Day 36 Champaign, IL to Crawfordsville, IN

We awakened to a cloudy sky and puddles in the parking lot of the hotel. The heavy rains came earlier in the morning although our first 10 miles were under light showers. Thereafter, the skies brightened and our ride was very pleasant all the way to on the 85 mile to Crawfordsville, IN.

The fields (and farmers) were gleeful for the rain, and the corn and soybeans looked even more green with every mile. I rode solo almost the whole way, enjoying the smooth road, cool air and tranquil countryside. Sometimes the solitude of biking is a pleasure that is overlooked. I thought deep thoughts for a few moments and periodically blended that with no thoughts. And in between, I said, "Thank you, God!"

Today I enjoyed the simple things: a cup of French Vanilla cappacino at the Casey's Store near the first rest stop; a funny sign on the way into Hillsboro, IN--"Home of 600 happy people and a few sore heads!; smooth, winding road leading into Indiana; five friendly dogs that rapidly responded to the command, "No!".

The days are clicking down and I am still enjoying each day of this life adventure. One of our segment riders, Mike G+11, leaves tomorrow and we pick up another rider at Indianapolis.

Kudos to Mike, our leader, for changing our dinner location to something other than a Chinese buffet (3 of last 4 nights!)