Camping in the Corn

-
We awoke to rain hammering on the roof of the carport we were camping under. Happily, it eased off as we went about our morning routine. We had tea with breakfast, which indicates either a leisurely start to the morning or cold weather. Today it was cold. Mist and drizzle surrounded the campground and stuck with us as we rode away from the town of Fletcher. It reminded us of Ireland, though Indiana is warmer. This morning's ride showcased the Indiana Special: corn, soy beans, and rain. Mike is sick of corn. And rain, come to think of it. Towns are few and far between with no supermarkets, only convenience stores. Luckily we knew this was coming and had stocked up on fruit and dinner-type foods two days ago. We did find a gas station selling potato wedges and ate those at a picnic bench until it began to rain. Our route is taking us on quiet roads through the corn fields and we are enjoying the lack of traffic. It makes it much easier to have a conversation while riding.

As rain descended yet again in the afternoon we took a break under some trees at the side of the road. A driver pulled up and asked if we were on the Adventure Cycling route. Why yes, we are. His name was Kyler and he has been a host on Warm Showers in the past. He offered the use of his barn so that we might shelter from the rain. We took him up on it and wandered around the cavernous shed as the rain poured outside. Kyler also extended an offer to camp on his land and we took him up on that as well. We picked a site right up against the corn and spent a few hours reading and computering in a barn. Mike has worn out some clothes through furious riding and purchased new ones this evening. They will be shipped ahead to a post office that we expect to reach in a week. Better not ride too fast or the clothes won't be there. The site is beautiful but low on amenities. Our bathroom is in the corn fields. I was worried that I might get lost in the corn and spend the rest of my days wandering folornly until the harvester came to grind me up. However, I made it out alive. There are a great many crickets here and entering the tent without bringing a host of small bugs with you requires ninja-like speed and gymnast-like contortions. We have 0 crickets inside the tent currently.

Tomorrow we are hoping to camp at an eco-friendly B&B. Until then!

Today's miles: 56-ish

Weary of the rain

Weary of the soybeans, but with pizza

Ominous clouds

Something sinister lurks in the corn

Waiting for a long train

Command Central

Home

Comments

  1. the Old GuyJuly 22, 2018 at 8:16 PM

    When you said barn, I was thinking of the big red buildings with plenty of room in them. That looks like a bomb shelter. However, if its out of the rain, then I guess its a palace. Have I ever told you that sailing is a lot like what you are presently doing? You get wet and stay wet for extended periods of time. I liked Mike's ABC's of bicycling advice. I intend to follow it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CheriJuly 22, 2018 at 8:26 PM

    Although the rain is no fun when you are bicycling, all that corn needs rain to grow. Nature, rather than irrigation, takes care of the crops.

    Hope you have sunshine soon, though. Ride safely.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJuly 23, 2018 at 8:17 AM

    The picture of Mike in the corn should be the Roddy Christmas card picture. It’s delightful

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 23, 2018 at 12:04 PM

    Wow, no wonder you thought you'd be lost forever in the corn, need a ball of wool tied to Mike before you venture in there there!
    X

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Variable Weather

-
Image
Yesterday we officially entered the British part of the trip. The weather was overcast and cold (52 deg F/11 deg C). I'm pretty sure London was actually warmer. Due to the dismal weather we weren't inclined to take a break until about 24 miles in when we reached the town of Lindsay. This was the only town of the day with any kind of business though we were well stocked with snacks and lunch. We huddled together under the overhang of the roof as it began to rain. The rain eased up before too long and we continued on our way. Later we took a break just standing at the side of the road and I took the chance to wish Happy Birthday! to my younger brother. The scenery was much the same as previous days: gentle hills, grasslands, lots of hay bales waiting to be collected, and the occasional herd of cows meandering around. A group of pronghorns scampered away as we rode past, flashing their white tails towards us. Did you know that pronghorns are not antelope nor deer, and that their...
Read more

Gentle Undulations

-
Image
"Gentle Undulations" sounds like a band from the 80s. It's also the best way to describe the terrain of southern Virginia. Our ride this morning took us past wheat fields in various stages of growth under a blue sky peppered with fat white clouds. We had no rain today, which was a nice change. We mostly rode on quiet rural roads with tortoises and snakes also making their way across the thoroughfare. We went past places with names lifted from my home country, places like Stonehenge, Isle of Wight, and Scotland. However - given that we went past all these places in the span of a few hours - the settlers decided not to copy the original geography. Around noon we took a 20-minute ferry ride across the James River to Jamestown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America and, boy, do people seem to like to visit it. Despite it being a fairly random Wednesday in May the visitors' center had a lot of cars parked outside it and people were making their ...
Read more

Hitchhikers

-
Image
Memorial Day (a public holiday in the US for the non-Americans reading) was a rest day for us and we spent it in Washington DC. We took a train into the city from Springfield, anticipating bigly huge crowds. We had to steel ourselves for the masses, we have not spent much time in busy areas lately. Perhaps the overcast weather kept people away but it wasn't particularly crowded. We observed various military groups and high school bands setting up for the afternoon's parade. We didn't stick around to see the parade start and instead went to some museums. We visited the National Air and Space museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, both were great. Later, we trekked back to Springfield. Last night's accommodation was 5 miles off the route so this morning we set out to rejoin the main route again. For the uninitiated: we're following a route and using maps put together by an organization called Adventure Cycling. It means that we don't have to do n...
Read more