Covid Cross Day #14 Courter, IN to Ashkum, IL
Covid Cross Day #14
June 15, 2020
Courter, IN to Ashkum, IL 125.5 Miles
Start 7:27 AM Finish 6:58 PM
Ride Time 10.21
Ascent 818 Feet
Descent 898 Feet
Tour Total 1255 Miles
Details at: https://cyclemeter.com/3f1ef27914a4c684/Cycle-20200615-0727-79626I slept well last night stealth camping alongside the Nickel Plate Trail next to a cornfield. I set up my tent on a grass tractor path that lead across the rail trail from one field to another. My tent was right in front of a cable that blocked the entrance to the corn field. There were several No Trespassing signs, yet I was on public property. I figured that the nearby farmer wouldn't need to drive his tractor across the trail until after I got up and left. I had set up in the dark last night, and was inconspicuous about my light use.
I woke up with the sunrise and murmur of chirping birds. I had been concerned about being discovered by someone from the farm house up on the hill. A nearby branch snapped and startled me. I was unable to go back to sleep.
I pedaled a couple of miles north on the trail and reached Denver where I joined the ACA Northern Tier route. This was the first time that I’d ever retraced any of my cross-country routes. I had changed over my paper and digital maps last night. In addition to reusing previously purchased equipment, I was also re-using my ACA route maps, both paper and digital. I was saving over $100. I was now on the ACA Northern Tier Monroeville to Muscatine route, map number eight. The ACA Chicago to New York route was now behind me.
Exactly two weeks ago today, Myk and I began the tour. It seemed like I had been out much longer than that. Today I’d be crossing into Central Time which would give me an extra hour. That said, I'd been pedaling from sun-up to sundown and it didn't really matter what time it was. Bunnies continued to dart across the trail. I noticed a lot of milkweed growing alongside the road. I was wearing my sweater, short sleeve jersey, and bike shorts. I'd been wearing the same clothing for three days in a row. The air was chilly but it got warmer as the sun rose. I left the trail in Deedsville and took a left on W 1000 N.
One rarely realizes that they have a tailwind when they have one. There was wind out of the east and I was traveling west. I didn’t appreciate the wind currents until I took a 90° turn to go north. Wow! What a crosswind! The roads here in western Indiana were all straight. They either went east-west or north-south. I was surrounded by cornfields and grassland.
A dog chased me out onto the road. He was midsize and I could tell that he wasn’t mean. He followed me for a hundred feet barking and finally gave up. I heard the roar of aircraft up above me. The skies had been pretty quiet for most of the tour. There was virtually no motorized traffic out on the road. I was riding on a smooth asphalt surface with no real shoulder. There were mostly clear skies above.
I went through Fletcher where I had camped last year with a French couple who were cycling cross-country. I had first met them in Monroeville. I remembered that it had been so hot when I arrived last year. The campground proprietor greeted me with an ice cold bottle of water. I also remembered it being buggy and the shower water smelling like sulfur. No one seemed to be in the campground this year, but I noticed two men in a boat out on the lake, getting ready to fish.
Two green fighter jets flew over me in tandem. There must have been a military facility around here. I noticed a lot of large pipes and valves on cement pads. They were ostensibly related to crop irrigation and were either pumping water from an aquifer or from another source. I was seeing the giant plumbing fixtures everywhere. I noticed numerous red winged blackbird’s sitting on telephone lines. I’d seen several yellow birds today swooping up and down in the air currents. It was pretty fascinating to watch them.
I saw spray-painted on the road with an arrow, "Bikers Free Water Half Mile". Trail angels can be pretty cool. I didn't remember this from last summer. I passed another set of spray-painted messages. Free H2O, Shade, Wi-Fi, This Farm, again with an arrow. I had already cycled 25 miles and was more concerned about food, so I didn’t stop.
I’ve been seeing more and more sprayers, which were large vehicles with ginormous tall thin wheels so that the vehicle can drive above fully-grown rows of corn stalks. Wide arms splay open to the sides of the vehicle to spray the crops below. They were so tall that I'd toyed with the notion of riding my bike underneath one. Today I saw a three-wheeled version.
