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| Title:
Eastern-Central Indiana Canal Loop |
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State:
Indiana
Submitted
By: Bill Belei
Date Submitted: Jul 01
Motorcycle Type: 93 Ninja 600
Motorcycle Road Length: 65 Miles
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Motorcycle
Road Scenery: 
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This
ride stands out because of its great combination of beautiful
scenery, plenty of amenities to get you off the bike and
great rolling hills to keep you throttle wrist moving.
Portions of this route travel along a section of Route
40 which has been designated by the US Dept of Transportation
as an official National Scenic Byway.
Along
this route you will see some beautiful river valley scenery
as well as a very large reservoir. The route mostly travels
through beautiful Indiana woodlands and goes through some
nicely kept up old towns where you will see some exciting
churches and courthouses.
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Motorcycle
Road Quality:
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This
route lies in the central area of Indiana where the state
has some great hilly twisting roads ideal for those of us
smart enough to ride bikes. A strong 4 by Midwest standards.
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Motorcycle
Roadside Amenities: 
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This
route takes you to some picturesque Indiana towns with a
great variety of museums, crafts, restaurants, and attractions.
At the end of the route you can stop at “antique alley”
and visit some of the 900 antique dealers along this stretch
of highway. Below is an overall summary of some of the
highlights along this route:
- Connersville is a good size town of about 25,000 with
a collection of large mansions built from the prosperity
that the channel once brought to this area. In this town
you can take a ride on an old train following the path of
the channel. The train makes a roundtrip of about 32 miles.
The train runs on weekends and holidays (call the Connersville
COC for more information at 765-825-2561).
- Metamora. This small Indiana town has over a hundred stores
and shops spread out along the canal and various streets.
Here you can take a half-an-hour trip aboard a canal boat
being pulled by a pair of horses. - Oldenburg – known
as the “village of spires” because of its many buildings
with tall steeples. The town has some very impressive immense
brick structures built by the early German Catholic settlers
to remind them of their native German villages.
- Batesville has the quaint little Sherman House Inn that
resembles a cuckoo clock. The Sherman House offers a great
German lunch buffet. - New Trenton is where you will find
the Town and Country Gift Store in a building dating back
to the early 1800s.
- Brookville will give you access to the 15-mile reservoir
known as Brookville Lake. Here you can enjoy boating, fishing
and camping.
- Heading north on 101 you will be able to enter both the
Mounds State Recreation area and the Whitewater Memorial
State Park.
- In Richmond Indiana you can visit the historic district
and see lovely antique homes, shops and restaurants. US
40 was once known as the National Road and runs through
Richmond. In this town you can visit the Old National Road
State Welcome Center and learn about the history of the
National Road.
- The drive from Richmond to Centerville along US-40 is
loaded with about 900 antique dealers. In Richmond
you can see the Lantz House Inn, which was a famous Inn
that where the original owner built “Conestoga wagons” used
by pioneers heading west into the new frontier. Today this
French-style brick home built in 1823 is operated as a bed
and breakfast.
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A
verbal description of how to find Connersville
Indiana is as follows: Take I-70 east out of Indianapolis,
IN for about 40 miles. Off of I-70, take exit #137 (Route
1) south to the town of Connersville to begin the route.
From
Connersville, head south on route 121 until you get to
route 52 and take that east for a few miles to the town
of Metamora. From Metamora, turn around and head about
1/2 mile back west on 52 and catch state route 229 south
to Peppertown, Oldenburg, and on to Batesville. Next
take state route 46 east to and through Morris and on
to St. Leon and continue on 46 till it meets 52. Now
take 52 north on to New Trenton and up to Brookville where
you want to look for state route 101 heading north. This
route will take you past the Mounds State Recreation Area
and the Whitewater Memorial State Park. After the town
of Liberty, take US route 27 north up to Richmond. From
Richmond, finish your route by heading west along US 40
("The Old National Highway") towards Centerville.
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Additional
Information:
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