2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 2 - Riding Off My Map

Day 2 - July 22, 2020 - Connect the Dots - Part II

It was lightly raining as I dozed off, and while there were random flashes of lightning, the thunder was very muffled and distant. I woke up around 1 am, and by then the rain had stopped. While I was awake, I shifted my recharging devices; my GPS and 1 tail light were fully charged, so I swapped them out with a second taillight and a headlight. This would be my pattern for the rest of the trip, charging stuff overnight from power packs charged during the day. 

Morning view of the Mississinewa Valley, from the the dam.

I woke without an alarm a little before 6:45, and checked the weather. There would be a chance of thunderstorms and partly cloudy skies, and temps in the 80s, about what you expect for July in Indiana. Next I pulled out the days kit, and the shorts and shirt I had slept in went into the ziplock bag I had just emptied. That bag then went into the large mesh stuff sack of clothing (an assortment of ziplock bags) and that in turn went into the rear pannier I had designated as my closet. The packed pannier then went out on to the “porch” just outside the door of my tent. 

 

For my last couple of trips I have carried a 4’ square piece of polypropylene tarp. I call it my porch, because I put it right outside the side door of my tent. As I transition things from bike to tent and tent to bike, this porch keeps them clean, and it can be easily dragged around while setting and breaking camp. The first pannier was soon followed by the my front panniers, one with my packed sleeping bag, the other my rolled up sleeping pad. Last out was my kitchen pannier and handlebar/camera bag, followed by me and a few remaining odds and ends.

I soon had my Jetboil up and running on the picnic table, and poured the boiling water into my breakfast meal. While the breakfast was cooking, I pulled out my iPad, and uploaded then last 24 hours of photos, typed some notes and a post has I ate my scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. I also sliced one of the large apple from yesterday’s shopping and bagged it for snacking during the day. With breakfast complete and my kitchen packed, It was then time to collapse the tent and begin the final packing and loading. It was a just before 9 when I was ready top off water bottles, brush my teeth, and drop off my trash on my way out of the campground.

A break from beans and corn.

Under overcast skies, I resumed my northeast course, with a light west wind on my back.  I soon switched from my rain jacket to my wind vest as I warmed up pedaling. The first few miles crossed over the Mississinewa Reservoir Dam, along roads I had ridden on rides out of Peru, Kokomo and Wabash. From atop the dam, there were a few distant flashes of sunlight on on the lake, and the crops and forests downstream were a lush green stretching out for miles. Riding out of the recreation area, there were a few more miles of road side wild flowers before I was again riding along acres of crop land.

My first town of the day was Wabash at 16 miles, where I also crossed the Wabash River, another little milestone. All told, I (along with Linda) have ridden almost the full length of the Wabash from Huntington, Indiana, to where it joins the Ohio River in Illinois. That is over 400 of miles on dozen different rides and tours. I next found a quick shop, and two more Gatorade caps went into the mesh pocket on my front pannier, joining the 2 from the day before.

At the Wabash River.

On the main street through town, I found a little coffee shop, Modoc’s Market, that had been recommended by some locals I chatted with during my photo stop at the river. It had already been 3 hours since breakfast, and it was going to be another 25 miles to the next town, so I settled in for an early lunch of a turkey and avocado wrap with a delicious coffee & hot chocolate mix drink.  

While I was eating, I charged my 3 power packs, my GPS and my phone, and uploaded more photos through my iPad. I had a nice conversation with the owner of Modoc’s, and it seemed like almost everybody I met in Wabash was involved with the DamToDam ride in September, which I had ridden in 2018. And again, everyone was interested in my trip and offered encouragement, which was nice.  

Powering up at lunch at Modoc's in Wabash

It goes without saying, COVID-19 was always in the background during the entire ride. I had a special Purdue (`86) Boilermaker face mask, made by a good friend, and it came out for every trip indoors during the tour.  In almost every small town store and quick shop I visited, in both Indiana and Michigan, face mask were being used by the majority of people.

