|
||
|
|
|
|
Today's cue sheet was almost as simple as when we were on the interstate - turn right out of the hotel, go 72 miles, turn right into the hotel. Our hotel in Indianapolis happened to be right on US-40, which goes all the way into Richmond. US-40 follows the old National Road, which was created in 1806 to connect the state capitols. Not surprisingly, a lot of settlement grew up along the road, and now it's like a necklace of little towns, strung out at intervals. It never really peters out into the miles of farmland we've seen on other days, although the towns get a little less frequent, and the corn fields more frequent, in places. By the way, this trip has expunged any desire I might have once had to race. Going fast is fun when it happens, as on Mount Rose and Monarch Pass. But I don't care who passes me, or when I finish. I'm touring - I'm biking at a touring pace (usually in the range of 15-17 mph, faster or slower depending on the terrain), looking around, taking a lot of pictures, and generally biking through a place, rather than getting from point A to point B. Breakfast was at a Bob Evans restaurant 6 miles out of town. We'd already had the continental breakfast at the hotel (cereal and a donut), and got our usual late start, so we skipped it. Lunch was at a little ice cream/sandwich shop in Centerville - $1 pork tenderloin sandwich. The Coke cost more than the sandwich. Instead of going to dinner at some steak-house that can't possibly compare to the St. Elmo, some of us are going to the Wayne County 4-H Fair instead. I love fairs, especially the agricultural fairs. Surprise! Dinner was pushed back to 5:00, for the benefit of those who wanted to go to the fair. Of course, I didn't know this, because I was up in the room working on the website. At the fair, I had a walleye (fish) sandwich that was bigger than my hand, breaded and fried to order. Yum. Admission to the fair was $5 per vehicle, so $0.50 apiece in our case. Most of the folks went to the tractor pull, even though that was an additional $8. Cindy and I weren't that into it, so we saw the rest of the fair at our leisure. We watched the equitation (horse riding) competition and the beef cattle judging. In explaining how he had come to his decisions, the judge said things like "They'll get a nice tenderloin off this one" and "This one will hang a nice carcass." No sugar-coating here. Back in the makeup ring (yes, they really call it a "makeup ring"), the exhibitors spent hours preparing the cattle for judging. They were washed, blow-dried (with a shop-vac), combed and moussed, hooved polished. Everything but lipstick, and I'm not entirely sure about that. The featured entertainment was The Singing Fireman, who covered popular tunes with a guitar and soundtrack. Fun. |
|