Evansville, sweet Evansville
Here we are in Evansville, Indiana. For those of you who follow such things, Evansville is not part of the TransAmerica bicycle route. However, it is home to our friends John and Leah Eads, who are now in their third year of Mennonite Voluntary Service here.
From Cave-In-Rock State Park on the Illinois/Kentucky border, we forged our way to Evansville, which is practically on the Indiana/Kentucky border. It was a stressful ride, replete with dump trucks and semis flying along. After about 7 miles on our invented route towards Evansville, we hitched a ride over about 20 miles. The land changed dramatically in those 20 miles, from hills to flat farmland. It occured to me that it would be pretty easy to hitchhike around the country while posing as a cross-country cyclist. People feel sorry for and trust folks with loaded touring bicycles. Hmmmm...
We then biked about 30 miles to the town of Mount Vernon, Indiana, and John and Leah picked us up from there and brought us into Evansville, a city of about 140,000 people. Two cyclists have been killed on the roads around here recently, and there has been a furor over who owns the roads. It doesn't feel like the safest environment for bicyclists right now.
That's okay, though, because for about four days we've been hanging out here and haven't been cycling. There's lots to do and see. John and Leah have started a cooperative food market in the voluntary service house, and have expanded from one room to two rooms, and are now expanding into the entire main floor of the house, with plans for a bistro and art gallery as part of the expansion. We've also met their brood of hens and toured the neighborhood and the community gardens that they've been involved with.
The M.V.S. house is associated with Patchwork, an organization started in the 1970s as an intentional community and a response to the middle class flight from the inner city. Patchwork runs an after-school art program and a tutoring program (and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting).
We're now looking towards the final states: Kentucky and Virginia. Amazing how far we've come. Excited about what the rest of the trip has to offer. And, for now, happily ensconced in Evansville with good friends.
From Cave-In-Rock State Park on the Illinois/Kentucky border, we forged our way to Evansville, which is practically on the Indiana/Kentucky border. It was a stressful ride, replete with dump trucks and semis flying along. After about 7 miles on our invented route towards Evansville, we hitched a ride over about 20 miles. The land changed dramatically in those 20 miles, from hills to flat farmland. It occured to me that it would be pretty easy to hitchhike around the country while posing as a cross-country cyclist. People feel sorry for and trust folks with loaded touring bicycles. Hmmmm...
We then biked about 30 miles to the town of Mount Vernon, Indiana, and John and Leah picked us up from there and brought us into Evansville, a city of about 140,000 people. Two cyclists have been killed on the roads around here recently, and there has been a furor over who owns the roads. It doesn't feel like the safest environment for bicyclists right now.
That's okay, though, because for about four days we've been hanging out here and haven't been cycling. There's lots to do and see. John and Leah have started a cooperative food market in the voluntary service house, and have expanded from one room to two rooms, and are now expanding into the entire main floor of the house, with plans for a bistro and art gallery as part of the expansion. We've also met their brood of hens and toured the neighborhood and the community gardens that they've been involved with.
The M.V.S. house is associated with Patchwork, an organization started in the 1970s as an intentional community and a response to the middle class flight from the inner city. Patchwork runs an after-school art program and a tutoring program (and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting).
We're now looking towards the final states: Kentucky and Virginia. Amazing how far we've come. Excited about what the rest of the trip has to offer. And, for now, happily ensconced in Evansville with good friends.
posted by Heidi & Liz at 3:14 PM
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