which are better are apparently quite intense. He was probably more heavily loaded than I was, which made me happy that I hadn't overloaded. I gathered it was his first long trip as well. About that time, another biker who was traveling with him came up.
The two were Mike and Mitch(?) and were headed for Salt Lake City, Utah. Apparently Mitch(?) was in his last year at Duke and was going to be moving out there to take a job, so they wanted to go check it out via bicycle. We chatted for a bit. Apparently Mitch had had a fun day, with the patches he'd put on his bicycle tube blowing repeatedly, leaving him with four flats already for the day! They told me that they'd discovered that Olney, Il was a major distribution point for bicycle parts (but they didn't have a bicycle shop in town). When they were working on repairing his flat at one point, a car had pulled up and asked if they needed help. After asking about bicycle shops, the guy made a few calls. Apparently several of his family members worked for the distribution centers for bike parts. Being a wholesale location, they just gave him a free tube to send him on his way! Good times! They were off to meet Mitch's brother, who would be bicycling with them the next day. After a bit more chatting about our experiences so far and commiserating about the headwind, they took off, with me puttering along a bit behind them. After stopping for a snack, I lost them. Assuming they stay on 50, I might run across them tomorrow though. I gathered that they're doing shorter days than me, but moving faster when they're in the saddle.
With no rain and warmer temperatures in the future, I'll putter along a bit more today, find a good campsite, and rest up. Tomorrow, I should have another easy day into the outskirts of St. Louis. With any luck, the wind (apparently fairly strong compared to normal) will have abated by tomorrow! I'm off to save batteries! All in all, a good day!
After waking up a bit later than I would camping out, I grabbed my gear. Apparently hoping my stuff, even though it is sythetic, would completely dry overnight after a washing in the sink was a bit overreaching, but it was only a little damp. I took the time also to check the weather, and saw that other than a small patch of rain ahead of me, things looked good. I had a strong hankering for pizza all day long, but most pizza shops don't seem to open until the afternoon, so I was out of luck with regards to that. I stopped by a gas station to grab enough fuel to get me to the next major town/city - Olney Il. I had read on wikipedia that there were white squirrels there, and I wanted to see one! After the twenty miles into town, I needed something to fill up the tummy (running on empty again!), so I stopped at a local diner - good food and friendly people!
I also asked for advice on where the best spot would be to maybe see one of their squirrels - it was already quite clear that they were a major aspect of the town, with squirrel crossing signs and town signs celebrating their white squirrel population. They directed me to the local park, where I saw a few gray squirrels, then finally spotted this guy (you can click to expand the image):
I was hoping to get a closer shot, but being a squirrel, (s)he was quite skittish. Still, I was happy to grab a shot of the critter. I also had cell phone access for the first time in a while, so I made some needed calls, and watching a threatening set of clouds rolling in.
Sure enough, here came the rain again. I was fairly dry, and wanted to stay that way, so I retreated to the park shelter where I relaxed as a downpour struck. Half an hour to an hour later, the storm was over and the sun was shining, and I was still dry! :) Full of good food and happy about seeing the squirrels (I also noted a placard that made it clear - they're albino gray squirrels), I made decent headway for a bit before a decent headwind began hitting me. Progress slowed a lot, but with the sun shining a fair bit for the first time in about five days, I was in good spirits!
A few miles on, I was stopping to reapply sunscreen to my face, as well as the two different lip balms I'm using (sunny weather actually gets me dressed more heavily to avoid sunburn, with long biking bottoms and a long sleeve shirt), I saw a biker coming up behind me. He came up pulling a trailer. For those of you non-tour bikers, you can carry your gear two ways - panniers (saddle bags) like me, or with an attaching trailer. The debates over which are better are apparently quite intense. He was probably more heavily loaded than I was, which made me happy that I hadn't overloaded. I gathered it was his first long trip as well. About that time, another biker who was traveling with him came up.
