Touring Ride In Rural Indiana 2003

June 22 - 28

I have ridden several TRIRIs in the past, enough to come to expect several things:

the routes will be mostly low-traffic and scenic

they will be well-marked

the cue sheets will be incredibly accurate

the campsites will be good

the food will be delicious and plentiful, served in a large, covered area right in the campground

the staff will be knowledgeable and friendly

And guess what? All of these things were true again this year.

TRIRI is a seven-day supported tour of rural areas of Indiana. The exact areas vary from year to year. Following is a brief description of this year's route, along with some pictures.

Day One - Ft. Wayne to Pokagaon State Park - 62 miles. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Muesum in Auburn, IN. If you like old cars, you'll love this place. I've been there before on a previous TRIRI. It's worth a re-visit.
Day Two - layover day with optional routes, varying from 36 to 89 miles. My friend Don Gieringer and I decided to ride 71 miles. One of the stops was in Angola where I visited the local library. These days many libraries have free internet access, so I was able to logon and check my email. Since I had spent the previous week riding GITAP (Grand Illinois Trail and Parks), I had a lot of catching up to do!
Day Three - Chain O'Lakes State Park - 67 miles. This day was typical of most of the days - rural roads, lots of farms, many Amish in their fields and their buggies. It's funny - some will return your waves, while others just stare. One of the highlights of today's route was a chance to see Mongo. It's not much of a town, but for anyone who's a Blazing Saddles fan, it's fun just to say you've been there!
Day Four - Little Turtle State Recreation Area at Huntington Reservoir - 58 miles. The name of this place is almost as big as the park itself! Out of all of the parks we stayed in, I liked this one the least. As I've indicated in my comparison of GITAP and TRIRI in my column in the July issue of 'Bentrider Online magazine (http://www.bentrideronline.com), TRIRI has a bigger crowd - not very big, but bigger than GITAP - and we camped in predominantly open areas rather than individual campsites in the parks. Little Turtle had a "regular" campground, which I visited to find a hot shower. It didn't have one - the only shower was at the facility by the beach - but I found that there was no one using the regular campground at all - which made camping in an open area on the way to the beach seem even less necessary. Don't get me wrong - I'd rather camp in a field in a state park than at a fairgrounds, which some tours have you doing, but I'd much rather be in one of the regular campsites, with tables, close access to toilets, and so on. On the way to the park we stopped in Huntington to visit the Dan Quayle Museum. I had been there before, and I was looking forward to having my picture taken by a cardboard cutout of the former Vice-President. Alas, they now charge admission to this museum, and being cheap - yes, I am, ask anyone who knows me - I didn't get the picture this time. The Forks of the Wabash was on the route as well, and it was interesting to read about the early years of the area.
Day Five - Ouabache State Park - 59 miles. This was my favorite park, which was lucky, since we had a layover day there. There was an enclosed area with buffalo, a paved bike trail that led back into the town of Bluffton, two different shower buildings to choose from - three, if you want to count the one at the swimming pool - flush toilets that were kept open all night - it was a nice place.
Day Six - layover day, with routes from 10 to 90 miles. Don and I opted for 67 miles. It was another day of riding past farms, with a visit to author Gene Stratton-Porter's home of Limberlost.
Day Seven - back to Ft. Wayne - 55 miles. At least, it was supposed to be 55 miles. Don and I missed a turn - our fault, the route markings were quite clear all week, so I can't believe that they were any different this day - so we turned a short day, complete with a tailwind, into a 70-mile day, with about ten miles into a stiff headwind and some rain.

I like TRIRI. I may complain (who, me?) about camping in open areas instead of regular campsites, but that's about my only gripe. It has become one of my "must do" rides. Barb and Joe, along with the rest of the crew, have become more like friends than some people who just happen to run a bike tour. It is one of my favorite tours. It is a great bargain, especially considering that breakfasts and dinners are included, and served at the campground. I like rides that are loops, so that you don't have to hassle with getting to the start or back from the finish to your car. The organizers, as I've mentioned, are knowledgeable, friendly, and unsurpassed by any others that I've met. Yes, I may complain about the camping facilities, but honestly, they're not really that bad. It's just that this tour isn't "perfect", as in it doesn't meet all my desires completely. And I do have to complain about something, right? Will I do it again? Will I ride another TRIRI? Even after all my complaining?

You better believe it!

Now let's look at some pictures. As usual, click on the images to see larger versions.

Barb and Joe Anderson are the two people who are most responsible for the ride. Each night after dinner they would discuss the day's events, what was coming up the next day, etc. I'm not sure what Joe was saying at this point, but it looks like Barb was thinking, "Whadaya going to do?"

And we had entertainment, too. Here we see Chuck Kraus singing. Barb seems to be enjoying it. And really, he was pretty good. Just don't get into a contest with him, tossing things into things.

We had a juggler, too.

Marcia is Barb's sister, and was always somewhere nearby doing SAG duty.

This group serves as an illustration of why you should not ride in pacelines. A happy group here...

But not so happy here! (But seriously, while I think that pacelines are dangerous on tours, this shot was staged. In fact, I met this group of young ladies - plus a few more of their "club" - again at the Ride Across INdiana on July 12, 2003)

No, I didn't go in. I read the book and saw the movie!

No, that's not Lance Armstrong (third from the left)

It's Cookie, here shown without the jacket

And here's Barb with her titanium wonder. It weighed less than what I was carrying in my panniers!

I have a special affection for Bike Friday bikes, having owned one of their folding recumbent models for several years. It was this color, too. Great bikes, great company.

Here's my friend Larry Bloomfield on his RANS Rocket, shortly after leaving the parking area on the first day.

Here's a view of the paved bike trail leading from Bluffton to Ouabache State Park.

Jerry Kingzett on his WizWheelz TerraTrike 3.3 recumbent tricycle - I've been a recumbent rider for over 20 years now, but I was bitten by the trike bug last year. Recumbents are fun, but recumbent trikes are even more fun!

My friend Don Gieringer is waiting for the dinner line in the background to get a bit shorter. Our breakfasts and dinners were served under those tents, and the meetings/entertainment took place on the stage behind the tents.

Dew drops on my rain fly. Almost sounds like the title to a song, doesn't it?

Duc Do and his son Lucas as they powered by me on the last day. I should have followed them - maybe I wouldn't have missed the turn!

I saw this father and daugher - I believe she was 12 - several times during the week. She never complained, and she rode the whole route. Both an inspiration and an embarrassment to those of us who couldn't seem to do likewise!

No, that's not Gardner Martin (of Easy Racers bicycles) talking to my friend Don.

And no, that's not an Amish guy sitting on the cabin porch at the Forks of the Wabash

And some people think my recumbents look strange!!

Rick Holeman and Duc Do, pondering the benefits of recumbent trikes

And how do I feel about TRIRI? This water tower says it all!