With body and batteries recharged, I left town and climbed out of the Wabash valley on the steepest grades of the trip. There was another photo op of the city court house overlooking the town and the valley below. As passed the city limits, I once again found myself tweaking my saved Google maps route, moving off of the suggested state routes to county roads when available. The Google Maps “bike” choices are not too bad, but tend to ignore county grid roads if a small town is not specified. This method would work out quite well in the days ahead.

Easy rolling north of Wabash

It was at 35 miles for day (and over 100 miles from my start) that I finally rode off the edge of my personal map, so to speak. I crossed a Dan Henry for the Dam2Dam ride, and for the next couple of days would be riding on roads new to me. It was a very good feeling, made all the better as the lingering haze finally burned off. I was riding under bright blue skies and puffy clouds over a combination of fields, forests and barns, occasionally stopping for pictures. I made steady progress on the easy rolling hills, with occasional turns for creeks and streams.

As I expected, there were no meal opportunities along the way, but I was able to add to more Gatorade caps and some snacks at a Dollar General in South Whitley. I then started a long stretch heading east by north east to Columbia City, my last town out for day 2 with 50+ miles in. On the north side of town I found a Kroger, and picked another couple day’s worth of fresh fruit to supplement my backpacking meals.

From Columbia City I went north on State Road 9. There didn’t seem to be many side rode options, but thankfully I had a paved 6 foot shoulder for the 18 miles to the park entrance. I was most surprised by the terrain, a series of long rolling hills forested hills, which seemed more like northern Michigan, rather than Indiana. For a while, it looked like I was going to be rained on again, but my steady 13-14 mph pace allowed to me edge around a front that passed to my west, just catching the edge of a light rain while under blue sky’s. When I finally reached the park entrance, I had another 3 miles added to my day, as it was that far in to the actual campground. I checked in and rode on to my next camp site.


It had been a great day of riding, never too hot, too windy or too wet. I had already ridden over 150 miles and was overnighting somewhere new. I began my post-ride routine, looking forward to a night’s rest and the new roads in days ahead.

Day 2: Miami State Recreation Area to Chain of Lakes State Park, Albion, IN (July 22)

• 75.2 Miles 
• 153.5 Trip Total 
• Total Time 09:40:01

• Moving Time 06:09:31

• Avg. Speed 12.2 mph

Continue to Day 3

   

A beautiful afternoon to ride

SR 9, north of Columbia City

The Wabash Court House

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2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 1 - Old routes a new way

Day 1 - July 21, 2020 - Connect the Dots - Part II

I woke up ready for my “final” packing, along with taking care of odds and ends around the house before starting out.  My first day's route, starting from my driveway, will be along roads I have ridden hundreds of times over the 18 years we have lived in Carmel.  I probably won't be on new roads until the afternoon of my second day, after I cross the Wabash River.  Yet, even knowing today is along familiar roads, there is still a sense of anticipation and excitement in being this close to setting out to complete something that has been on my mind for so long.

Ready to roll! 

The afternoon before I had run all my errands, and that included shipping shoes and a change of clothes to my final destination in Michigan.  This is a 1-way trip, and I am renting a small SUV in Lansing for the drive home. Along with my final "take or leave" decisions, I also put together some breakfast oatmeal packets (quick Oats, raisins, dried cranberries and brown sugar), since I had only purchased two freeze dried breakfasts.  I also sliced and bagged a couple of apples for snacks.  I had planned to leave by 10, but then I made the mistake of starting an Apple Watch upgrade, and that basically disabled my iPhone and Watch for almost 45 minutes.  I used the extra time to tune my load and finish some chores around the house.

After four seasons, this will be my first multi-day trip on my Trek 920.  Along with thousands of miles of commuting carrying office wear and a laptop, I have ridden two different weekend trips with this bike, with a similar load.  For this trip I am carrying extra food and extra clothing. However, I am not expecting any handling surprises as I finish loading and roll my bike out of the garage.  

