To see the day's Map and Elevation Graph look here: Cycling map and data link (hover on 'Map' button in the upper left corner and click on Terrain).
We start riding at 8:50am CDT and it's a mostly sunny day with mares' tail clouds wisping by. We want to find Portage Ave but there is no sign in the direction we are headed. We have to turn around and then we see a sign for Portage. Before too long we come to the Iron Horse Bike Trail and discover it's a green tunnel (trees form a tunnel overhead). This is a nice trail though not well marked so it's easy to miss a turn and have to retrace back some. Still, a very nice trail. A few other cyclists pass us.
Iron Horse Trail
When the trail ends another cyclists tries to give us directions to more bike paths but they're too complicated and we return to the roads and follow our maps. These roads are mostly forested too. These roads lead us through the town of Chesterton. Now we are in farm country with lots of corn and soybeans. We also pass by a landfill. Next we come to Michigan City residential areas and onto LaPorte. Here we stop for a DQ.
Dairy Queen Treat
This DQ will become important in a moment. After lunch at the DQ we pass by Clear Lake and head into the main part of LaPorte. Here they have a beautiful courthouse.
Courthouse
At this point we discover Jim's smart phone is missing. It must be at the DQ! Begin Panic Attack! Ride 100 mph back to the DQ and relief - it is on the sidewalk. It must have fallen out of his pocket. End Panic Attack.
Clear Lake in LaPorte. The top of the LaPorte County Courthouse is visible in the background.
We get back on our route and head out of LaPorte into a rural and low traffic area. These roads are a bit bumpy. So far I am not that impressed with the quality of the Indiana roads. Perhaps they will improve - stay tuned. In these wide open areas the headwinds and crosswinds are more of a factor.
Lots of Corn
After several miles of rural riding we reach Crumstown. This little town is not in good shape. It's very small and looks terrible. This makes us wonder if it shouldn't be called Crumytown.
Next we get into South Bend on a horrible cement road - very bumpy. On a better road we see this interesting sign.
Bike Sign on Western Avenue in South Bend
We don't know why this sign is here or what it means - but we like it.
We make our way through downtown South Bend and stop by the Saint Joseph River.
Saint Joseph River, near Colfax Avenue
Next our journey takes us to the Notre Dame campus. It is a very beautiful campus and one of the highlights of today.
University of Notre Dame Main Building
Finally we head to our hotel and call it a day. We arrive at 6:30pm EDT. Note, we are now in the Eastern Time Zone and that means we lost an hour today.