Day 20, Saturday, May 11

Linton, Indiana to Robinson, Illinois

I did not have a good night at the Park Inn in Linton. I was up and down all night, and my body felt wrecked. The day before was one of our longer days, and the biggest so far for climbing. I dreaded morning and getting back on my bike. 

That all went away when I actually mounted the bike and we pedalled out town. As usual, it took a little time for my legs to warm to the day's task but soon we were rolling through the farmland and I actually felt good. I am sure the mostly flat terrain h
ad something to do with that.

Our favorite mornings are when we have coffee and a quick bite to eat, put 20 miles behind us, and find a local diner. We knew 20 miles would put us in Sullivan, Indiana, a largish town, where we were certain we would find a diner or coffee shop.

Sullivan was a big disappointment. We saw a place called Kup of a Joy that Google claimed was a coffee shop. It turned out to be one of those drive-through coffee stands, which are fine, but not when we wanted to sit down and enjoy a coffee. We settled for McDonald's.

From Sullivan it was just a race to get the hell out of Indiana. I believe I can speak for both of us: we were sick of it. The ride from DC through Maryland and Pennsylvania and Ohio was mostly on trails, in close proximity to towns with amenities, and it was lovely. Indiana was the polar opposite. Bad roads. Traffic. Few amenities. There is nothing to recommend about cycling in Indiana. 

So we raced on, finally crossing the Wabash, leaving Indiana behind.



I had found a campground on our route about 15 miles inside Illinois, so we headed straight to it. It was a lovely little spot outside Robinson called Wildwood Campground. It is a bit of a work in progress, but the owner was exceptionally nice and charged us just $10 to camp by the lake.

We were amused when a car drove by with a Domino's Pizza sign, delivering to the campers across the lake from us. It gave us second thoughts about our ramen noodles with canned chicken.

Comments

  1. RichardMay 12, 2025 at 2:52 AM

    I am really enjoying reading your posts Robbie. What a wonderful adventure. Best of luck on the trip!

    ReplyDelete

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