After the “launch” picture in front of our house, I headed toward Linda’s office, just a few miles from home, for a final good bye. That ended up adding 8 miles to my day, but it was worth it.  Riding in the plus 90-degree late morning heat, I realized my Giro Vanquish MIPS helmet was a LOT cooler than my older Bontrager Velocie (pre-MIPS) helmet I had started in.  On my way north out of Carmel I stopped at the house for a quick swap of helmets.

My next 7 miles were on the Monon Trail headed north.  Soon after crossing SR32, I overtook a mom and kids riding the trail, and her two boys were were fascinated by my gear, first asking if I was a mail man. I explained where I was headed and that I was carrying camping gear. They continued to ask questions as I slowly pulled away.  A short way down the trail, they caught me again as stopped to adjust a few items, and I let them ride along asking more questions, how far, what roads, and where do I eat, until the entire finally pulled off into their neighborhood.  They were just the first of many people of all ages that would ask me questions about my gear and destination during the week ahead.

First Lunch!

My late start and helmet change side trip resulted in perfect timing for a lunch stop at Wilson’s Farm market at 23 miles.  I enjoyed a couple of pieces of their famous fried chicken, some German cole slaw and a cold root beer, an almost perfect replica of a Sunday lunch from Grandma Hardcastle’s hotel of my childhood.  Back on the road, I continued to work my way north and west, stopping next at the Arcadia Casey’s to top off with two bottles Gatorade.  With lunch out of the way, I opted to bypass to the east of Tipton, and make Greentown my last town out.  While the sky was clear when I left Arcadia, I soon received a text from my wife saying storms were coming, something I confirmed on my own iPhone.

Just after I crossed SR28 east of Tipton, I came out of a grove of trees, and looking out across the corn fields from a raised railroad crossing, the front was close and coming fast out of the northwest.  I had just passed a large farm with a vegetable stand, so I pedaled back a 1/4 mile and asked about shelter.  They let me ride out the storm in one of their barns, and for 30 minutes I watched as heavy rain and high winds lashed the corn fields across the road from their barn.  While chatting with the owners, it turned out they were NASCAR fans, and regularly went north to Michigan Speedway.  So they knew my destination was a 4 hour drive, and were impressed.

The calm before the storm.

After the heaviest rain ended I was rolling again under a very light rain, watching lightning flashes far to the east.  I was now 40 miles in, and just over halfway through my planned miles.  After another 5 miles, the sky gradually began to clear, with overcast to my east, and hazy sunlight through broken clouds to the west. The small town of Windfall seemed to be in the middle of a power failure, with no lights or sounds as I passed through.  I was soon riding under blue sky’s, and banks of puffy white thunderheads rose to the south as rolled into Greentown.  

At the small market on main street, I picked up some fresh fruit and snacks for the next day, and then relaxed on a bench outside the store.  I finished my last bag of apple slices and a Clif bar, and checked Google Maps. It was here that I realized that I had mapped to the Recreation Area headquarters, and not my planned campground, adding 5 miles and another half hour to my day.  It was a little after 5 when I left Greentown with 20 more miles left to ride.

It had been over 10 years since I had ridden to the Miami State Recreation Area Campground, but with each mile behind me, more things looked familiar from the 3 prior overnight camping trips I had led here on slightly different routes. I turned over 75 miles as pulled up register, and I paid $17.50 for a tent site without electric.  I had another pleasant memory when I reached my camp site and realized it was same site I had used almost 10 years before with the last group of CIBA riders I had brought up here.

My tent went up quickly, and I set out a clothes line to try dry my rain jacket, and the day's riding kit before I packed. I wasn’t famished yet, so I grabbed a shower, and made quick trip to the camp store before I cooked dinner. They had no Gatorade for sale, but a large fountain Diet Coke with ice was a nice treat for the end of the day.  It was then time for a late dinner of freeze dried Lasagna ala Jetboil.  

