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Monday, June 8: Man, it just rained and thundered and lighteninged  for hrs last night. Even had some tornado watches in the norther and southern sections of IN. Thankfully for us we didn’t experience the really dangerous weather. But the rain started around 8 PM last night and didn’t stop until about 6 AM this morning. Even unplugged my computer just to make sure it wouldn't experience a power surge with a lightening strike. 


When we got up, that rain had just tailed off, but wow, the skies looked like they could open up at any moment and just crush us with rain. Wind was still out of the southwest, and it was really gusting. It was one of those mornings where you think: “should I go out and take a chance in this, or just chill in the motel until it clears?” Well, I worked a bit longer taking the latter tact, but when nothing changed and the skies still looked grim, I decided that we just get it going and see what happens. Judy got me back to downtown Kokomo where I finished yesterday, and this was going to be interesting in that the Industrial Heritage Trail starts/ends where I ended yesterday. But my notes from past recon told me to just follow the old line and it would eventually turn into the Nickel Plate Trail. 


So I did a 2 block stint on pavement and followed the actual rails that were flush with Main St, and then it just opened up as old RR line. So I rode on the ballast of the old line all the way through the city. Hell, no harm no foul there considering the line is totally abandoned and is sandwiched between two rail trails. So I felt totally good riding this ballast through the center of the city. Then when I hit the north side of town I had to ride this mushy ballast with knee high weeds growing in it - the wetness the result of all the rain from last night. My feet were soaked within 10 pedal strokes into the weeks. Then the tracks are pulled out and it turns into this great double track - just the way it was two years ago when I did my recon here. It was wet, but hard packed and fast. Great to ride on! But….things have changed…because all of a sudden there was brand new asphalt, and it was like nearly 8 inches off of the old ballast. And amidst the old ballast were sticks and deadfall, and the ballast was disturbed from all the work to put in the asphalt trail, and finally there were a host of thigh high weeds growing on the newly tilled up ballast. God was I pissed. “How could they screw up my wonderful double track?” And I thought back to the  many times I rode the ballast of all these paved trails. “Like why mess this up with paving and fencing and all that?” “Can’t you just let it be and go with crushed limestone or cinder?” “Keep it simple and basic.” So all this was going through my head as I was bulldozing through that mess. 


So they’re gradually moving the paved part of the Nickel Plate Trail closer to downtown Kokomo. Before, two years ago, the actual paved trail didn’t start until the town of Cassville - some five miles from Kokomo. So there I was just trudging though this mess on the bike, going from a brisk 10 mph on the old double track to a pathetic and gnarly 4-5 mph on the newly stirred up ballast with pavement 8 inches above it. Then the paving disappeared as fast it it appeared and I was on double track again. And this happened a second time, with brand new pavement appearing. The second time it was there to stay all the way to Cassville. Met Judy there and just gave her directions to the city of Peru, and got it going again, with the skies still looking very, very threatening. Just didn’t want to loiter too long with the weather so unpredictable. 


So I got it rolling again, and the biggest problem was that even in Cassville where the paved trail officially started two years ago, well they replaced the old asphalt with new - 8 inches off of the ballast. And there I was again, riding that total shit ballast that had been dug up. Add all the rain and it was just like riding in sand. Then add all the new vegetation that’s taken roost on the newly stirred up berm and it made for a crapfest all the way around. And the other side, on my left? Well they put this really fine limestone crown on that side, and it was fresh and it was loose and it was just like quicksand what with the 2 inches of rain from last night. Ouch! And I began secretly praying that they didn’t do this to the whole freaking 40 miles of Nickel Plate Trail. THAT would be a knife in the heart for sure. Well, this went on for another 2 miles and then, the new pavement ended and we were back to the old pavement with the berm flush with the pavement and the berm was definitely the old berm I remembered from a couple years ago. 


BUT, (like how I just keep using the word BUT  as a prelude to more shit?) all that rain last night, it just did a number on the old berm. It felt a bit mushy, and that made for some damned hard riding. And I’ll tell you what, there was just water everywhere. At times, when I went though these little hamlets the ballast berm turns to grass, and that grass today was just a sponge. There were even sections where I was throwing rooster tails from front and back wheels. So all of this impacted my riding speed. That 9-12 mph stuff, that was out the window. Today, from Cassville to Peru it was more like 6-8 mph. And that’s even with a killer hard tailwind. Add in the terrible humidity and I was just dripping wet. 


