Day 36: Champaign, IL to Crawfordsville, IN

Day 36: 08 July 2007

Champaign, IL (738 ft) to Crawfordsville, IN (738 ft). 
82 Miles.

Blog Address:
http://bikeboyglovach.blogspot.com

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Day’s Theme:
Lunch in lycra…….. 

Weather/Terrain:
Like yesterday, another good day for bicycle riding, and our “high” mileage days continued.  High 90s, maybe 100, morning humidity fading to a nice, hot, but doable day.  Similar roads ranging from smooth and fast concrete, to loose gravel, and loose tar.  The frequency of small towns is increasing, though many have no services.. 

How I’m/we’re feeling:
I am doing well.  A bit tired – not sleeping well, and that is catching up to me.  Losing some feeling in my right hand from road vibration – something many other CCC Riders are also experience.  Not to worry – unless I need to perform surgery on you!

Notable Events:
The Bus Stop Restaurant in Veedersburg, IN – good food, a great staff, and a good time!  



Rider Profile: Eckhart Sporleder, 53, from Schieder, Germany.



Eckhart is an amazing man who was born in Duisburg, Germany, and now lives in Schieder, Germany with his girlfriend Angela.  This guy is polite, nice, smart, funny, and all of these things in at least three languages!  Eckhart is a high school teacher – physical education, and English as a second language.  He is also fluent in French, but seldom teaches that language.  Not only can this guy speak English, Robert (my French roommate) says he speaks “perfect” French, and when we speak to him, he even understands and jokes back at us with English slang and US regional knowledge!  He has travelled quite a bit, and is in the US often as his girlfriend’s sister in married to a US man in Tucson, AZ.
Eckhart was an accomplished soccer goalie, playing to the 4th division (a high skill level), and has dome a lot of cycling – including the two islands of New Zealand as well as from the North of Germany to the southern most tip of Europe in Crete.  He also likes to play petanque – a German game with iron balls which is like Italian bocce.
Eckhart says:
“Women are smarter than men.  The sooner you admit it, the better off you are”.
No arguments from Bike Boy!

Pictures:
What’s Happening:



The early morning roads on our way out on Illinois were more of the same – huge corn fields, and some “loose” roads of gravel, stone, and tar…
 
 




At mile 44, we entered Illinois, and soon, we’re finally back into Eastern Time.






Around mile 50, we crossed this river in Covington, IN.
 





And eventually found ourselves in Veedersburg, Indiana.







Just after SAG II the word came to the Rocket and I – go to the Bus Stop for lunch. 
We did.
 
 




 



The Bus Stop closes daily at 2:00 PM.  Now, you may now that the Rocket and I are miles and hours behind all the other riders, but, the staff at the Bus Stop, including Kale, Lacy, and Katie, fed us and chatted with us.  Lovely ladies!!  J 
It was a lovely lunch and break, but, we did have to head east to………….






Back on the road we rolled through Hillsboro, IN where, if nothing else, you can’t say they didn’t warn you!
 





The small town frequency continued, and eventually we rolled into Waynetown and enjoyed some ice cream and coffee!
 





Approaching our  destination for the day, we rolled along Lafayette Road, where there was this …



 


Lovely cemetery to our left. 
Look at our pretty and peaceful it is.
Nice.
But not today my friends – the peddling continues…………….