With dinner finished and my stove and dishes put away, it was almost sundown and that is when the overcast became a light rain.  I pulled down my clothes line, secured my bike, and tucked myself away in my tent for the night. Laying down under the the gentle tapping of rain drops on my tent fly, day one was done.

Lots of miles of this in the days ahead.

This does not look good - from the seat of a bike!

Clearing skies behind me for the final miles.

Another forgotten small town.

Dinner is "cooking", and the rain is already threatening.

Day 1:  Carmel IN - Miami State Recreation Area Campground (Peru, IN)

• 78.3 Miles Total Miles
• 76.1 Miles - point to point + 2.2 miles to Camp Store
• Total Time 08:11:07

• Riding Time  05:46:59
• 
Stopped Time  02:24:08

• Avg Speed  13.2 mph

Continue to Day 2

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2020: Connect the Dots, Part II

It’s funny how something meaningful to you can feel like it was yesterday, even when a handful of years have past.  In 2014, I rode my first Connect the Dots tour, riding from Columbia, Missouri to Covington, Indiana.  Those 6 days of riding, starting from my mother-in-law’s home, connected my west of the Mississippi riding miles (Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota) with my Indiana miles.  

Finishing that tour, I thought it would be just “next” year when I would connect the next set, on roads between my “adult” home of Indiana and Michigan, where I started riding has a teen. But a bunch of life happened in the 12 months that followed, and that plan was put on hold.   So now in the middle of all the crazy that is 2020, I am finally about to start that next, un-ridden tour.

There are lot of conflicting feelings on this.  It was a bucket list item, something I thought would be on the way to another ride, part of longer tour, or a high school reunion. And this only opened up this year because every event I had planned to do in 2020 had been postponed or canceled.  And most of all, because the home I am riding too will be missing those I hoped to close the loop with, as I pulled into the familiar driveway of the Farm.

In our family, it has always been the Farm, with a capital F. It was was where my dad was born (really!) and were my grandparent’s lived during the school year, from Labor Day to Memorial Day.  And between Memorial Day and Labor Day, they ran the Willow Grove Hotel, a then century-old farm house converted to a 3-story 20-room hotel.  Both were magical places in my childhood;  the Farm with it’s barns, my Dad’s shop, the acres of crops, and the upstairs bedrooms, with single pane windows that barely muffled the winter winds.  The Hotel was Sunday chicken dinner, the front desk with the ice cream freezer and pop cooler, and my brothers and I entertaining the guests as we scampered under foot.  

Ready to Roll

The Hotel is gone now, closed in the early 70’s, only a memory of old post cards and family pictures.  Grampa Hardcastle is only a most distance montage of images in my childhood, he passed when I was 7.  Grandma Hardcastle was a big part of my childhood and early teens, as I spent hours working for her washing dishes, mowing lawns, raking leaves, and bailing water out of the hotel boats after a summer rain.  It was those chores that earned the amazing sum of $50 dollars that paid for my first “real” bike, a 26” Sears 3-Speed, that started my cycling adventures.

I can still remember a cold winter afternoon at the Farm, soon after Grandma’s death, walking through the empty house, and realizing, in my introduction to mortality, what things would never be the same again; treats in the the cookie jar, TV dinners watching Lawerence Welk, the fragrance of her talcum powered, and her stern reprimands if a chore was not done right.  And it was just a few months later, just after I moved out of my childhood home, that the Farm began the transition to my parent’s and younger siblings home for the next 30 years.  

Dad passed in 2012; he collapsed leaving his shop, just a few feet from where he’d been born 80 years before.  Mom and my brother Matt continued living there, and over the next few years, Mom finished all the remodeling and updates Dad and her planned, but that chance and opportunity had delayed too long.   Completing all those dreams was one of the things that kept her going in years after she lost Dad. After Mom passed in 2015, we made new living arrangements for Matt, and the Farm has remained empty since.  

Now 2020 is another year of change as we prepare to close out another chapter of our family story.   All these thoughts are on my mind, as I finish the final packing before my ride starts tomorrow.

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