Hello to all of you passive observers who are living vicariously through us from the comfort of your personal computer. Sam here. I am writing to you from the comfort of an old, beautiful, limestone house just a few blocks south of the Indiana University campus (below...wow we are living large).
Yesterday, just outside of Columbus Indiana we rose early and had oatmeal for breakfast; because we camped beneath a very fruitful mulberry tree (fruitful fruit tree ?, how appropriate) , we were able to jazz up our hot cereal, and was it ever delightful. After breakfast, Gary gave us some valuable local knowledge about what route to take through Columbus, which he assumed would save us 6 miles or so (very top: pictured with our respective machines).
On the west side of Columbus we found a bike path that ran parallel to Hwy 46 and stopped off to do some early morning streching. On the path, we ran into several bikers, one of whom stopped and chatted for a while. I of course broke out the map and explained the route. He was very nice and gave us directions to an organic food co-op in Bloomington called Bloomingfoods.
Yesterday, just outside of Columbus Indiana we rose early and had oatmeal for breakfast; because we camped beneath a very fruitful mulberry tree (fruitful fruit tree ?, how appropriate) , we were able to jazz up our hot cereal, and was it ever delightful. After breakfast, Gary gave us some valuable local knowledge about what route to take through Columbus, which he assumed would save us 6 miles or so (very top: pictured with our respective machines).
On the west side of Columbus we found a bike path that ran parallel to Hwy 46 and stopped off to do some early morning streching. On the path, we ran into several bikers, one of whom stopped and chatted for a while. I of course broke out the map and explained the route. He was very nice and gave us directions to an organic food co-op in Bloomington called Bloomingfoods.
The trip from Columbus to Bloomington was around 40 miles; as soon as we left Columbus the terrain became quite similar to that of Athens and 46 reminded us of our bit of traveling through Vinton county on Hwy 50. The traffic volume was pretty heavy the whole day with tons of other 2-wheeled chariots (albeit of the motorized sort), not surprising considering it was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.
Bloomingfoods is located on the east side of town directly off of 46. We decided to stock up on certain foods that are rare to find at Citgo stations: like panjabi (which was the best canned food Nick has ever tasted : delicious!), red wine (Oak Vineyards $3.99), and our new favorite superfood: Chia seeds, also called water crest seeds. I imagine you all still remember the Chia Pet, am I right? Well, the Chia seeds are the same seeds that you would place on your ceramic sheep, but instead of creating a nicely manicured grass sheep, you place them in water for 20 minutes, allowing their seed coat to change into a gelatinous halo. This gelatinous mass resembles frog eggs that you would find at the edge of the lake. Our old tandem lovers (Erika and Keith) recommended them to us, and they explained that Aztec messengers were some of the first people to utilize the powers of the Chia seed.
After we bought all the goods, we went outside to the store's picknic tables (above) to feast upon the bounty (including: turkey, yogurt, wine, hommus, tomatoes and so on). In the middle of the feast, cumulonimbus clouds (the tall, dark, T-storm kind of clouds) developed right above the city. We covered and secured the bikes, anticipating a menacing storm; however, the storm went South. While the storm was brewing, I went inside to purchase some raspberries to fancy up the yogurt. I decided to go to the same cashier who checked us out the first time (and checked us out she did...hehe...tight bike shorts....hehe). After some lively discussion she (Carolyn Schilling) invited us to camp in her yard. We then headed over to the Mall just a few parking lots away; we needed fuel, cinch straps, and tent parts (below: Luke and Sam slam high fives, while exchanging presents in the middle of the mall)
After our trip to the Bloomington Mall, we road around campus a bit looking for a place to access the web and bath. We found the library and were quite disappointed to discover that we had to be students to use the facility. To log on to the wireless we needed a student identification and passcode. So I found a student who was tutoring some Korean students in English (apparently Indiana University has quite the sizable Korean population); he was willing to blatantly break the law and allow us access to the internet, because I told him that YOU, our readers, would really appreciate it (below: Nick using our mobile office in the lobby of the IU student center).
We then met Carolyn back at her house. Since we were not able to find access to a shower on campus she graciously allowed us to use hers. After everyone was good and clean she escorted us to this restaurant called Farm. It is a local/organic restaurant with a hip bourban cellar in the basement. We didn't eat in the restaurant, instead, we went to the basement where her friend was spinning funk records. There we all dined upon bison burgers and drinks, and then continued to dance to funk into the wee hours (below: Nick grooving and posing, while our lovely hostess, Carolyn, takes it all in).
It was only necessary to spend a few minutes in Bloomington before deciding to revamp our morale scale; we gave it a new upper bound. Now, the highest morale is not high, or extremely high: morale superlative is BLOOMINGTON.
A special funk-laden thanks goes out to Carolyn Schilling. Your great dance moves, good taste in Whiskey, and overall attention to our every need was much appreciated.
miles: 45
morale: Bloomington
no storms.
no flats.
SAM
1 comment:
I cannot believe how jealous I am of your trip! Sounds like you are having so much fun! I have a huge bag of chia seeds, i should have given them to you! it just never occurred to me. Have fun!
Nathan
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