Through Indiana, Illinois & into Ohio!

R4WH has covered a lot of ground in the past days. After leaving St Louis, we spent only 1 night in Illinois. The next day's ride to Graysville, IN turned out to be 94 miles. A few hardy souls rode extra long to make it a true "century" ride. I figured on average, it was still over 100 miles a day x2. It was a good ride, mostly rolling hills & lush green scenery. My bike computer has died, so until I get a new one, I'm driving blind which makes it tough to know how far between stops or how well or how slowly I'm moving.
We stayed at the Rural Community Academy, a K-8 school here. R4WH has stayed here every year so far & the school goes all out for us. One of the kids met us at the intersection & rode in with us. They gave us a great homemade dinner complete with deserts & then provided breakfast as well. The kids here really follow our trip. When we walked in, the hall was full of student posters welcoming us. Upstairs, there is a US map that tracks our progress; evidently on a daily basis. In the morning, Ellen & Clare & Ryan & Rachel gave 2 presentations to K-3 & 4-8 respectively.

From here, we were off to Bloomington IN & Indiana University. Ben is from Indianapolis & told me that the state was totally flat. He lied! Lot's of rolling hills & a few steep ones this day just for kicks. When I asked him, he said that he never said that southern Indiana was flat. Oh, my bad, sorry Ben.

At IU, we stayed in student housing apts with beds, TV, kitchen, the works. AWESOME!! Yesterday we got to ride track bikes on the track where the 1979 movie "Breaking Away" was set & filmed. My support team was on for the day & the stated mileage was 125. We we due at Monica's parents' house, so we shortened the ride to about 115. The beginning of the day needed to be rerouted so the team hustled to stay ahead of the riders, not always easy. About 1/2 way, we ran into a glitch around a short bike path & needed to stop the riders mid cycle & reset the route from there. Unfortunately, a group of 5 eluded us & misread a marker. They wound up riding about 10 extra miles & totalled 127 for the day! So much for shortening the trip.

Here in Cincy, we've split into groups. Some are in the city staying with med students arranged by Leah. I'm with a group staying at Monica's parents' house. Mr & Mrs Foley treated the whole team to BBQ burgers & dogs for dinner & delicious ice cream for desert. Those of here even got to enjoy the hot tub & get our laundry done. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Now I need to leave. We're off the Univ. of Cincinnati to talk to the medical students. Tomorrow we leave & bike to Columbus OH, the hub of R4WH. We stay there a few days then head into WV, the Appalachians & into DC in a week from Friday. Unbelievable. See you soon! -- Steve