I had hoped to make Peru in 1.5 hrs for that 13-mile section, but that was out the door. Now the berm from two years ago was usually great, about 1-2 feet wide, hard packed, flat and without all the overhanging junk. Today, well the rain really did a number on the hard pack thing, but there was more overhanging vegetation than I’d remembered. Well, things do indeed change. As I neared Peru, all these little feeder streams that drain into the Wabash River, they were raging torrents, like small rivers out of control. Farmer’s fields with flooded and the vegetation was just hanging low due to being water-logged. The RR bed was up above these little streams and I’ll tell ya what, they were just amazing to look at with their ferocity. Made me think that had I have been back in Ohio bushwhacking on the Moonville Trail, there’s no way I’d have been able to ford those streams. I’d be SOL. Finally got to Judy in Peru about 38 min slower than I’d predicted. And I was just soaked from sweating and from the wet conditions. Downed a quick turkey sandwich and an ice cold coke, went over directions with Jude about the next segment to Rochester, and then I got going again, still afraid that the weather would take a bad turn on me. What I forgot about was that I’d put my mt bike gloves on the hood of the van to try to dry off….and I forgot. So as I began riding down the trail it dawned on me, I did a quick 180 and missed Judy. I did find one glove on the main road, and rode a few hundred feet further but it was a lost cause. I pulled a “Pete” again!


Saved the one glove, God knows why. Like what was I going to do, do a Michael Jackson on the mt bike with one glove? Now to my surprise, the berm actually got much better on the Peru to Rochester portion. It was a harder pack, though still a bit soft from all the freaking rain. BUT (no downer with this BUT) I could indeed go faster, like 8-10 mph. It was still challenging, just not AS challenging as the previous section. Now the sun gradually appeared and that’s when the suffering began. I’m telling you the humidity today was just off the charts. I carry this little washcloth that I use for wiping my forehead, eye sockets, and temples, and today that pup was soaking wet all day long. Then I had this false flat, actually a non-false flat, as this thing looked like I couldn’t see over it for like 7-8 miles. Just kept going up little by little by little. Never seemed to reach the apex. And that cost me in energy for sure.


Felt the left knee today with all the over gear seated climbing on the false flat. I just wanted to finish this thing by the time I’d hit the 10-mile mark of this 21-mile segment. Damn was this a grind, even with the wind at my back it was tough. The un-firm ballast and the humidity were enough to have my crying UNCLE! Judy rode up from Rochester to meet up with me, and I’ll tell you, I just couldn’t even talk. I’d just listen to her chatting away. At least it took my mind off of the suffering. And I’d passed like 3-4 crews of guys getting downed trees off of the trail from last night’s storms. By the time I reached the last one I just couldn’t even say hello or thank you. I just tried not to crash into their truck as I rode by on the ballast. I mean it was like the mind starting to go thing. Judy had offered to carry my little daypack with my gear, but I declined, telling her to just keep taking to take my mind off of the riding. And that she did! By the time we were within 3 miles of the finish, she just couldn’t ride as slow as I was going - about 9 mph on the ballast - and kind of rode up ahead, yelling clear at road Xing’s. I had these visions of the ice cold Powerade in the van, of an ice cold coke, of ice cold water…OF STOPPING…during each of those final miles. Man I was wrecked at the end of this one. 


At the finish, in Rochester, I’d gotten in about 46 miles of ballast/junk/weeds/grass riding. Just torched! We ate at this mom and pop place in Rochester, and then retired to a motel. And the rain came back again, just creating white out conditions for nearly an hour.  I know they wanted rain out here, but I think this last 24 hrs has surpassed everything they wished for. This is flooding plain and simple. Which brings me to my next couple segments tomorrow. I had two options to get to the IL border: Berminator, RR line or canoe. With these water conditions I now have two options: Berinator and RR! We’ll see what happens.