Seven teams of intrepid cyclists from central and northern Indiana participated in a two-day ride to Fairborn, OH for the annual Midwest Tandem Rally. The riding started on Wednesday from the Fort Wayne area with Kevin & Peggy, their daughter-in-law Lindsay, and grandson Levi (age 4) heading south to Muncie on the Cardinal Greenway.  On Thursday morning, Don & Chris started from Muncie and three additional teams started from the Indianapolis area. These three teams (Pat & Margaret, Bill & Cris, and John & Madelyn) met at Losantville, IN, and by complete chance, also met up with the Fort Wayne crew heading south to Richmond, Indiana on the Cardinal Greenway. The Fort Wayne group preferred to stay mostly on trails to accommodate four-year-old Levi.  As four teams arrived in Greenville, Ohio, the final team, Mark & Karen started their ride from the east side of Indianapolis late in the afternoon. Duties at work delayed their start, and they rode 50 miles to a bed and breakfast in Centerville, Indiana. On Friday morning the Greenville crew headed east to Troy where the Gentlemen of the Road Music Festival was getting started.  Bill led us through the barriers into streets that were now pedestrian walkways; an interesting way to see the city.

We then headed south on the Great Miami River Trail to the rendezvous point at the JackAss Flats Biker Bar. This was a nice, cool place to meet, although the service was quite slow. After lunch we followed a route provided by the MTR committee to the Wright Memorial and then on to the MTR host hotel.

Fairborn was our eighth MTR, and it was probably the best organized rally we’ve attended. Roads were smooth and scenic and the rest stops provided plenty of shelter space and were often indoors. Pam Kulhanek and her committee hosted an outstanding event.  Plans are already underway for an overnight ride from the Indianapolis area to Fort Wayne for MTR 2014. The committee for MTR2014 is chaired by Anne and Kent Ellis, and this will be the committee’s third MTR in ten years. Details for the event may be found at www.mtr2014.org.