The day begins in Denver at the W Harrison St crossing of the Nickel Plate Trail.

The stage concludes in Gaston at the Gaston Trailhead - Cardinal Greenway.

We return to the Nickel Plate Trail this morning, which brings us to the northern edge of Peru. After a final approach along paved roads, we reach the center of this town famous for its circus and Cole Porter. Fear not, though--the Nickel Plate resumes on the westside of Peru, bringing us across the Wabash River, and then south through Bunker Hill. In Cassville, the ADT turns eastward, following county roads for a very long stretch through open fields. Finally, following a short northern digression, we join the Sweetser Switch Trail, a short extension of the larger trail network that leads into cheery Sweetser town.

That larger trail network is the Cardinal Greenway, which officially begins just east of Sweetser. This rail trail will carry us onward over the next couple days, so this is just a sneak preview. After passing through Marion, a large city though one with most services removed from the trail corridor, the Greenway turns southward. In Jonesboro, though, this section of it concludes, forcing us to shift back to roads with auto traffic for the remainder of the stage.

It's not so bad. In a land where the grid system continues to shape most of the roads, we're fortunate in this section to be able to follow Wheeling pike, which slices through farms at a southeastern angle, leading across I69, through Matthews, and finally into Gaston.

Support: A support vehicle will be accessible at TBD ( miles), TBD ( miles), and TBD ( miles). Water will be available to top off bottles, along with all necessary participant gear. 

Take Heed: TBD