Day 25 – Fri/Jul 11 – Winamac IN to 25 Miles East of Decatur IN

Yesterday we entered Indiana and today we left Indiana. We traveled a total distance of 108.7 miles today stopping about 5 miles over the Ohio border. We traveled almost straight east today. Winds were out of the south/southwest at about 10 – 15 mph. The total climb today was 1,307 feet, 1-3% grade. We averaged 19.4 mph.

The weather and terrain were once again very favorable – flat with temperatures in the 80s. There are many more towns on our route now, we go through one almost every 10 miles. Between each town, homes line the roads. Larry has done a great job keeping us on very low traffic roads.

We now have 8 days left in our ride with just over 880 miles to go. We have traveled 2,582 miles over the past 25 days (including 1 rest day). If we can get through this weekend without rain, it looks good for the last week.

Day 24 – Thu/Jul 10 – Ottawa IL to Winamac IN

We started our day once again enjoying a meal prepared by John Garrity – breakfast at his office – french toast, sausage and coffee ( by the way – it was a great cup of coffee). After a quick meal and some laughs with the employees at his office, we were back in route to the start of today’s ride. The route was similar to yesterday, but we wound up with a net increase in elevation of a couple hundred feet. This was hardly noticeable over the 127 miles we rode today. The temperature was like yesterday, started at 69 degrees and reached a high of 86 degrees. Winds were out of the SSE as we traveled almost straight east. We averaged 19.8 mph. We did manage to slip in a short (1/2 mile climb with an 8% grade) – total climb for the day – 1,168 feet.

Larry did an outstanding job of guiding us to Winamac today. Not only did he save us about 5 miles, but he kept us on smoother roads with less traffic. Lesson learned – don’t try a ride like this without a lot of Hart!

We have now traveled almost 2,475 miles since leaving Astoria 24 days ago. We only have 9 days left in our ride. A week from Saturday we hope to complete our ride – just over 1,000 miles to go. The weather patterns appear to be holding yet – high temperatures remaining in the mid 80s with the chances of rain Saturday and Sunday.