Biking, Day 29: August 14, 2009

Day 29: Rochester, IN to Columbus, OH
Distance: 115 on the bike, a few via parent's car
Route: Indiana Route 14E to 114E to IN Route 5 to IN Route 224 to Route 33 to mistakingly taking Route 27 to 124E back over to Route 33 to the parents
Lodging: 1933 Lake Shore Drive, home of Nancy and Jim Petro, price: appeasing nervousness, overeating, downloading religious podcasts.

(Note: Day 30 will start after 2 days in Ohio with family on August 17)

I woke up today in my super crappy motel in Rochester, IN. I set my clock ahead to EST because I know Ohio is EST and Indiana always confuses me with its time zone. For those who don't know this, Indiana has historically rebelled against Daylight Savings Time due to farmers and has switched between Central and Eastern Time Zone. It's actually an interesting debate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Indiana
and has remained in my arsenal of random facts since I spent my summers in Indiana and had friends who lived in the state that boasts being home to Dan Quayle.
Point is, I came into Indiana from Illinois, Central time, and I was leaving to Ohio the next day. To make it easy on myself and not start a debate with Indiana folk, I lived in Central Time yesterday, set my clock to Eastern before I went to bed, and lived via EST today.

I left around 7:30am without coffee because my motel didn't have any for me. I figured I would stop about 10 miles out for my morning coffee. Riding 10 miles without coffee is hard. It was probably the hardest 10 miles of my day.

I got to Akron, IN where I had my coffee. The ride was gorgeous - the sun rising over the farms (which made me think this part of Indiana was probably Central Time Zone) and the fog. I didn't take any pictures because I had my eyes on the prize: my coffee in Akron.

After Akron, I headed back on the road. I was tired today. 29 days without a break on the bike is hard. No weekends, no breaks, everyday the same thing - up at 6, coffee, on the road. I'm glad I did it this way because I'm alone and I have no idea what I would do in some random town by myself, but it has definitely taken its toll on my body.

I got to North Manchester, another 20 miles or so, and decided to take another break. I usually take breaks in the am about 30 miles in, so this made sense. I had more coffee. Today felt tiring. I texted a friend: "I don't feel like biking today. There. I said it." People talk to me a lot about how amazing this is, about how they are jealous, about how fun it sounds. It is fun, but it's also really, really hard. I know I've said it before, and I don't mean to over emphasize the hard or downplay the fun, it's got both. Dramatic ups and downs each day, is how I describe it. Literally, points of euphoria and points of deep, seemingly bottomless pits of despair. On a daily basis.

I talked to an amish woman for a minute as she asked about my journey, then got back on the bike. My seat area was hurting again today after almost a week of pretty minimal pain. Not sure why some days are worse than others with that. It was hot today. I rode for a while then pulled into Huntington, IN. I went a little bit out of the way for some sight-seeing. Huntington, IN is the home of Dan Quayle and the Dan Quayle Museum. That's right, Dan Quayle has a museum in his namesake. Apologies to any Dan Quayle groupies out there, but I'm curious as to what the Dan Quayle museum has to offer besides hilarious misquotes and abnormally boyish good looks. The museum was closed, but, for the record, it does exist.

I continued on through the farms of Indiana. I finally started seeing roadside vegetable stands. I love roadside vegetable stands. I also saw, in the middle of nowhere, a bilboard for a Michael Bolton concert. I knew he still had a following.

I got to the intersection of Route 224 and Route 33 in Decatur, IN, where I decided to take a break. In a few miles, I would cross over the Indiana/Ohio line and shortly thereafter, meet up with my parents. The sun was hot. I got a coke and a milkshake.

Back on the road, I took a wrong turn. Route 33 and Route 27 are one in the same, then Route 33 veers off. I accidentally stayed on Route 27, which goes due South through Indiana. Route 33 goes a bit more east heading into Ohio. When I realized my error, I cut over on Route 124 to connect with Route 33. Route 124 was full of Amish people. It was lovely.

I rode Route 33 and hit Ohio. As I left Indiana, I looked back and saw the Welcome to Indiana sign. About 200 meters later, I hit the Welcome to Ohio sign. A few observations: first, there was quite a delay between the signs. I wonder if the 200 meters in between is some safe haven between states. Second, the Indiana sign was far more robust than the Ohio sign. For a state that has a higher income tax rate, I expected a better sign. I wonder if there's someone I can call about that.

I rode on, after the requisite picture of the state sign. Finally, I met up with my parents. They wanted to drive me into Columbus, which I agreed to. They have been very helpful throughout this journey, but also very nervous. Sometimes I think I should tailor more what I tell them - ignorance is bliss, after all.

We drove into Columbus and had dinner. I was exhausted and ate way too much. I decided to stay the weekend before heading to DC. It's 400 miles from Columbus to DC, so four more days.

I can't believe the journey is almost over, and I don't really want to start processing that until it's actually over. I won't blog Saturday and Sunday, since time with my parents is not very entertaining. I expect to hit DC on Thursday, August 20. I also expect to have a cocktail waiting.

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." -Dan Quayle