2 Wheels, 7 States, 1500 Miles

Richmond, IN, 400 Miles in 4 days and the Amish Day 10, 74 Miles

After yesterday's easy day with cool temperatures and no reason to rush, I would have thought that today's 73 mile day would have been a breeze. It didn't turn out that way. In the early part of the day, I got in a draft line (not sure if that is the right terminology or not). It was 5 bikers with the recumbent bike in the lead again, with all of us travelling at about 20-22 mph. I could tell Chris (the recumbent biker) was holding back which was no surprise given that he usually moves along at 22-25mph. It was early in the day and I questioned my decision to join them. I knew that I didn't really want to go all out ahead of the big days that lie ahead, but it's hard to pass up the free help. We all rotated behind Chris, who always stayed in the lead. The rotation among the four 'normal' bikers is necessary because the low profile of Chris's bike only gives relief from wind resistance to the lower half of a normal biker's body, doing practically nothing for the upper body. I took my turns pulling over about 13 miles, but when I dropped back (allowing the next puller to take over), I decided to drop out of the line altogether. I figured that the bikers would all break the line within the next couple miles anyhow because the pace was so demanding, and there was no reason to really push that hard with 40+ miles to go. They were quickly out of sight and I was alone again for a bit. One of the guides came along on his bike, and he and I took turns pulling at a more maintainable 18+ mph. It was no surprise that we caught up to and passed most of the people on my first team within 5 miles. Of course, Chris had shot away and was nowhere to be seen.

Surprise!!! The scenery was farmland! However, trees are becoming much more a part of the landscape and from time to time, I even got to enjoy their shade. I rode more than half of the day by myself passing the occasional bikers released in the earlier first wave. The day heated up more than I had hoped and by mile 50, I was feeling gassed (worn down), and no amount of food or water was helping. With 20+ miles to go and the last 10 miles on a road with no shoulder and cars travelling at about 45-50 mph, I was ready to call a cab. Of course I didn't, and eventually arrived at the plush Best Western in Richmond, IN. I completed the course in 4hrs 19 mins, with average speed just over 17 mph.

Knee Update ... Some of you know that I had some knee issues prior to leaving for my trip. Today, was the first day that I really started to have some pain. I'm hoping that it is because I was climbing hills yesterday in higher gears than usual and doing it in the standing 'out of the saddle' position. This is a good way to give my butt a breather and by standing, I am using different muscle groups in my legs, which helps spread the wear and tear more evenly. Unfortunately, the higher gears and the position in general puts more direct strain on my knees, which I hope (fingers crossed) is the reason for my issues today. Tomorrow, I will try to stay in the saddle when climbing and just use lower gears.

Tomorrow, I will go to Marysville, Ohio, entering my 5th State of the trip. It will get particularly tough over the next four days as I will bike close to 400 miles in just 4 days (382 to be more precise). This will be the toughest part of my trip and at the end of the 4 days, I will land in Erie, PA for my last rest day. After Erie, PA, I will leave the group and head south east by myself for 5 days.

So what about the Amish? ... There is a small Amish population in Indiana and I had the opportunity to ride behind one of their horse drawn wagons today. They are not particularly fond of having their picture taken, but I couldn't resist taking a picture from the behind wagon today (see below). As I riding along, I made a mental note to learn more about these people and what makes them live the way they do. I found some really good articles and have attached a link below to my favorite. It's a great quick read and if you ever wanted to know what the deal is with these gentle unique people, it will give you some insight. But here are a few factoids that I think are cool:

They are called Amish Mennonites, or Amish for short.
Menno Simons, A Catholic Priest from Holland created his own group of followers that were called the Mennonites.
A group of Mennonites broke off to follow a Swiss Bishop named Jacob Amman and were called the Amish.
After persecution by the bigger religions, they settled in Pennsylvania (still the biggest Amish population) and eventually became the same group.
The biggest Amish population is still in Lancaster, PA
The Amish speak English when they have to. But amongst themselves, they speak a dialect of German, known as Pennsylvania Dutch or 'Deitch'
Anyone that is not Amish is called an 'Englishman' in the Amish community
The Amish do believe in modern medicine, get immunized, have surgery, and will sometimes seek out 'English' doctors
They don't own or drive cars, but do not have an issue in driving in someone else's car.
They don't use electricity, but have no issue with using natural gas.
Woman are not allowed to cut their hair. They wear a white prayer cloth in their hair if they are married, and black if they are single.
Men do not grow mustaches because it is thought to be associated with the military, and as a people of peace, they don't want to look like people that kill for a living.