Day 19: Indianapolis, IN to Covington, IN

Total Distance: 79.7 mi
Moving Avg: 9.7 mph
Moving Time: 8:10
Climbing: 2150 ft
Elev: -100 ft

Route Summary: 
US 136 W

"Today was one of those days." Today has been the weirdest, most whacked
out day yet. Seriously wacky.

So, it starts out as I'm leaving Indy. I'm headed for US 136 W, but when
I get to the turn off point, I see detour signs. So I follow them. But
before I know it (well, actually, over a period of about 2 minutes), I'm
on Interstate 74 W. Not cool. Bikes are not allowed on the interstates
in this part of the country. But turning around seemed rather
dangerous, so I decided to press on till the first exit. 2 miles later,
there was still no exit. This made me sad. But I actually felt rather
safe, given that the shoulder was basically a full lane wide, and pretty
clean. So I pressed on. About 2 miles later, I got pulled over by an
officer of the Indiana State Police. 

But that was actually a good thing. He was very polite and quite
friendly, and helped out a lot. He had me ride to the next overpass, and
helped me haul the bike up the embankment, and on to the road. I got a
few cuts and scrapes from the plants in the process, but it worked, and
I was off the Interstate. He also gave me a warning ticket, but
hey. When he pulled me over I was expected a mild jackbooting, but like
I say, he was really nice. Goes to show that not all midwest cops are
assholes. He also took quite an interest in my trip, asked a lot of
questions, etc. 

The middle of the day wasn't very eventful. It had a lot of corn in it,
but that is really nothing new. 

At around 6pm I start looking for a place to sleep. I passed a
campground, and considered it, but I didn't think I was far enough along
to call it day, so I pressed on. About 8 miles later, I saw signs for
another campground, and I decided to stop. When I get to the campground,
it turns out it is more of a private camp, and during the summer they
have kids for some sort of summer camp so I couldn't stay. Eit. I asked
about other campgrounds and motels, and aside from the one a ways back,
they said there was nothing around. Nothing. I didn't want to go back,
so I pressed on. 

In Veedersburg, someone said I might be able to camp in the town park. I
stopped at the EMS station and asked, but they said no. They said there
was a motel over a bit west of Covington, and it was cheap. By this time
it was starting to get a bit late (oh, and did I mention the rain? It
had been raining on and off for the last two hours, making it even less
fun.) So off I head for Covington. 

By the time I get to Covington, it is positivly dark. Suck. I look
around, but no motel. I ask a local. He agrees there is a motel (in
about the same place the others said), but that that place is about 5
miles west of Covington, not 0.25. I check my map, and sure enough,
there is a road where they say, and it is even big enough to be on my
GPS. So I set off. 

The road (still US 136 W) at this point is under construction, with no
painted lines, no lights, and moderate traffic. I feel very very unsafe,
even with all my lights on. At least one person yells to get off the
road. Another pulls off in front of me, and proceeds to tell me how hard
I am to spot, how the road is under construction, and how very soon it
will be shift change, and there will be semis pounding down the road. Oh
dear. But he concurs that there is a motel very near by. I keep going.

Just when I am almost about to turn around because I'm sure I've missed
the motel, I see it! w00t! I pull in and head for the office. There is a
note on the door: "Manager will be back by 8:30 pm". It is currently
9:05 pm. There is no way I'm getting back on the road, and even if I
did, I doubt there would be another motel before Danville (12 more
miles). So I wait. 

While I'm waiting something else weird happens, but it is not the sort
of thing I think is quite fit for distribution on the internet. So ask
me in person.

Eventually, the manager arrives and I check in. Phew. A weird, long,
day, but in the end I'm glad I didn't stop at the first campground. I
would have missed some serious wackyness and now I have a story to tell.