The Fat Boy and Company embarked on another week-long tour of America's Heartland in July 2009, this time in southeast and eastcentral Indiana and southwest Ohio.

Starting from the southern Indiana town of North Vernon on the Vernon Fork of the Muscatatuck River, we headed east to Lawrenceburg in the southeastern corner of the state, then crossed the Whitewater River into Ohio, where we rode north through Oxford and Greenville, Oh. Crossing back into Indiana, we rode as far north as Portland before turning southward through New Castle and Rushville to complete the loop tour.

Just as in 2008, the weather gods again smiled on our little band of travelers: the weather was unbelievably pleasant for late July. And saved for a short rainstorm on the first day, we dodged the nearly-daily thunderstorms that are the staple of the Ohio River Valley summer. The superb weather contributed greatly to another sublime tour.

Last year's cast of characters came back in its entirety for this tour: Greg Beachy, Chris Cecil, Earl Crowe, Duc Do (the Fat Boy), Thomas Hurst, Dickie Swift, and Tony Thompson.