Champaign, Illinois to Crawfordsville, Indiana 80.5 miles and 1682 feet of climbing

 

We crossed into Indiana today. Since I was last here in 2019, they have put up a new sign and changed the tag line on the sign from, "America's Crossroads" to "More to Discover".

At this morning's pre-ride meeting, the tour director announced something we already knew, that this would be Payton, the tour mechanic's last day riding with us. He and I rode at the back of the pack this morning and he pointed out the firehouse in which he's stationed. He starts his next two day shift at 8:00 PM. tonight. He has been a firefighter for three years now, not counting the years he did as a volunteer firefighter. I also learned that he has a long-distance relationship going on with a gal in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She's a veterinarian and he met her at the The University of Illinois which has its main campus in Champaign. 

Three or four riders had family members come visit during our rest day in Champaign. My wife Chris said she wished she could have come to visit me but she had appointments to have her hair and nails done yesterday. She also mentioned getting a wellness massage with some guy named Hans. I have no idea who Hans is.

Today's ride featured mostly flat country roads through vast corn and soybean fields. We passed through numerous small towns with VFW halls, Elks Lodges, county court houses, pretty parks and town squares and churches. 

I knew I'd been on these roads before and upon arriving in Crawfordsville, Illinois this afternoon, I remembered chatting at length with a Mennonite couple in the local McDonald's back in 2019. It was a  hot Sunday afternoon and they were there with much of their extended family, children and grandchildren. All were having lunch after church. They were delightful to talk to and very interested in my trip. They mentioned that they had some friends who had also done a cross country bike trip years ago. All were dressed in traditional Mennonite clothing, the men in straw hats, plain colored shirts and trousers with suspenders, the women in bonnets and caped dresses.  

Tonight we had dinner at The Cracker Barrel Restaurant across the street from our hotel. If you have never been to a Cracker Barrel Restaurant, imagine a Disneyfied version of San Drucker's General Store from the shows Green Acres and Petticoat Junction, combined with a country style restaurant. The walls are filled with old pictures, antique signs, license plates, musical instruments, fishing rods, and an impressive array of Taxidermy. I've only eaten at a Cracker Barrel four or five times but each time I never tire of looking at all the curiosities on the walls. 

I arrived at the restaurant at the tail end of the dinner window of 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM so I took an open seat next to a fellow rider from Oregon, Dr. Spencer. I sat down and immediately mentioned that I loved the decor of these Cracker Barrel restaurants. 

Dr. Spencer didn't hestitate, 

"Oh God really? It is so fake!"

I have shared one other previous meal with Spencer so I was unfazed. 

I said, 

"Oh yes, I think it's wonderful. I wish we had more of them in California. My wife and I also completely love Disney and I guess that's all fake too. But we can't get enough of it."

He said, 

"Ok, well then I won't say anything more bad about it."

I said, 

"Perfect"

I've found that Spencer does seem to like talking about history and historic figures so we were able to talk briefly about some books we had both read.

My smoked chicken with mashed potatoes was wonderful as was my salad. 

Oh, and the service was exceptional.

Tomorrow we ride 73 miles to Greenfield, Indiana.