Day 62: Mowing Mania, Burns, Vietnam Vet, Indiana Hospitality

Day 62: Wednesday August 6th, 2014.

Chicago, IL to Rensselaer, IN.  85.1 miles.

I stayed the night in a 4-bunk hostel room at Hostelling International on Congress Street in the Loop.  The facilities were very nice and clean, and I was generally impressed, thinking that I would recommend and or use the company's other locations in big cities around the U.S.

But, in bed, I was reminded of the downside of sleeping in a room with seven other dudes.  Of course, snoring was expected, and occurred.  But, other unnecessary noise and arrivals at any time of night added to my inability to get to sleep for a few hours.  I should have used my earplugs from the start and I would have been fine.  Lesson learned.  Hostels can be great if you are equipped with, at a minimum, ear plugs and an eye mask.

I hit up Cafe Intelligentsia one more time, and finished catching up on my writing before checking out.  I then followed my GPS riding East into the park, past the museums, and to Lake Michigan to join up with the Lakeshore Trail.  The trail followed the shore of the lake all the way out of the city and to the South end of the lake.  A few miles out of the city center, I stopped to look back at the city skyline one more time.

The paved route was beautiful, weaving through trees and fields of green, past beaches, sailboats, and marinas.

The neighborhood transitioned as I headed South to less affluence.  Eventually, nearing the South end of the lake, the residential buildings and neighborhoods gave way to an intensely industrial landscape.  As I approached the bridge to cross the Calumet River, the barricades lowered right in front of me.

That was followed by loud creaks and groans as the massive metal bridge began to raise up, sidewalk and all, providing the necessary clearance to allow the barge below to pass.

It wasn't long before I crossed the state line into Indiana.  I continued through Hammond, a mix of poor areas, affluence, and industrial.  Next came Highland and more affluence, with an impressive smoothly paved bike path and surrounding landscaping.

Continuing to head Southeast, I came to the town of Crown Point  The Lake County Courthouse sits near the city center of this town.  The old architectural style is beautiful.

In Crown Point, I spotted a man on a riding lawnmower making sweeping passes back and forth on his expansive front lawn.  I've observed that, in just about every single town that I have pased through East of Bismarck North Dakota, I have seen at least one person mowing a lawn.  It hasn't mattered what day of the week, or what time of day, or whether the town has a population of 200 or 2,000.  The grass grows fast here, and mowing is a weekly obsession, occupying a huge chunk of America's Summer free time in the Midwest.

In Crown Point, I saw a billboard for a funeral home and Crematory.  The name of the business was unfortunate.

And, I found their slogan, "Your Loved One Never Leaves Our Care" to be a bit peculiar, imagining the competition, other funeral homes in the area, that have struggled to keep their deceased customers from sticking around, as if they had been sneaking out the door late at night or something.

Leaving Crown Point,  narrow and quiet farm roads lined with corn and soybeans defined my path.

Riding diagonally to the Southeast by way of roads to the East, then South, then East, and so on, I worked my way to the town of Rensselaer, planning to grab dinner before completing the last 12 miles of the day to the East to reach Acorn Oaks Campground.  

In Rensselaer, about 50 miles Northwest of Lafayette, I found the City Office and Pub, a bar and grill in the center of town. I leaned my bike on the window so that I could keep an eye on it from inside. As I walked in, at least two cows-worth of leather was being worn by the 15 or so motocyclists sitting at the large table up front.

A linear bar running the length of the back half of this establishment had a few empty seats at the far end, with one gal by herself at the very end smoking a cigarette.  Apparently, Indiana allows smoking indoors.  I didn't want to sit too close, avoiding the eye-irritating cloud of gray enshrouding her.  So, I chose the first available seat.  It apparently didn't matter though, because by the time I was served my order, the bartender was smoking along with the people to my left and the new arrivals sitting next to me.

One of the Harley-riders came up to me while I was eating.  He stood in front of me and said, "Hi. - My name is Jim."  I shook his hand, introduced myself, and waited for a follow-up statement that would clue me in to why he had decided to approach me.  It took a few seconds, then he told me that he was a Vietnam Veteran, rolling up his sleeve to proudly show me the tatoo of the helicopter he was assigned to, displayed on his forearm.  I thanked him for his service, and hoped that there was something else to follow.  He then told me that he and a few of his buddies were outside checking out my bike.  He couldn't believe that I was really riding across America, and shook my hand several times.  It was neat.  Before departing, he gave me a keychain that he made.  The two strands of beads strung onto a shoe-string, attached to a key ring, displayed the red, yellow, and green colors associated with Vietnam Vets on one and the colors of the American Flag on the other.

Knowing that it would be getting dark soon, I wasted no time.  Back outside, I geared up, attaching my front lights to the bike, and switching out the lenses of my sunglasses to the non-tinted ones.

Just then, a car pulled up front, and a couple got out, headed into the pub.  They stopped to chat with me.  "Wow, Are you really riding across the U.S.?", the guy asked.  Mike and Monica were their names, and they were headed into the Pub for a beer after a long day.  I asked them if they knew anything about the campground I was headed to.  They said it was nice, and confirmed the distance for me.  Then, Mike said, "I would love to sit and chat with you more about your adventure.  Will you join us for a beer?"

I thanked him for the offer, and declined, explaining that I needed to get on the road before the sun sets.  He then said, "You know, I've got a couch you can crash on right here in town if you want." He followed up with, "And that way you can hang out and I can buy you a beer."  

I thanked him for his generous offer, looking over at Monica to see her reaction to Mike's offer to welcome a stranger into their home.  And, I wasn't sure if it was a nice gesture, or a genuine offer.  Mike must have sensed my hesitation, as he continued by reassuring me that he really wanted to help me out, and was genuinely fascinated to learn more about my trip.  I warned him that I could be willing to accept his offer, and he persisted.  "Great - that would be awesome.", I replied as I joined them back in the pub for a beer.  

Both school teachers and long-time residents of Rensselaer, they have two kids and are very involved in the community and with their church.  Mike coaches basketball, including a Summer basketball camp each year in Scotland.  And, he also helps out coaching the golf team in town, of which his daughter was on, earning a scholarship to play golf at the University she had been recently accepted to for the Fall.

I followed Mike back to his house a few blocks away, and chatted with him while watching City Slickers.  The couch they provided me was comfortable, and I was very grateful, happy that I didn't have to unload all of my gear and pitch a tent.