Day 1 Chicagoland to Corydon 386 miles
It was a very busy week, not able to pack or plan the route the day before; I got up before 6AM on Saturday morning. Just after 9AM Brian and I finally departed. As my luck would have it I needed a front tire and had placed an order more than two weeks ago. Then two days I was notified the package was lost by the UPS and I wouldn’t receive the next shipment it until Tuesday. I would have make this trip on my cupped M1 with 12,000 miles. This being only a weekend trip, I wasn't too concerned although I was looking forward to having a new tire and the confidence that comes with it.
The morning started out cool, in the low to mid 40's, and the high for the day was only in the low to mid 50's. In addition to the cool temperatures, there was rain in the forecast for Central and Southern Indiana. Sunday even cooler temperatures were possible with the addition of gusty winds and more possible rain in the afternoon around Chicago. Sweet!
Since this was a bike meet, I wanted to get to Corydon, IN by 5PM, just in time for dinner, but I didn't want to slab it all the way there either. Since I despise the Illinois toll ways, we started heading east via a bunch of rural roads. Our first major town and our first gas stop was in Kankakee, IL where the rest room was out of order, so after getting gas we hot to make another stop. We crossed the remaining section of Illinois and entered Indiana. It was slow going as we passed through some small towns at 25mph and waited for trains to cross. The sun disappeared about an hour after we left the house and by the time we crossed in to Indiana, the dark and heavy clouds in the near distance appeared to be expelling their moisture. As luck would have it we were heading in that direction and within a few minutes we were getting wet. Finally reaching I-65 South, we picked up the pace as the rain started coming down steadily. The rain continued for awhile off and on, finally stopping near Indianapolis.
We stopped in Lebanon, IN for quick lunch at Arby's. Unfortunately, at this particular exit the I-65 South ramp was under construction and closed. We though we could get on to the interstate on the other side of the highway, but we couldn't. We finally noticed a detour route to I-65 South, which we ended up following for about 15 minutes or so. In my head I was already adding up the wasted minutes looking for a bathroom earlier, looking to get on I-65 South now, in addition to leaving the house almost an hour late. On top of everything, Corydon, IN was in an Eastern time zone, so we were loosing an hour automatically.
After a few hours of slab, I needed to get off the interstate. I had initially planned to take more back roads, but we were running late so I wanted to remain on the interstate as long as possible to make up time lost. Since I didn't want to take I-65 to I-64 and go though Louisville, KY; we took an exit near Scottsburg, IN and followed 56 West to Salem, IN. 56 was a nicely paved road with some sweepers and hills, it was great just to get off the interstate, I get so sore riding slab. With the temperatures being so cool all day, I had my heated grips and my Widder vest on pretty much all day, Brian was also using his electric gear until somewhere past Indianapolis, his Gerbing liner stopped working. When we pulled over for gas at 56 and I-65, he took a look at his Gerbing connections and all the wires, but couldn’t figure it out what was wrong, it might have been the switch of the fuses, but we had no time to play with it now and he couldn't get to his fuses since he had his saddle bags on.
We continued, he was cold. I was toasty. We passed though Salem, IN a really neat town with a roundabout running around the town's center. In that center was an impressive and old looking building. I wanted to stop and check it out but we had no time. We turned south on 135 and continued, this section of the road was wide with new pavement and sweepers, the speed limit was posted at 45MPH and there were plenty of those brown squad cars on this road. At some point we were directed to the older section of the road, it was curvy and narrow, the speed limit posted at 55MPH, made no sense how the new, wide and straighter section had a lower speed limit then the older narrow and twisty section. We arrived in Corydon at 5:45PM Chicago time, 6:45 local time. Now it was time to eat and drink beer.
Day 2 Corydon to Chicagoland 388 miles
I woke up to 37 degrees, there was frost on the bikes, but the sky was clear blue and the sun was shining. I went outside and noticed a historical marker by the hotel, which said Corydon, IN was the original capitol of Indiana. Corydon named in 1811, after a shepherd from a poem, became the capitol when Vincennes, the first territorial capital was moved after the Illinois Territory was separated from the Indiana Territory in 1809. In 1813, the capital was established in Corydon because of its central location. Corydon remained the state capital until the seat of government was moved to Indianapolis in 1825. This area is not only rich in history, there is an abundance of curves here also. It’s amazing how many times I rode though Indiana and Kentucky and never stumbled on this particular area. Unfortunately, there was no time for exploring today. There was not much of a complimentary breakfast at the Capitol Inn, I grabbed some weak coffee and an English muffin. We figured out who was heading towards Chicagoland and by 8:30AM four of us were on our way North. The route was simple. 135 North, then 46 East to Columbus, IN to catch I-65 North.
With more time available now, we stopped in Salem, IN to check out the awesome looking building. The current building that stands in the middle of the town square, is the Washington County Courthouse built in 1886 from native limestone which was quarried one mile southwest of town and cut on the city square. The clock faces are six feet in diameter. The weights operating the clock mechanism are boxes filled with several tons of crushed stone. The town was named Salem, after Salem, North Carolina. Pioneers crossed the Ohio River and made their way along buffalo and deer trails to the accumulation of cabins and sheds that were popping up around an early form of the present day town square. Salem officially came to be in 1814 -- two years before Indiana became a state. For much of its existence, the center piece for Salem’s town square has been the county courthouse. The first, built on pillars, gaining it the nickname “Stilted Castle of Justice,” opened in 1816, but by 1824 was deemed unsubstantial and was ordered replaced. The present day courthouse -- the third at that location -- opened in 1888, a spectacular structure that today stands as one of the crown jewels among Indiana’s 92 courthouses. Salem grew rapidly, thriving on agriculture, and the products of its mills and tanneries. In 1851, the first train arrived in Salem providing a major link for Salem to the outside world. In the mid- to late-1800s, Salem gained a reputation as a center for education, drawing young scholars from throughout southern Indiana to its high schools and colleges.
Below a few pictures of the Washington County Courthouse through the years:
1900's
1910's
1920's
1950's