The weather forecast was right. It rained today. Not very heavy, but a consistent light rain for the last 25 miles of the ride. I made a shorter ride and finished by noon.

I started out in an area that seemed to be a boundary between “rural estate”, e.g. a house on five acres and “small farm”, e.g. a house surrounded by 40 acres of corn or soy beans. I didn’t see much livestock. The roads are all laid out in a grid with names that give their coordinates, e.g. 1000 North, in the county. Most are squares on one mile boundaries but there are occasional 25, 50 and 75 as well. My guess is this is all a legacy of the Northwest Ordinance and then the Homestead Act that parceled land in 1/4 mile squares or 40 acres. So much of the riding was on the squares.

Road markings seemed to indicate directions for a local bike ride. Go right for the 38 miler and left for the 44+ miler.

Six weeks ago it was prom season, now signs marked some recent graduates such as Olivia.

I checked my phone for the weather radar when I noticed a drop or two. I am that blue dot riding squares from Brownsburg to Crawfordsville. That large mass was heading my way. Shortly after this I got more drops. Enough to put on the rain jacket but not enough to otherwise disrupt things.

There was about a mile and a half of loose gravel. Somehow my mapping program missed that. Photo here shows the start of the pavement.

Jamestown’s claim to fame is that it was once the county seat. People out here are friendly – when I saw someone out, I would wave and they would wave back.

Here is the rest of Jamestown

The New Ross Mini Mart was closed on Sunday but is a one stop place for groceries, gas and mail. More importantly, it had a nice overhang out of the rain and a place to lean the bike.

Elderberry

For fun I took a panorama shot at one of the intersections. There was corn, soybeans and grass at different squares.

In the middle of the fields was this large building labeled Nucor. Apparently, Nucor built a large steel factory about five miles from Crawfordsville. The last few miles were across Crawfordsville and then north of town to the motel district by the Interstate. I was fortunate to be able to check in early. It was nice to ride today, but an entire day in the rain would be obnoxious.

Strava says: 41.02 miles in 4:24:09 for 9.3 miles/hour. 545 feet climbed and 2395 calories burned.

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