September 15 : Martinsville to Greensburg SAG to Oldenburg/from the Bikers Perspective

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Today dawned with clear blue skies – and we had some pretty decent coffee and breakfast at our hotel (that is not a given, by the way!) After a quick chat with Helena (also not a given, since she’s on Italian time) Pete and I set out, while Betsy drove ahead to our intermediate point of Edinburg to scout out a lunch spot and bike back to meet us. 

Once again, Pete demonstrated his superior navigating skills getting us out of the industrial area safely and onto a beautiful country road, where we stopped for his morning picture (he’s taken one every morning of our trip.) I hope he puts them altogether into a big collage, reflecting the diversity of the landscapes we’ve seen on this epic adventure! 



The road was so quiet that we could actually ride side by side for a bit, and we decided that this was one of the most beautiful rides we’d done on the trip (aside from the Painted Hills, and Wyoming and that ride over the pass in Oregon and, and, and) Well, maybe it wasn’t the most beautiful but it certainly was up there with many of the rides we’d done so far! We also commented that we had both thought that Indiana would be flat…we soon found out that was not the case! Not that there were mountains, like in the Rockies, but there were lots (and lots) of rolling hills and dales! We soon knew that a glorious little downhill inevitably meant the same amount of uphill. 

And if you read the post from the SAG driver’s perspective, you’ll know that Betsy had a lot of unanswered questions to deal with while we road. And she answered all of them perfectly! By the time we met up, she’d scoped out a possible picnic spot, parked the car safely (and double-locked Sue’s bike) and cruised the town for possible lunch spots. Once we all arrived together in Edinbu
rg (after Pete and I made a wrong turn and did an extra 4 miles to return to where we were supposed to meet Betsy) we decided that yet another diner experience was not the ticket, so we opted for a picnic at the park. Great choice! 

Then Betsy drove ahead again, to Greenberg this time, and Pete and I forged on. It’s amazing how our perspective has changed over this trip. At first, 60 miles sounded daunting but now it’s just another day on the road. But we all agree that 60 is the Sweet Spot and that anything over 60 miles becomes a grind and we just want to get it over with! Well, that’s what happened today – that little detour we took put us over the 60 mark, with over 2000 feet of hills and dales – and by the time we arrived in Greenberg, with Betsy guiding us and showing us her erecter set silo towers – we were ready for a reward! And we were not disappointed! 

Once again, Betsy, our


GLORIOUS SAG DRIVER, had already scoped out an ice cream parlor for us! With Pete and me at 67 miles, and Betsy at 48, we made short order of a hot fudge sundae, a caramel shake and a HUGE chocolate cone! 

Delirious with ice cream!


Oldenburg Maypole

Oldenburg at Sunset



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