thevcblog: Indiana Tour 2021 Day 2 - Seymour to Shelbyville

The severe thunderstorms hanging out just to the west of us made it a short day. We took a very direct route instead of the scenic meandering on USBR 35. Instead we got roads with no shoulders and light traffic with many drivers driving way too fast.

It was 49 miles (instead of 62), flat, with a strong tailwind. We spent less than 4 hours pedaling.

We also spent a lot of time sitting around to avoid getting rained on. And we were very successful at that.

We ate breakfast at Larrison's diner, across the street from our AirBnB. It was raining lightly outside.

After breakfast we hung out in the AirBnB. The weather said the storms would be through by 11. By 10, the forecast changed, and the storms were going to be at 1. Since there was a gap on the radar, we set out for Columbus 20 miles away hoping to get there before the rain started again.

We almost made it, we only had some moderate rain for the last couple miles. So we stopped under a covered entrance to an office building to decide where to eat lunch and wait it out. This little guy was waiting with us.

At the end of the block there was a tasty Italian restaurant, Bucceto's, which had outdoor tables under an overhang where both us and our bikes could wait out the rain and eat lunch.

We watched the radar for an hour and a half, as storm after storm approached from the west, and evaporated before it got to us. So around 2:00 we decided to go for it and ride the 30 miles to Shelbyville, and hope the weather would hold. It did, we never got any more rain the rest of the day.

There was a bike shop in Columbus, where I bought three more inner tubes for Max's bike and a fresh patch kit. My friend Murphy says there will be no more flat tires as a result. Just like he made us not get rained on because Jim bought garbage bags yesterday and put all his stuff in them.

The Bike Gods have now turned their wrath on Jim. The rail on his saddle broke as he was carrying his bike up to our room at the Econo Lodge. It's 25 miles to the next bike shop, which is in Indianapolis. Their web site says they have a nice selection of Brooks saddles. Jim's broken saddle is about 20 years old, it's Bontrager, and the vinyl covering has cracks all over it with foam coming out. I adjusted it so the break in the rail is in the middle of the seat post clamp. Hopefully this will hold. Otherwise he's gonna be calling an Uber to the bike shop.

Speaking of our Econo Lodge, this one is pretty nice. We have a crazy room with 3 beds. Here is a panoramic view:

This is right off the exit for I-74, which means dining options in walking distance are limited to fast food and a Cracker Barrel and a "Texas Corral" steak place. Given the alternatives, we decided it was steak night.

This turned out to be a good choice.