The Ride So Far: 2020: CTD-Pt2 - Day 1

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.