Day 24 - 106 Mi to Richmond, IN

We got a late morning start today as some of the riders went for a tour of the Roark Bicycle factory in Brownsburg, IN.  I chose to sleep in as I needed the rest.  I have been waking up at 3 or 4 AM the past couple of days.  Today I slept until 7:00 and we departed at 9:15 feeling well rested.  The late start was good weather wise as well.  It was windy and the temperature at the start today was 62 degrees and got up to 78 degrees at the end of the ride.  I even got a little sunburn on my leg where I must have missed with the sun screen.  

The winds were out of the south today so a 20 mile portion of our route has us dealing with direct head winds.  The rest of the ride we has cross winds that were manageable.  We had lots of turns today as the route had us going around Indianapolis.  The route cue sheet was two pages long and brought us through more of small town America and Farmland.    

And on the 8th day God created a farmer...

With about 20 miles to go we saw this guy who was walking across America for the second time.  He started in January from California and plans to be in New York by the end of June.  His name is BJ Timoner and he was walking to raise money for the fight against Pancreatic Cancer.  I asked him how many pairs of shoes he has worn out and he told me he was on his third pair.  His web site is: www.BJWalksAmerica.com.  

BJ Timoner and I Walking and Riding across America

This was what we saw that made us stop and talk to him

With about 10 Miles to go on today's ride, I had my first very serious encounter with a vehicle.  Jim and I were riding about 20 mph on route 40 on the right side of the white line on the shoulder of the road.  Route 40 is considered the road America was built on and is a Historical National Road. The section we were on had two lanes on both sides and traffic was light when all of a sudden from behind me a car just slams on his brakes and all I hear is the screaching of tires and had no idea how close the car was or if he was going to skid into me.  I was ready to ditch the bike into grassy shoulder.  Fortunately, he stopped in time and went by us and flipped us the finger.  We were not sure if he did this on purpose or he fell asleep and awoke at the last minute.  All I know is my heart was beating very fast and my legs were shaking for about 2 minutes.  After calming down and riding a little further I ended up getting my 7th flat on the trip.  

Tommorow the winds look to be in our favor and the temperature a little warmer.  I will be sure to do a better job putting on the sunscreen :)

Good Night Mary lee, Love U ;-)  see you in 9 Days.  

Here are some more photos from today: 

(Most Photos taken by Mike Munk- Bamacyclist.com)

Small town America

Postcard Perfect

Dinner at Red Lobster