Seg #41 Breaking Away in Indiana on the Greenway 5/19-20/14 Gaston-Richmond, IN

Seg #41 Cardinal Greenway 5/19/14 Gaston-Richmond, IN

End	Gaston, IN	N 40.27735 W 85.46205	N-S miles 32.7
Start	Richmond, IN	N 39.80698 W 84.90935	Trl lgth 62mi Ride51.2 mi

Ride hr 5:19

AVS 9.1

MXS  mph 16.0

DST 51.2mi

Tmp65-70

Kcal 5074

I am wearing a helmet light to be
prepared for night fall given I am
starting out late in the day so it
likely will be dark by pick-up time

The sign over my shoulder shows the trail running mostly
north to south, a good thing for my objective.

My friend Mark and I headed out of Coralville at 6:20 am but did not get to the Cardinal trail north of Muncie, IN. at 2:30 p.m. The Cardinal Greenway trail takes its name from the Cardinal passenger train that once ran a route between Muncie to Richmond, IN.   Amtrak currently runs a train from New York City to Chicago that also has ties to the original passenger train that ran in this area of Indiana.  The beauty of this trail is that it runs nearly straight north and south, giving me more than thirty-two miles of latitude. A "far cry" better than the hundred mile Silver Comet-Chief Ladiga Trail in Georgia and Alabama that gave me only eighteen north-miles (latitude miles). The Cardinal Greenway Trail (CGT) is paved with concrete or asphalt so I averaged 9.1 mph, just under my best average of 9.6 mph on the American Tobacco Trail.  The CGT was blessed with porta-potties nearly one every three miles.  This trail would likely rank in my top three but becasue it lacks shade at the rest stops, it could be a scorcher on hot sunny day. I guess it should be ranked in my top twenty. I didn't need shade because it was "jacket weather" the day I rode the CGT. Some areas the tree canopy was tall enough to protect from the wind and sun but for the most part, trees were not as mature as I normally see,  likely because a passenger train ran this route.  Is it possible that rail trails constructed along freight lines have larger and more mature trees? My guess is the railroad wanted passenger trains to give the riders an expansive view, therefore vegetation was trimmed to improve the view---it makes for a good theory anyway.  As a farm boy, I got a kick out of seeing the country side and the pristine farms. Especially the round barn farms. Indiana is known for building and now preserving the most round barns in the country. Round barns include buildings that are octagonal, polygonal or circular in design. Most round barns today are listed in the National Registry of Historic places.     

I loved finding this beautiful round barn just a quarter mile
off the trail.---a pristine setting in central Indiana 

Indiana had at one time more than two hundred round barns. The popularity of such a barn, was partially attributed to the belief that the devil could not hide in the corners of such buildings. Indiana, particularly Fulton County, claims the title of the Round Barn Capital of the World.  I found a lovely red round barn about thirty miles down the trail.  It was getting late so I only had time to take a picture.  A beautiful site in rural America. 

A late start cut my planned mileage to 34 but I was able to get picked up before dark although I was prepared with all kinds of lights. The next day I polished off the final 18 miles.

Mark picks me up before dark but we were in the dark
looking for a place to stay and eat in Richmond, IN