Live to Ride...Ride to Eat

[Stichill_imp]

Today was a perfectly glorious day to ride! I had planned to do chores around the house and yard, but decided the weather was just too beautiful to waste on anything other than riding.

I don't get over to Indiana enough, because my favorite parts are pretty far away and it's an all-day trip. Plus in the summertime it can be hot over there in the open country. So at 9:00 am I was rolling out the driveway in sunshine with low humidity and 68 °F / 20 °C.

First stop was...for gasoline. Second stop was Granny's Home Cooking in Vevay, Indiana along the Ohio River.


Two eggs over easy, two sausage patties, grits, white toast, Diet Coke

Upon leaving Granny's, the temperature had risen to 77 °F / 25 °C. I removed the wind liner in my mesh jacket.

Rural Southern Indiana (offroad's back yard) is very pleasant riding. There's a good mix of wooded and open areas, and a mix of flat and hilly terrain. The farms are generally well kept and there are tidy single-story residences along many roads and byways. In general, Indianans make less of a mess than we Kentuckians.


Typical Southern Indiana crossroads

I found this covered bridge at Leota.


The sign reads in part "Leota Covered Bridge Over Cooney Creek - 1995"

Here's what I love about riding in Southern Indiana...just west of Leota I was surprised and delighted to find this twisty little bit through a wooded area. With fresh asphalt it was a delight to zoom along though here.


[url=https://goo.gl/maps/fkyT8zSWU572]Approximate location

Shortly after the twisty wooded bit, the road became perfectly straight and ran up and down right over the terrain instead of following it the way we do in Kentucky. You get a real sense of "roller coaster" along stretches like this, however the very real possibility of running into something slow or stationary on the other side of these blind hills cautions against too much throttle.


I'm in a dip after a hill, heading toward another hill, dip, and yet another hill in the distance.
[url=https://goo.gl/maps/6NskQABnQo52]Approximate location

I was amazed that the bike's thermometer remained stuck on 77 °F / 25 °C. I was wondering how long such perfection could possibly last.

I puzzled over these marks on the road for a couple of miles, until it dawned on me what they could be. Later on, my deduction was validated.


Any guesses as to what kind of road-going equipment leaves marks like this?

I just had to stop and get a photo of this unusually impressive old barn.


It's covered in a type of pressed steel siding made to resemble blocks of stone.
This kind of material has probably been out of production since the 1920s.

I rolled through the town of West Baden Springs. Suddenly there was a look of money. The infrastructure of the streets, sidewalks, and street lighting was new and of high quality. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of something unusual poking through the treetops on my right.


A structure of some significance...

On the right was a grand entrance. At this point, I'm still not sure what it is.


Whatever it is...it seems rather auspicious.

To my great surprise, it was a historic grand hotel called the West Baden Springs Hotel.


Built in 1902, it was once billed as [url=http://www.historichotels.org/hotels-resorts/west-baden-springs-hotel/history.php]"The Eighth Wonder of the World" and boasted the world's largest dome during that time.


Formal gardens. Suddenly I feel as if I've been transported to the gardens at [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schönbrunn_Palace]Schönbrunn.

By now it's well after 1:00pm EDST and I've got another 45 minutes' riding to reach my intended lunch destination. The thermometer finally nudged upward again to 80 °F / 27 °C. Still extremely pleasant.

At last I arrived at my luncheon spot. Offroad had posted about it I believe: the Schnitzelbank in Jasper.


[url=https://www.schnitzelbank.com]Schnitzelbank
I was hoping that spaetzle would be on the menu and it was. Ideally, it would be served with pork cutlets, mushrooms, and gravy but alas it was served with beef goulash. Essentially, beef stew with carrots just like (American) moms make at home. Well, just like moms make except way saltier. So salty, in fact, that I was glad that the hot potato salad was kind of sweet-sour. I was able to mix a little potato salad with the stew & noodles and make it somewhat palatable. If I ever return, I think I'll try one of the wurst platters.


The standard tossed salad with bleu cheese was a good starter.


Beef goulash over machine-made spaetzle with a side of hot potato salad. Yes to the hot potato salad, no to the goulash.

The whole place is kind of retro-kitchy. Very popular with the older crowd and Harley riders. It's like an American's idea of Germany who never went there and only heard stories from their mom and dad about their great grandfather who came over in 1892.


Teach yourself German in the bar.

On the way out I couldn't resist taking a picture of this item hanging in the gift shop. It's one of those things that shouldn't exist in a sane world, but somehow finds a paying customer base anyway.


Mrs. Stichill thinks these are sold to people who like to dress up in Bavarian costumes and want an easy way to dress the baby as well.
Maybe...it's still too weird for me to handle.

It was after 3:00pm when I stepped out of the dark restaurant into the blinding sunlight. The temperature had risen to 87 ° / 31 °C and it was feeling warm. I decided to slab the 164 mi / 264 km home. I stopped for gas on the way out of town and made one rest stop east of Louisville. I rolled back into my garage a few minutes after 6:00pm, a total of 327 mi / 526 km on the trip odometer.