7/27/05 Peru, IN to Monroeville, IN 80 miles

As I said in my post yesterday, my legs are tired and sore & a north wind didn't help. So, today was a slow day after a very late start. I left Peru at noon with the goal of making it to Ohio. Mostly, I stayed on US 24, but later in the day I returned to the Adventure Cycling route, passing through Huntingdon (birthplace of Dan Quayle — oh, and I forgot to mention that I went through Dixon, IL, birthplace of Ronald Regan — I didn't stop at their respective libraries), and Zanesville, where I had a steakburger at a little pizza shop where they had slips from all the through cyclists under the counter glass (mine's there now, too).

I made it within 3 miles of the border, anyway. The description in my Adventure Cycling maps of Monroeville, IN sounded too good: Camping shelter in city park for cyclists — showers, laundry, and best of all FREE. If Iroquois, IL is the Motel 6 of cyclist-friendly towns, then this place is the Crowne Plaza. Not only did they have all of the above, but a full kitchen, cots, and enough room for 20 people. There was another couple there — in their late 60's from South Carolina on their way to Ohio to visit their daughter. The place was big enough that we both had our own areas. They went to bed and I went out to find something to eat. I went to a local bar, "Pour Boys" and had a chef's salad, fries, a beer, and a good dose of 60's country music: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, etc. Like a time warp.

Anyway, if you're cross-country cycling — Monroeville, IN should be on your itinerary.

It's Day 40 when I'm writing this from Payne, OH, and I've just crossed into the Eastern time zone (so I lost another hour), and I've also crossed off 2800 miles. I have about 800 or so left according to the rest of my maps, so I'll fall a little short of 3700, but I'm not worrying about that too much. Next missive should be from my sister Jean's in Maumee, OH.