September 14: Terre Haute to Martinsville, 58.4 miles; 2005 ft ascent

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So.....it turns out that Indiana is not nondescript as was our first impression.  Indiana is lovely.  The hills are STEEP.  But we are STRONG!  

There is a hint of fall in the colors.  The corn and soybeans are beginning to turn yellow. The sumac has tinges of orange.  It seems odd that we have passed nearly an entire season and will soon enter the next........all in a single journey.

The ever-present field of soy

Corn nearing ready for harvest

Lisa shopping at a lovely roadside stand.

Today the riders were Lisa and Betsy.  We had an enjoyable ride through the countryside and small villages.  We couldn't pass up a cup of coffee in Poland at the Cooks Corner Cafe.  Betsy couldn't pass up a fluffy pancake (only because there were NO cinnamon rolls).


BTW, Lisa who is already having a great deal of difficulty figuring out which state we are in is doubly confused when we arrive in Poland or Brazil?!?


Today we had a lovely picnic at Lieber State Recreation Area.  Pete (our SAG driver for the day) provided fresh salad, olives, cheese, pistachios, salami, and CHOCOLATE!  He's the best!



Did we mention that since leaving St. Louis we have found a new set of maps to route our way to Cincinnati?  We are now on the TransAm Eastern Express route.  We need to read the cues backwards, but it seems to be a good exercise for the old brain!  The roads today were a bit busy, but once we got off of Rt 42 we cruised along remote farm roads with smooth surfaces.  We even passed another long distance cyclist.   Life is good,  the adventure continues.......

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