Day 37 – Crawfordsville, IN to Indianapolis, IN via US136 and White River Parkway, 07 Jul 2014

Map and Pics:  Click Here for Map and Pics.

Miles 2689 to 2751, 62 miles, 700 feet of climb, max speed 32 mph, avg speed 14 mph, Temperature was cool after the storm went through, yet moisture and road spray remained.

Paul and Al racing the storm into town

The obvious four star event of today was my wife and daughter Faith driving up from Huntsville to visit! More on that after I describe some earlier events. The obvious concern this morning was not IF we get caught by the storms, but where. We got a respectable number of miles in before we were pulled over and told where to find shelter, in my case, a gas station in New Ross. The picture is Al and Paul just beating the lightning in. While under the awning there we got to talk to a farmer about his soybeans and corn. About a third of his crops are sold as futures. This year that worked out for them because corn yield will be higher than expected and that will drop prices at harvest. He prefers beans because there are four soybean processing plants within delivery distance. That means there will be some price competition.

Brownsburg's Greatest Advocate

A gem of the day was found at the Arbuckle Park in Brownsburg. Arbuckle Park was right across the RR tracks from the titanium bike factory in Brownsburg. I found Shelby changing the park's marquee, something she said she did as a community service to let citizens know of upcoming events. She was excited about what a great place Brownsburg was to live and wanted me tell everybody to look up Brownsburg Parks on facebook and ‘like them’. Brownsburg was a very vibrant city and had all the signs of being a great place to live.

At the Old Speghetti Factory, Indianapolis

They day finally came! Yay!!! Young and Faith arrived from Huntsville around three in the afternoon. We had a wonderful dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. While there we met the other riders and staff. Afterwards we took a walk around downtown on a perfect evening, but then found the downtown mall and spent some quality time looking at cosmetics, lady's shoes, and purses. Later this evening Young and I walked around the capitol and other monuments enjoying the lights of the city coming on and the beautiful glow of the setting sun.

Bottom Line: My riding buddies made my day. They really made me and my family feel special. Another reason this has been the best vacation ever!