The two were Mike and Mitch(?) and were headed for Salt Lake City, Utah. Apparently Mitch(?) was in his last year at Duke and was going to be moving out there to take a job, so they wanted to go check it out via bicycle. We chatted for a bit. Apparently Mitch had had a fun day, with the patches he'd put on his bicycle tube blowing repeatedly, leaving him with four flats already for the day! They told me that they'd discovered that Olney, Il was a major distribution point for bicycle parts (but they didn't have a bicycle shop in town). When they were working on repairing his flat at one point, a car had pulled up and asked if they needed help. After asking about bicycle shops, the guy made a few calls. Apparently several of his family members worked for the distribution centers for bike parts. Being a wholesale location, they just gave him a free tube to send him on his way! Good times! They were off to meet Mitch's brother, who would be bicycling with them the next day. After a bit more chatting about our experiences so far and commiserating about the headwind, they took off, with me puttering along a bit behind them. After stopping for a snack, I lost them. Assuming they stay on 50, I might run across them tomorrow though. I gathered that they're doing shorter days than me, but moving faster when they're in the saddle.
With no rain and warmer temperatures in the future, I'll putter along a bit more today, find a good campsite, and rest up. Tomorrow, I should have another easy day into the outskirts of St. Louis. With any luck, the wind (apparently fairly strong compared to normal) will have abated by tomorrow! I'm off to save batteries! All in all, a good day!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Over 900 Miles, and My First Motel ( Rest of Day 11)
Ahhh, luxury! I have to say, little beats a hot shower and a large room you can move around in! I'm also across my first time zone change!
The road started out as more ups and down today, with little shoulder. Add in that US 50 is apparently a popular route for trucks in Indiana, and it was a matter of constant nervousness. I was pretty sure before that I would not be making it into Illinois today, and the road seemed to confirm it. Still, I wanted to get close. After a surprisingly fast section, I found myself in some of the (major) road I like best - wide shoulder with little gravel. I also had my first tailwind(!!!) Ahhh, the miles flew by. The weather had been gray and overcast all day, with the occasional drop or two of rain. It seems the front was finally pushing in on me, and giving me a tailwind even as I headed west. Taking full advantage of it, I shot out about 20 miles and found myself quite near the border.
There was a small segment of the route that was marked as restricted on my route, so I figured I would get dinner at the Indiana side city (Vincennes), then see about crossing. As I got closer to the border, the front I had been riding fully overtook me, and I received some real rain (not that spittery stuff from earlier). I've already discovered that a long day in damp shoes isn't that fun, so I decided that if I could find one for a decent price, this was a night for my first motel stay. Route 50 apparently doesn't really connect with Vincennes as far as a bicyclist is concerned, so I decided to press on into Illinois.
Across the border I went on roads that had nice shoulders but had that undeniable look of a road that was closed to bicyclists. I hadn't seen a sign, and that was the excuse I was going to stick with if an officer stopped me! Of course, as soon as I crossed the river into Ill, there was the sign denying access to non-motorized vehicles. Phooey! Once I was off at the first exit, I checked my map and had a heart sinking moment. It looked as if I was going to have to add on another 20 to 30 miles just to go around the five miles or so of US 50 that was restricted.
There was a small paved road that paralleled US 50, so I decided to take my chances with that (it didn't appear on my map), with the vague idea that if it got me close, and I waited until after dark, it wasn't likely that I would get stopped if I sprinted the last one or two restricted miles *whistles innocently*. The road looked very promising for about half a mile to a mile, then veered off. The entire area was fields of newly planted corn, so I headed for the nearby house to ask directions. Before I even got to the front door, an older gentleman, thin and weathered, stepped out and commented on my being a bit wet (I was pretty soaked by this point). He was quite friendly, mentioned a lot of other bicyclists he saw going by in the past, so this was the route they tended to take, and told me I could follow the way I was going and get around the restricted area, complete with directions including "turn right at the church" :)
I must say, bicycling down small farm roads was very peaceful, with no worrying about traffic. His directions were great, and I managed to get into Lawrenceville with plenty of sunlight. After asking around, it seemed that there was one motel of the two in town which local folks thought might have internet available. I stopped off at a Subway to get dinner to go, attached it, and followed the directions I had to the Gas Light Motel. I think I like non-chain motels. While the room is like any other hotel or motel room or a bit larger, the office is clearly part of a family residence. When I entered the office, the noise chimed and a little boy, probably around 8 or 9, immediately popped his head through a door to stare at me. There were a few toys lying around, and shortly a man came from the upstairs area to get me set up. He was very friendly, and we chatted for a bit about my trip. The family is from the Indian subcontinent region, and the whole time we chatted, there were delicious food smells and Hindi (I'm assuming) music floating into the "office" from upstair and the back rooms.
