Category: Cycling

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Start: Xenia, Ohio
End: Columbus, Ohio
Mileage today/cumulative: 59 / 412
Elevation Ascended today/cumulative: 571′ / 5,804′
Weather: Sunny, 70° at start; Sunny, 92º at finish; Winds: calm, then a nice tailwind
Flat tires (entire group) day/cumulative: 0 / 1

It’s already been a week since we left Chicago and began this crazy adventure. As always, the days are flying by and the whole thing will be in the rear view mirror before we know it. Knowing that makes it even more important to live in the moment and take in everything that we experience along the way. We are learning to enjoy the slower pace of bike touring and appreciating all of the sights and sounds. Well, in my case, perhaps only the sights since I inherited notoriously bad hearing.

Continue reading “Chicago to New York City – Days Seven/Eight”

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Start: Richmond, Indiana
End: Xenia, Ohio
Mileage today/cumulative: 59 / 353
Elevation Ascended: 925′
Weather: Sunny, 72° at start; Sunny, 90º at finish; Winds: mostly behind us!
Flat tires (entire group) day/cumulative: 0 / 1

We’ve made it to Ohio! This is another new cycling state for Team Pea and the route today was a nice introduction to the Buckeye State. A gentle tailwind made it even sweeter.

Bev’s day started with a two-fer. Just as we were getting ready to roll out, a couple appeared with their two dogs, giving Bev a two-for-one shot at her “stop and pet the dogs” goal. This required me to step up my game and visit a brew pub for lunch AND a brewery post-ride. We’re all about achieving goals.

Continue reading “Chicago to NYC – Day Six”

Monday, September 30, 2019

Start: Indianapolis, Indiana
End: Richmond, Indiana
Mileage today/cumulative: 75 / 294
Elevation Ascended: 1,463′
Weather: Sunny, 72° at start; Sunny, 90º at finish; Winds: mostly behind us!
Flat tires (entire group) day/cumulative: 0 / 1

Some of you have wondered about our overall route from Chicago to New York City. You can check out the map here (there’s also a link in the right side bar).

After a rest day in Indianapolis (Day Four), today was one of those “get from point A to point B” kind of days without a lot of things to see along the way. It was also one of the few days on this trip without riding on a bike path or a trail. On top of all of that, it was ridiculously hot and humid for the last day of September, so everyone just wanted to “get it done”.

However, it wasn’t without some historical points of interest. In 1806, Thomas Jefferson signed into law an act of Congress establishing a National Road to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Ohio River. The National Road eventually became US 40 in the original 1925 plan for U.S. Routes.  Today we rode 45 miles on US 40, a major east–west highway that runs from Silver Summit, Utah to Atlantic City, New Jersey. US 40 once traversed the entire country and is one of the first U.S. highways created in 1926. 

Continue reading “Chicago to NYC – Days Four/Five”

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Start: Frankfort, Indiana
End: Indianapolis, Indiana
Mileage today/cumulative: 61 / 219
Elevation Ascended: 571′
Weather: Sunny, 63° at start; Sunny, 90º at finish; Winds: mixed
Flat tires (entire group) day/cumulative: 0 / 1

After being beat up on Day Two, everyone was happy to wake up to sunshine and no wind. It got hot and humid as the day went along, which just made Bev and me feel right at home.

We began the morning with a two mile ride to Frankfort’s Downtown Diner, where all of the locals go for breakfast. It was pretty much what you would expect from a Midwest diner – great food, super friendly people, and very little ambience. It was sort of like the “Cheers” version of a diner, where everybody knows your name. It was a perfect way to  start the day. 

Continue reading “Chicago to NYC – Day Three”

Friday, September 27, 2019

Start: Fair Oaks, Indiana
End: Frankfort, Indiana
Mileage today/cumulative: 84 / 158
Elevation Ascended: 1,457′
Weather: Sunny, 57° at start; Sunny, 73º at finish; Wind – BRUTAL
Flat tires (entire group) day/cumulative: 0 / 1

On a trip like this, cyclists tend to be obsessed with weather forecasts. Every rider thinks that their weather app is the most accurate and you’ll find them at breakfast talking about the temperatures at the start and end points of the ride, the chances of rain all along the route, along with wind speed and direction. This always seems silly to me because we have no choice but to get on our bikes and ride to the next hotel. We can’t just say “oh, the weather’s going to be lousy today so let’s just take the day off.” If that were the case, we would have taken the day off, stayed another another night at Fair Oaks Farms (Indiana) and done the weird “dairy farm adventure“.

Continue reading “Chicago to NYC – Day Two”