Day Twenty

Wow, what an interesting day. I feel incredibly guilty. I could have ridden further today, but the forecast called for severe thunderstorms, so I found a motel at 1:30. Of course, the weather was beautiful after that. I got out of bed at 4:30 and headed south on Route 127 from Angola and found an amazing breakfast place called Stephanie’s House of Pancakes. Their menu was the coolest I’ve ever seen; they had EVERYTHING: 12 kind of pancakes, 10 kinds of waffles, crepes, frittatas, omelets, etc., etc. I couldn’t decide! So I got 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, and hashbrowns. It was fantastic.

I sat there not talking to anyone, and the waitress asked if everything was OK. I said, “Yes, but I got an extra egg.” She said, “That happens a lot.” I said, “That’s fine; just extra fuel for my bike ride!” She said, “Where are you headed?” I said, “Seattle, Washington”. She set down her coffee pot and stared at me. I said, “I’ll go get my newspaper article….” The two waitresses were completely amazed by my ride, but no one else in the entire restaurant was the least bit interested, even after reading the article. I got a T-shirt from the restaurant, because it was SO cool I just had to have one, and went on my way.

I stopped in the next town for a water break and continued on. I was making really good time and the bike lane was wide and clear of debris (mostly). I went through Amish country and there were quite a few horse droppings, but I was able to dodge most of them. I stopped at a motel near Shipshewana, since I knew thunderstorms were coming soon. I had seen their billboard on Route 20 and it advertised “Clean Rooms and Cheap Rates.” I just wanted to ask if they had a map of Indiana and make sure there were other motels on Route 20, if I needed one. They had a breakfast buffet set up and the orange juice looked really good after all the riding I had done. The owner came out and the conversation went like this:

“I was hoping you could give me some advice”

“Um…OK”

“I was wondering if you had a map of Indiana, first of all.”

“No, we have no maps of Indiana. Do you have a reservation?”

I said, “No, I don’t have a reservation; I’m just passing through.” A woman walked in and grabbed one of their business cards. I said, “You should help her first.” The woman asked how much a room was, and the owner replied “95 dollars.” The woman walked out and I asked the owner, “Did you say 95 dollars?” She said “Yes” and I said, “Sorry, I just thought it would be cheaper.”

Anyway…I said I was doing a cross-country bike ride for MS and I knew some thunderstorms were coming so I wanted to make sure there were some motels along Route 20, in case I needed one. She said, “I don’t know about Route 20, but there’s some on this road.” I said, “OK…well, can I have a little orange juice?”

She said (and I’m not kidding here) “Do you have a room?” Many responses went through my mind, but I shook my head and said “No, but keep up the good work!”

I rode on until I saw this amazing Amish bakery called Rise and Roll. They had absolutely everything, and the pies looked amazing, but I had already had a huge breakfast and couldn’t eat anymore. I got an orange juice, and while I was waiting for a young girl to finish stocking the cooler with water, she started singing to herself, an Amish song. She had an angelic voice and everyone was just entranced by it.

I chatted with a very nice policeman after I left the bakery and he told me I should look for a motel in Middlebury, but I continued on after that. It started to rain and I saw some lightning, but it wasn’t too bad. I continued on to Elkhart and got this motel room. I walked down the road and found a bar called “Hunter’s Place”. I had a pretty good grilled cheese sandwich, and sat by myself eating. Later on, I moved down to where the people were, and chatted with everyone. A man mentioned that his mom had MS, so I told them about my ride. One man came over and sat next to me and started buying me drinks and asking about my ride. His name was Bob. He was very nice, and I enjoyed his company. He offered me a ride back to the motel, and I accepted. He ended up giving me a tour of the town and told me all about the railroad and the musical instrument company that used to be there. They decided to use foreign countries to produce the instruments, and the factory in Elkhart shut down, at a huge blow to the town (once again – I’ve been hearing this story quite a bit.)

As he pulled up to the motel, he said his brakes just died on his truck. He said he hoped he could make it back to the bar so someone could give him a ride. I hoped so too!