Maidei goes on a world tour-Part 1 of the Bicycle Mystery Tour

[lph]

ooh, very cool photos! Love the vases. But that... basket.. thing?? Doesn't look very weatherproof. Gorgeous weather the two of you had!

[OakLeaf]

Where's she going next? So far Catrin is the closest person who's expressed interest. Someone send me a PM.


(PS - I like the idea of a book, too )

[Possegal]

(PS - I like the idea of a book, too )

Anyone with photos of Maidei on her tour of the world, you can load them up here - http://maidei.shutterfly.com/ in an album with the location as its title. If you need any help, PM me and I can walk you through it.

[OakLeaf]

I tried to sign into Shutterfly, I let it temporarily run a bunch of scripts, including atdmt.com which I really hate to allow, but it still wouldn't work for me. There's a limit to how far I'll relax my security settings....

[Possegal]

I have no idea what to tell you. I've never had to relax any security to work with shutterfly, even from my work computer which has some pretty tight security measures in place. I don't know enough about computers though to be of any help with that. Sorry.

[malkin]

So the Longaberger place is really an office building that looks like a basket?!

http://www.longaberger.com/homeOfficeFacts.aspx

The things people think of!

[Crankin]

Wait. I have to put my pictures on Shutterfly?
I didn't know we were making a virtual book. The pics are on DH's computer, so it will wait until tomorrow.

[Bike Chick]

Where's she going next? So far Catrin is the closest person who's expressed interest. Someone send me a PM.


(PS - I like the idea of a book, too )

Oak, I think Catrin gets her next and then me unless there's someone else in Indiana that's wanting her. If we work this right, I can take her with me to do the Memphis St. Jude Marathon December 4. Wonder if she has time to train for a half-marathon before then

[kmehrzad]

Nice pics, Oakleaf. I enjoyed the history lessons ... quite interesting. The Longaberger bldg. is a very cool architectural piece. I'd like to see it in person sometime.

And the photo with Maidei at the mic - I could just imagine her giving spinning instructions while Disturbia was playing in the background.

[Possegal]

No one HAS to do anything. The shutterfly page was not intended to take the place of this thread. I personally thought it would be fun to be able to make a book of her travels and that can be done through shutterfly. I didn't realize it would cause such trouble. Was trying to do something nice actually.

[shootingstar]

No one HAS to do anything. The shutterfly page was not intended to take the place of this thread. I personally thought it would be fun to be able to make a book of her travels and that can be done through shutterfly. I didn't realize it would cause such trouble. Was trying to do something nice actually.

It's not a big deal, Possegal. No need to read too much into comments as overly negative or whatever.

I'm just lazy and like to avoid registering for a password for yet another web based tool that I probably won't use much/at all again. I'm just a jaded user of web based tools and online services which require user ids and passwords..

I look forward to Maidei's adventures.

[OakLeaf]

Just as an update ... I've heard from HoosierGiant and we're hoping to be able to arrange an in-person handoff. Mail if that doesn't work, I guess, then Indianapolis next.

[shootingstar]

That bike button is like a protective shield that she wears proudly!

Great stuff Hoosier. So who is the person having her for Christmas? Lucky Maidei. And New Year's.

[HoosierGiant]

Maidei had a quiet Thanksgiving. So quiet, I forgot to take photos. We dined on homemade deep-dish pizza and fresh veggies, followed by mock pecan pie and chocolate-chip pie.

Travels around the area began with a trip to the Knightstown Academy, which was built as a Quaker Academy in 1877. Designed in Second Empire style, the structure has a mansard roof and twin, four-story towers topped by the building's unique and most notable features -- a globe and a telescope. The Academy served as a local high school before being taken out of service and nearly torn down. In the end, it was renovated as senior apartments.




Attached to the Knightstown Academy is a small gymnasium that now holds world acclaim. This was Maidei's second stop. That old-time gym was the setting for the home court of the Hickory Huskers in the 1985 movie Hoosiers. No trip through this area is complete without a visit to the Hoosier Gym, as it is now known. Visitors can not only sit in the stands and tour the downstairs locker room, but also shoot a few hoops. Maidei didn't try to put the ball in the basket, but she did take a close look at center court.




In what may have been a first, Maidei took her bike onto the court. Note the banner in the background, one of the remaining props from Hoosiers. While a road bike on the playing floor is a bit out of the ordinary, the Hoosier Gym is regularly used as a SAG for the Raintree Ride (formerly Stride & Ride), which includes a metric century.

[HoosierGiant]

History lesson. Knightstown is located on the National Road, which was one of the first major improved highways built by the federal government. The project began in Cumberland, Maryland, in 1811, with the road eventually stretching to Vandalia, Illinois, by 1839. Along the way, the road passed through Knightstown, Indiana. Now known as U.S. 40, this highway was the most traveled east-west road through central Indiana until the construction of Interstate 70, which took away traffic and syphoned the life out of many small communities along the route.

Here's Maidei at a Historic National Road sign just outside of town.




Since we're on U.S. 40, figuratively speaking, it's relevant to mention that every year around 1,500 cyclists take a literal trip down this historic corridor during the annual Ride Across INdiana, better known as the RAIN ride. This one-day, one-way, 160-mile ride starts on the Illinois-Indiana state line and travels to Richmond, Indiana. The route is primarily on U.S. 40 and includes passage through the heart of Knightstown.

Since Maidei couldn't be here in mid-July for RAIN, she settled for a quick spin to Dunreith, Indiana, the last SAG for the ride. The Dunreith Volunteer Fire Department hosts and runs the stop, which is the favorite of many RAIN riders, thanks in part to the availability of popsicles.




One of the features of the Knightstown area is the Big Blue River, which originates in Henry County (the local county). Much of the Big Blue remains untouched, as can be seen in this photo.