The Spokesrider

Before riding to the Rogers Cemetery in LaGrange County back on July 29, I should have reviewed my old correspondence with Julie Matthews Burnette.   Julie is a great great great granddaughter of the Isaac Gage who is buried here.   Isaac Gage is most likely the Gage of the “Gage and Langdon war”, which was not [...]

I’m still on the topic of Captain James Manary of Ohio, even though this scene is in Elkhart County, Indiana.   It’s from the 2nd day of my  October ride to New Madrid.  I stopped for a peaceful mid-morning break a few miles east of Topeka, at the David Rogers Park, as I usually do.  Sometimes [...]

I knew I couldn’t get to Rochester before dark, but I decided to stick with my original destination. I was able to get to familiar territory not too long after sunset, and needed my light only the last several miles.

The main adventure was at the 7 mile mark. I rode over a piece of glass that cut the sidewall of my rear tire. I had a spare tire with me, but didn’t expect to need it so soon. The old tire will still serve as an emergency spare, which I hope I won’t need.

A few hours ago I returned home from a two-day, self-contained, one-way bike ride. Last night I camped in the Pigeon River Fish and Game area, in a campground just outside of Mongo, Indiana. (Mongo was the scene of the Gage and Langdon War, so-called, which took place during the Black Hawk war. The Pigeon [...]

It was good to hear from Amanda Rinkel today. She left a comment on the first of my posts about her family’s mill, “The Rinkels.” When I saw the way she spelled her family name, I realized I had spelled it wrong on everything I had written so far. I think I’ve corrected all of [...]

A recurring discussion topic on the phred bicycle touring list is kickstands. Some people don’t want those things on their bicycles. After I argued in favor of mine, explaining how I didn’t want to have to look around for something against which to lean my bicycle when I stop, one rider said, “I don’t ride [...]