Saturday, May 26, 2001: Mishawaka to Fort Wayne
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Stats
SE 5-15 50-62 Rain Headwinds
ET: 6:30:00
DST: 81.67 miles
AVG: 13.2 MPH
RT: 6:08:42
MAX: 22.8 MPH
Cities Traveled Through: Mishawaka, Elkhart, Dunlap, Goshen, Benton, Ligonier, Kimmell, Wolf Lake, Merriam, Churubusco, Fort Wayne
Remarks
I woke up around five to check the weather channel to check the conditions. The temperature was 45 with some rain to the west. I decided to sleep in and finally left around eight after the temperature warmed up to 50. I called my girlfriend before I left and it sounds like she's going to be able to come down here and leave today. That should make things more convenient in case I need help to have her close by. The clouds once again looked promising for rain right from the start again. I rode through South Bend for quite a while before I got out of town. It seemed like my front tire was a little low so I added a little air at a gas station along the way. I put another tire liner in the front tire last night as well so hopefully that help prevents flats. After I was in the area between Elkhart and Goshen, the conditions of the road weren't good for cycling at all. The sidewalks had some of the biggest curbs I had ever seen. They must have been about a foot and a half high in some locations which makes it impossible to actually stay on the bike. It really slows you down when you constantly have to keep picking up your bike, ride 200 feet, pick your bike up again, etc. Then the sidewalks eventually disappeared but there was no shoulder to ride on on the road so I was forced to ride on the grass which usually only permits a speed of about six or seven miles per hour. Once I got past the Goshen area, conditions of the road improved. There wasn't much of a shoulder, but there was enough to ride on and for cars to safely pass. When I was about 50 miles into my trip the rain started to fall again. It lasted for about twenty miles. It was around 60 degrees so at this point I didn't get too cold although I was soaked. The last portion of the trip gave me some of the best shoulder conditions I had seen in days. I must have had about a six foot shoulder or greater for about the last fifteen or twenty miles. I quit early again to make sure I had a room if they filled up for the weekend. It's good I stopped when I did as a tornado touched down in this area shortly after I checked in. There was also a tornado that touched down in town at a shopping center. I guess a few cars were overturned in town as well. A few reports of hail over an inch in diameter was reported. It's good I stopped when I did. This has been a week straight of this rainy weather. What I wouldn't give for one day full of sunshine.
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