Cloudy skies, favorable winds, Midwestern hospitality made for one of the best days of my trip so far. Leaving Fort Wayne this morning, my route took me west northwest back onto stretches of the old Lincoln Highway. I passed through several small and middle-sized farming townships: Columbia City, Warsaw, and Plymouth.
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| Facing westward on the Lincoln Highway |
My first stop brought me to an unexpectedly chic cafe in Columbia City - the Brewha Coffeehouse. Sitting down, sipping a mocha, I entertained questions from a couple locals about my cross-country trip. As I move westward, questions about where I'm headed and where I'm from come more readily. As I stepped out of the cafe, another elderly gentleman inquired about my travels and insisted on making a $20 donation for my trip. I tried to insist that I could not take his money, but he persisted, and it seemed a bit churlish to argue. I gratefully accepted and headed out.
Warsaw marked the halfway point of the day's ride. Just outside of town, I came across an abandoned factory near the railroad tracks. As readers of the blog can guess, I find abandoned buildings fascinating, and took some time to step inside and explore. Unlike the Rust Belt towns in Ohio, places like Warsaw are somewhat insulated from the decline in manufacturing - a boom in farm commodity prices helps keeps the urban centers reasonably alive.
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| Abandoned factory floor outside Warsaw, IN |
My final stop today was at a bakery and coffee shop - Coffee Lodge - in Plymouth. I randomly decided to stop by as I entered the downtown, and found the manager and a solitary patron chatting over a cup of coffee. For the next hour, I spoke with them about my trip and life in the region.
As the conversation briefly turned to politics, the patron - a 77-year old former county commissioner and local newspaper columnist - asked me directly if I was a Democrat (since I was from New York). He did not hold it against me volunteering that he even votes for Democrats in local races if he can take the measure of the man. Before heading to my motel, he asked me to go to the local newspaper office and tell a reporter/colleague about my journey. Perhaps my story will make the weekend edition of the Plymouth Pilot, filling some column inches with a missive on a cyclist passing through.
Starting Point - Fort Wayne, IN
Ending Point - Plymouth, INDistance - 66.3 miles
Cumulative Distance - 828.2 miles
Vertical Elevation - 1327 feet
Counties - Allen, Whitley, Kosciusko, Marshall, IN
Wind - moderate crosswind
Neil,
ReplyDeleteSo there is a "bike tracker." I've been reading the stage summary but never clicked on the link.
Despite the stiff crosswind you mentioned on Day 9, I see you managed 88 miles out of Ohio and into Indiana...15 more than the previous day! I suppose the tail wind you experienced helped a bit.
I've done a trip across country, albeit it in a car. The route was I-80 though the Sierras and into San Francisco. Although the interstate doesn't provide you with the picturesque countryside that you are enjoying. Nor does it capture the flavor of Small Town, USA. It certainly doesn't provide you with the experience of a stampeding horse charging you!Talking with the locals would have been interesting to me on my trip but would have extend it longer than time would have permitted.
Continue onward and be safe!
Therese