Indiana: Eighth State Line Crossing

Before getting into today's ride, let me talk for a second about the rest day in Champaign yesterday.  The morning started off with a really good massage: no pain, just muscle relief.  Then, as is the custom (apparently), Tracy declared that it was  helmet decorating day.  Well, Tom and I came up with a Tortoise Brothers theme.

My helmet 

Of course, several of the women came up with far more exotic offerings:

Patty (NY)

Roberta (NH)

Cindy (NY)

And, always a crowd pleaser,

Captain Larry, Pennsylvania State Trooper (Ret.)

Our exit from Champaign looked pretty much like all of our larger city departures:

Not only are we stuck in traffic but there is a nasty RR crossing coming up

Fields of grain in eastern IL

Everybody wants a piece of Abe

 

 

Wabash River, flowing through Covington, IN 

 

 

Private Bratton was one of 33 members of the Corps of Discovery.  If a true adventure is defined as one from which you may not return, Lewis and Clark made the cut.  Interesting note about Bratton: he married for the first time at age 41 and went on to have a family of 8 sons and 2 daughters.  He could survive two years in the wild but ten kids put him in an early grave.

The following video clip was from the Indiana country side:

Our "home" for tonight is Crawfordsville, IN.  This is the town that Lew Wallace, author of "Ben Hur", called home for a good part of his life.

Total Miles:   79      Total Vertical Climb:   2400 ft.