So here I am, in Illinois, the land of Lincoln! In some ways, this trip has been a Civil war story to this point. I started out right in the Virginia region with plenty of markers and memories of my history on the Army of the Potomac floating around. Later, I ran across several Native American references including Seip Mound and several markers for treaty locations. Now I'm into the home of Lincoln. From here, I will have to find a new story to watch unfold! Lots of sleep tonight!!!
The road started out as more ups and down today, with little shoulder. Add in that US 50 is apparently a popular route for trucks in Indiana, and it was a matter of constant nervousness. I was pretty sure before that I would not be making it into Illinois today, and the road seemed to confirm it. Still, I wanted to get close. After a surprisingly fast section, I found myself in some of the (major) road I like best - wide shoulder with little gravel. I also had my first tailwind(!!!) Ahhh, the miles flew by. The weather had been gray and overcast all day, with the occasional drop or two of rain. It seems the front was finally pushing in on me, and giving me a tailwind even as I headed west. Taking full advantage of it, I shot out about 20 miles and found myself quite near the border.
There was a small segment of the route that was marked as restricted on my route, so I figured I would get dinner at the Indiana side city (Vincennes), then see about crossing. As I got closer to the border, the front I had been riding fully overtook me, and I received some real rain (not that spittery stuff from earlier). I've already discovered that a long day in damp shoes isn't that fun, so I decided that if I could find one for a decent price, this was a night for my first motel stay. Route 50 apparently doesn't really connect with Vincennes as far as a bicyclist is concerned, so I decided to press on into Illinois.
Across the border I went on roads that had nice shoulders but had that undeniable look of a road that was closed to bicyclists. I hadn't seen a sign, and that was the excuse I was going to stick with if an officer stopped me! Of course, as soon as I crossed the river into Ill, there was the sign denying access to non-motorized vehicles. Phooey! Once I was off at the first exit, I checked my map and had a heart sinking moment. It looked as if I was going to have to add on another 20 to 30 miles just to go around the five miles or so of US 50 that was restricted.
There was a small paved road that paralleled US 50, so I decided to take my chances with that (it didn't appear on my map), with the vague idea that if it got me close, and I waited until after dark, it wasn't likely that I would get stopped if I sprinted the last one or two restricted miles *whistles innocently*. The road looked very promising for about half a mile to a mile, then veered off. The entire area was fields of newly planted corn, so I headed for the nearby house to ask directions. Before I even got to the front door, an older gentleman, thin and weathered, stepped out and commented on my being a bit wet (I was pretty soaked by this point). He was quite friendly, mentioned a lot of other bicyclists he saw going by in the past, so this was the route they tended to take, and told me I could follow the way I was going and get around the restricted area, complete with directions including "turn right at the church" :)
I must say, bicycling down small farm roads was very peaceful, with no worrying about traffic. His directions were great, and I managed to get into Lawrenceville with plenty of sunlight. After asking around, it seemed that there was one motel of the two in town which local folks thought might have internet available. I stopped off at a Subway to get dinner to go, attached it, and followed the directions I had to the Gas Light Motel. I think I like non-chain motels. While the room is like any other hotel or motel room or a bit larger, the office is clearly part of a family residence. When I entered the office, the noise chimed and a little boy, probably around 8 or 9, immediately popped his head through a door to stare at me. There were a few toys lying around, and shortly a man came from the upstairs area to get me set up. He was very friendly, and we chatted for a bit about my trip. The family is from the Indian subcontinent region, and the whole time we chatted, there were delicious food smells and Hindi (I'm assuming) music floating into the "office" from upstair and the back rooms.
