Crawfordsville to Indianapolis

I was wakened this morning with the boom of thunder. I rolled over and checked my watch. It was 5:30 AM. We were supposed to load at 6:30 AM then ride our bikes into the town of Crawfordsville to breakfast at Joe’s Diner. We went through our morning routine of preparation. Before 6:00 the rain began falling intensely with very dark clouds and thunder and lightening. I walked to the hotel lobby where other bikers were gathering. Shortly after 6:00 AM Michele made an announcement to the group about a change of plans. Rather than loading luggage, then riding bikes to the diner, they would be shuttling us in the vans to breakfast. After returning to the hotel after breakfast, they would check the weather conditions and make a plan.

During and after breakfast it poured rain and continued lightening and thunder. They announced that no one would be allowed to depart on bikes as the conditions were. They also polled the group to see who would rather be shuttled to Indianapolis in the vans. A majority desired this. I was in the first group to transport. About a third of the riders wanted to wait for the second shuttle to see if conditions would improve to allow biking. The planned route was on RT 136 which had virtually no shoulder and with rain and standing water and motor vehicles it seemed a risky. As it turns out the people who waited were able to start a couple hours later after the main rain system had disipated and were able to complete the ride with only a few sprinkles.

I am disappointed that I didn’t get to visit the attractions on the route today, but satisfied with my decision to van shuttle to Indianapolis. We arrived at about 11:00 AM. Rooms wouldn’t be available until after noon. Rick and I found our luggage and changed from bike clothes to street clothes. The hotel is located on the edge of Indianapolis city center. Since it was not raining when we arrived we walked into the city central and found a coffee shop for a cup of coffee and a muffin.



We then walked to the war memorial in the square, took a few pictures of the capital and the memorial, and then got lunch before returning to the hotel. Soon the bikes arrived with the second shuttle, so we retrieved our bikes and checked into our room.

On a down note, Jeff Bucher who shared the rooms with Rick and I, left for home today. He had been struggling with health issues and decided to end his tour. He was dehydrated and walked to the nearby hospital ER last night to receive IV fluids. He lives in New Zealand and had a long flight to return home. We said farewell to him this morning and wished him well.

Tomorrow I will have lunch with Wade and Eunice and hopefully they will be able to take me to a bike shop to pick up some important supplies. We will clean and service the bikes, take in some local sights, and rest up for the next push east.