I pulled over to remove my sweater and apply sunscreen and chamois butter. I also flipped over my map section. I bisected the Panhandle Pathway Trail, which ran north-south. Surely it wasn't connected or had nothing to do with the trail of the same name that I rode in Pennsylvania. I was listening to a Prince special on WFMU's Duane Train from my iPod. I passed a TURD flag flying in someone’s yard. I hadn’t seen one of those for a couple days.
I noticed two dogs ahead in someone's yard. One dog was tan and the other was black. They both started to run alongside the road and I pulled out my pepper spray. The tan dog gave up pretty quickly. I realized the black dog was friendly and he ran with me the width of the large yard, about a city block.
I passed the Liberty Landfill, that I remembered from last year. It was a large mountain that was being created out of garbage. I loved how these landfill operations were always named Liberty this or Freedom that. I pulled into Buffalo, population 692, where I went to the Buffalo Stop and Shop, which I think I remembered from last year. I purchased a ham and cheese sandwich and two Starbucks Frappuccino‘s. I sat out back in the shade, and had a nice phone conversation with Caleb. I rode the wrong way out of town and had to turn around and come back. I eventually got on the correct route heading west.
I crossed the Jasper County line and was now in Central Time. It went from 1PM to noon. I looked at my phone, and that’s how I knew. A giant crow launched into flight from a cornfield. It's wingspan was quite large and I noticed that it took some effort for it to get airborne.
I was zigzagging around cornfields going west, then north, then west, then south, and then west. Most of the roads were two lanes, but with no markings. There was very little traffic. It was sunny but not too hot. I passed a roadkill fox on the shoulder. I had to travel south on Highway 231 for a couple of miles. There was a lot of traffic and a narrow shoulder. I had to pedal perfectly straight and stay between the white line and a drop-off down into the ditch. I crossed over I-65 and saw a huge billboard in the distance advertising, "Fireworks! Huge Selection! Lowest Prices!"
I stopped at the Mobil Station in Brook where I purchased two Red Gatorades and finished the rest of Herbie brownies. The cashier had plastic draped around her counter area. I’d soon be crossing into Illinois and wondered if the COVID rules would be different there.
I rode into Iroquois, population 154, and went straight to the Iroquois Cafe, where I had enjoyed an amazing meal last year. I was shocked to find it closed. I had researched this several times and Google had assured me that it would be open. I went to the next-door house where I had gotten the key last year for the maintenance shed at the park. I could hear a television blasting inside. The man was elderly and had health issues, so I wasn't persistent.
I tried calling the Iroquois Cafe and they didn't answer. I did a quick lap around the small town, and noticed that the supermarket was closed. A friendly lady came out from the City Hall and apologized. The small town was going through a rough time. The supermarket closed last week for good. The Iroquois Cafe was only open until 1pm for takeout Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. They offered take-out for dinner Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. I was out of luck and decided to continue heading west. I still had energy, there was a tailwind, and I had gained an extra hour. Welcome to Illinois! COVID had brought a different situation to every locality.
Road 2400 turned to gravel. I didn’t remember this from last year, probably because it was overshadowed by the gravel road from hell in Iowa. After a few miles the asphalt returned. Coming into Pebblewood I could see black smoke from several miles out. I was concerned that a building was on fire, but it was a dude burning brush in his backyard
I had to traavel a couple miles north on State Highway 1 and dealt with both crosswinds and headwinds. Once I hit US 52 going west, I again had a tailwind. I would not have been able to crank out today’s mileage without the east to west wind currents. It was an eye-opener that small town services that I had taken for granted last year might not be available this time. US 52 had fast traffic and I was constricted to a narrow shoulder.
I could see the white sphere on a golf-ball tee water tower of Ashkum, population 800, from four miles out. I was exhausted. I rode into the center of town. The bar and grill was closed, as was the pizza parlor. I cycled back out to the edge of town where I purchased a tuna foot-long from Subway. I picked up a six-pack of Sam Adams and a bag of Ice from the BP station, and cycled back to the city park. I sat at a picnic table and edited this post, while kids played at the nearby basketball court.
Enjoying the blog Chief Two Feathers. 125 miles...you're a monster....I did 25 yesterday. Making me feel inadequate :-)
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