I was up at 5:30. Still congested, but no sore throat. The Inn didn’t offer a breakfast, so after my morning routine I walked five blocks to a breakfast restaurant. After breakfast, I went back to the Inn, packed up and started riding. I was riding around 7:15. It was a great day to ride. 57 degrees to start with a 10 mph tailwind.
I headed out of Peru on the Nickel Plate Trail. I’ve been very impressed with the trails in Indiana. They have all been paved and in very good shape. In 21 miles on the trail, I saw less than 10 people. I passed a person towing an industrial blower who was using it to clear the trail of leaves, sticks, and other debris. You could tell they take very good care of this section of trail.
When I got to the end of the trail, I stopped for a snack and to pull up the navigation for the next part of my journey. While I was there, the man who was operating the blower pulled up and got out of his vehicle to talk. His name was Ted Cox.
Ted is a cyclist who is retired and volunteers to help keep the trail maintained. I let him know how much I appreciate his efforts and how much I enjoyed riding the trail. Ted also rode RAGBRAI last year and we compare stories from that adventure. He was interested in my cross country adventure and I gave him information about this blog.
I was then biking on roads for the rest of the day. The wind was helping me along, so I was making good time. Still, there were some short steep hills and I had to walk my bike up a couple of them. By Noon I was in downtown Plymouth where I stopped at a local deli for lunch.
After lunch, it was a short ride to the Gilbert’s house. I’m staying here for the next few days. Gordy and Pat Gilbert are the parents of my son Alex’s wife, Lena. I’m looking forward to the visit and hopefully hearing some good stories about Lena as a kid. 🙂
For the day, I rode 55 miles with 1,265 feet of climbing. That puts me just over 1,000 miles for this tour, so far.
Can’t wait to read your next few posts 😂 Was it Opie’s Deli you stopped at today?
Yes, Opie’s deli. I sat outside and it was a beautiful day.
Hi Jim, glad you made safely to the Gilberts. We are looking forward to seeing you when you get in our area. Safe travels love Dad.
Wouldn’t it be nice if all states would keep their trails in such good care! Enjoy your visit withs the Gilberts.
Stay away from tornados & lightening storms! FYI…If you have AAA you have on the road bike service. Be safe, have a blast on this amazing adventure.