So here I am, in Illinois, the land of Lincoln! In some ways, this trip has been a Civil war story to this point. I started out right in the Virginia region with plenty of markers and memories of my history on the Army of the Potomac floating around. Later, I ran across several Native American references including Seip Mound and several markers for treaty locations. Now I'm into the home of Lincoln. From here, I will have to find a new story to watch unfold! Lots of sleep tonight!!!
On Indiana (Day 10 and start of Day 11)
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Welcome to Indiana (Day 9 and start of Day 10)
After my last post in Chillicothe, I moved a bit further and ended up having good luck again finding a camping spot - Seip Mount - an old native american earthworks which is also now a rest stop. nice level ground!
The next morning, it was off to try to get through Cincinnati. For a second day it was all overcast or splittery. I'm starting to think that rather than ever really raining in this area, it just mists down and soaks everything. The good thing is that I don't have to really worry much about sunburn in that kind of weather. The roadside was good, and I got to pass through Bainbridge, Ohio - apparently the site of the world's first dental school (who knew?).
Getting into Cincinnati wasn't hard, but getting out was something of a challenge, with me having to carry my bike and all its gear up and across a landbridge over a no bicycle/pedestrian section of the road, then down a rickety metal down stair about a mile further on. Excitement!
I had hoped to get into Indiana last night, but there is a fair bit of Ohio left beyond Cincinnati. After getting close and passing through North Bend, the site of William Henry Harrison's tomb, I decided to make camp about 4 miles from the border. I've discovered that those leveled areas that are waiting for development, but nobody has touched, make for excellent campsites, although the can be a bit rocky. Today has started out damp and overcast, but I got my tent taken down and gear stored quickly and it was off across the border. The nice thing for today is that I don't have any major goal stopping point, so I'll just move along at a comfortable pace and see what I can do!
The next morning, it was off to try to get through Cincinnati. For a second day it was all overcast or splittery. I'm starting to think that rather than ever really raining in this area, it just mists down and soaks everything. The good thing is that I don't have to really worry much about sunburn in that kind of weather. The roadside was good, and I got to pass through Bainbridge, Ohio - apparently the site of the world's first dental school (who knew?).
Getting into Cincinnati wasn't hard, but getting out was something of a challenge, with me having to carry my bike and all its gear up and across a landbridge over a no bicycle/pedestrian section of the road, then down a rickety metal down stair about a mile further on. Excitement!
I had hoped to get into Indiana last night, but there is a fair bit of Ohio left beyond Cincinnati. After getting close and passing through North Bend, the site of William Henry Harrison's tomb, I decided to make camp about 4 miles from the border. I've discovered that those leveled areas that are waiting for development, but nobody has touched, make for excellent campsites, although the can be a bit rocky. Today has started out damp and overcast, but I got my tent taken down and gear stored quickly and it was off across the border. The nice thing for today is that I don't have any major goal stopping point, so I'll just move along at a comfortable pace and see what I can do!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Chillicothe, OH (Day 8)
After spending day seven recovering at my sister, Katie's, she took me to a bike shop this morning. The bicycle got checked out, and a clicking fixed (just something loose). I packed up and got a late start a bit before 12:00 to light rain. After a while, the rain let up and left me with a beautiful day of riding.
The day was marked with stands of forest mixed in with farmland, and a lot of small swollen creeks. The ride was quite pleasant, with cool air, but not too cold, and a decent shoulder on the road for most of the day. I'll be heading a bit out of Chillicothe to find somewhere to set up camp as well as to get myself a bit closer to Cincinnati. If the riding is good tomorrow, I'm hoping to pass through Cincinnati and cross into Indiana. The next few days look to be damp, so we'll see how it goes.
The day was marked with stands of forest mixed in with farmland, and a lot of small swollen creeks. The ride was quite pleasant, with cool air, but not too cold, and a decent shoulder on the road for most of the day. I'll be heading a bit out of Chillicothe to find somewhere to set up camp as well as to get myself a bit closer to Cincinnati. If the riding is good tomorrow, I'm hoping to pass through Cincinnati and cross into Indiana. The next few days look to be damp, so we'll see how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)