[posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on September 26, 2004]

Hi, folks! I'm writing from Peoria, which is to say midway across Illinois. The fact that I was in the middle of Indiana just four days ago kind of boggles my mind!

I got up this morning an hour before dawn and hit the road before the sun had risen, with four hours to travel 25 miles to church.  I just barely made it in time, but the service was worth the trouble.  Leela's classmate Roger Mohr gave an excellent service integrating science and spirituality.  The congregation was as impressed as I was.  They were very welcoming to me and made me think Peoria must be a very friendly place -- dunno if that's true!

I didn't get quite as far as I had hoped today due to a headwind... the land I crossed is totally flat and getting flatter as the crops are harvested, so there's nothing to stop the wind.  But even so I covered most of three pages of the map, headed due west.  I plan to get up early tomorrow morning to ride the rest of the way into Peoria for church -- turns out the guy giving the service is one of Leela's cohort, and he's studied ecovillages, and I offered to take him to lunch to talk about them.

total distance: 60.46 mi

The remarkable thing about today was that I rode literally all day long.  I was on the road by 9 (after waiting for my tent to dry) and didn't get to my campsite until after sunset.  And what a sunset!  Wow!

The campground is right next to the interstate.  The owners wanted me to camp about 20 feet from the highway, but I snagged a site on the far side of the lake instead, which still puts me closer than the truck stop did last week.

total distance: 61.1 mi

I was really tired starting out this morning but didn't feel like riding back into town for coffee, so I just headed northwest on quiet roads.  It was one of those days (like yesterday) when time seems to pass more slowly than usual, so although it felt like about 4:00 when I got to Attica, it was only about 1:00.

[Posted to the Wheeled Migration Yahoo Group on September 22, 2004]

Hi, folks. I'm writing from the home of my uncle, aunt, and two cousins in Indianapolis. I'll be leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

For some reason time seemed to pass more slowly today than usual.  I took my time leaving Ken & Kathy's place in order to say goodbye to everyone properly, and then I kept seeing interesting stores on the way out of town.

Once I was past the Indianapolis suburbs (heading due west), traffic quieted down and I was able to cover a lot of distance in comfort.  I didn't go quite as far today as on Sunday, but Indianapolis to Crawfordsville is still quite a ways.

This morning I did Internet stuff in the morning, then Ken picked me up and we went out for lunch.  Then I hopped on my bike and rode into town.

The Monon Rail Trail is a very nice way to get into and out of downtown!  It's also one of the most popular rail trails I've ever seen.  I think the only public trail I've ever seen with so many people out walking, skating, and biking just because it's a nice day would be Lake Calhoun.

I took my time drying the tent this morning and cruised on into Indianapolis around 2:30.  I found a public library in a shopping mall on my way to Ken & Kathy's house, and I spent an hour on the computers there, though they had no maps.

Indianapolis has a few good rail trails and more in the works, but many of the roads are ill-suited for biking.  None of the drivers were rude or hostile, though, unlike in Cincinnati.

This morning I stopped at the park office on my way out and asked about the bike routes mentioned by the Atlas and Gazetteer.  The staff member most knowledgeable about bike routes turned out to be a little old lady who assured me that there are no off-road paths, but she stepped me through the recommended routes all the way to Indianapolis.