Indy / Velodrome

65 easy miles took us from Crawfordsville to Indianapolis, IN. The Dalton Four had the honor of riding with Willie (from VA) for the last half of the ride. We rolled into town via some very nice neighborhoods and golf courses.
Harry and I accompanied Willie when he stopped by the Fire Dept. at the end of the ride- something he does in every destination town. His mission on this trip has been to thank the police and/or fire departments in each town for everything they do; this is related to the charity that he is riding for - the Food Allergy Network. The families affected by the emergencies of food allergies wanted him thank any of these folks he saw, so he of course took it full tilt and seeks out a station in each town. It was great fun to talk with the firemen. And it didn't take much pleading at all to get them to start up one of the fire engines and pull it out to the driveway so we could get some photos. In fact, I am pretty sure it was their idea!
A few other folks are also riding for charities or have other traditions along the trip. One of my favorites is the one that George (the retired physician) came up with; he decided to make a point to stop by every single Dairy Queen we pass on the trip. Even when there are two within a few miles of each other! So, this is not for a charity, but he is having a lot of fun! It think he orders a "blizzard" every time.

Today was Fred's last day; since he lives in Indy, his plan was to "ride home" from L.A.
Ira has put Fred's bike flag on his bike, so it will go to Boston with us.

Highlight of the day: A group of us went to Indy's outdoor Velodrome in the evening and watched some great bike races! The Velodrome is named after Major Taylor. Bonus points to anyone who knows about Major Taylor - he has a fascinating role in history. I will place his name on the list of recommended google searches related to this trip. Hmmm - maybe we should have a trivia game when this trip is done....
It was a blast to see the racing. All the different races they do are a bit complicated, but the locals were very helpful in explaining it to us. I think the elimination races were my favorite -- they call it "Devil takes the hind-most".

I was astounded by how steeply the curves were banked. We got to stand right up against the railing so we had a great view of it all, and we were super-close to all the action. We feel very fortunate that when Harry dropped the lid to the soda bottle it did not go through the little space below the railing and roll down onto the track. It was close.