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Day 20

RAINDROPS! FOG! WIND!

Yesterday Tomorrow

ROUTE: Quincy to Springfield IL

DISTANCE: 101 Miles

TOTAL CLIMBING: 1700 Feet

DAILY REPORT: Fog and rain to start, low 56, high 75 in the afternoon, winds were in our face at 10 for final 30 miles.

Well, they really missed the forecast today. According to the weather channel we were in a clear area between a rainy wedge to our north and a severe weather pattern to our south. Somehow those areas merged and we were in the middle. We left the motel in heavy overcast with some fog for the first 10 miles then it started to rain. It stayed wet until our lunch stop at 75 miles. The last 35 miles the skies cleared up a bit but the wind picked up off our right shoulder and slightly in our face. That made the final miles a bit tougher than planned, but everyone got in OK with energy to spare...hey, it was only 109 miles. These guys can do that in their sleep.

We loaded at 6:30 then we rode to breakfast 13 miles from the motel at a little hole in the wall called Mike's Place in Liberty IL. We've eaten there several times and I think it's a keeper...I believe the riders agreed. Even though we rode before eating (well some of them ate the continental breakfast at the motel before departing), the riders enjoyed eating someplace that wasn't a chain restaurant. It was a cute little place with lots of rural decorations cluttering the walls and even some stuffed critters looking over us while we chowed down. Best of all, the food was excellent and the atmosphere was great. I think the riders wanted to stay there longer...but we had another 89 miles to ride.

The order of the day was teamwork. With the winds, most of the riders were grouping up and riding together to share the workload beating into the afternoon wind. It's definitely an advantage to be in a pace line when the winds are in your face, but I have to admire those who ride solo on days like this. There are several riders who tend to ride alone most of the time...they will always take longer and have to work a lot harder...but they are tougher in my mind. Besides, those who pace line all the way across don't get to see much of the country. If you're not the lead dog, the scenery never changes. There's just too much to see in this great country...I think the solo riders have a greater appreciation for the scenery.

I spent the morning in the van with plans to ride from the first SAG...what was I thinking? It was pouring rain when we got to our SAG and it didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon. I stayed in the van to support riders, but when I got to lunch the rain had subsided and I figured I'd better get on my bike or I'd not ride for several days (I didn't get to ride yesterday and probably won't ride on our day off tomorrow). As you can tell by the photo below, I'm riding in the dry part of the day...but it's headwindy.

Our route this morning had a few hills until about 45 miles but after that, it really flattened out into fertile Illinois farmland...the corn belt of the US. Usually this time of year the corn is about 10 inches high, but this year we haven't seen but a couple fields that have been planted. It's just been too wet to till the fields. Actually yesterday was the first day we've seen any activity in the fields and the activity we saw was on high ground. By the time our challenge ride gets here in July, the riders won't be able to see across the vast fields for the height of the crops, but they will have a place to sneak into to go to the bathroom.

Life is good now...we all got in safely and we have a day of rest tomorrow. We've never had a day off in Springfield, but it's a nice place with lots of historical things to see. There's also a 5k run downtown near our motel tomorrow...wonder if any of the riders will take part in the festivities? I think not. I'm thinking they're going to get some much needed rest...hope so because it looks like we'll have pesky winds again when we ride on Sunday, but it's only 82 miles and I've already scheduled a laid back load in the morning. We'll load for departure at 8:30...that's 1 1/2 hours after normal load. I'm sure there will be several people who will be pretty jittery before they can load their bags...it will be a good test to see if they've developed control of their AAA personalities. I'm betting not.

It will be especially nice to get a relatively easy day after the tough days into Kirksville, Quincy, and today. Luckily, we are out of the hills for the next few days and the weather looks favorable for a bit too...if we could just get rid of these winds. I guess it's always something.

Our adventure is rapidly coming to an end...we're closing in on the east coast. It will be here before we know it. We do have a couple diversions scheduled before we end...next Tuesday we'll tour the Roark bicycle factory and next Sunday we'll tour the Bicycle History Museum in Orchard Park NY...that will really be a treat and is always a highlight of the trip. But for now, we'll just ride. I'm sleeping in tomorrow morning and there will be no report until we leave on Sunday...tune in then and see what we are up to. We'll be here.

YOU DON'T SAY:

"OK boys, let's go...our charter today is to stop at every turn and take a vote on which way to go." I thought this might prove to be interesting.

Note to Sam's mom: Recent care packages are too large. Sam can't eat all the goodies you're sending in one day...he's only allowed 35 pounds of luggage and his bags are getting a bit heavy. Address future packages in care of Ride Leader.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Amazing how Barbara can find a good place for our SAG during a rain.	Tom just couldn't understand how the air leaked out of his tire. "I put in plenty this morning," He said. I told him that Illinois air wasn't as reliable as what he was used to and that he'd probably find better air more suitable for bicycle tires when he got to Indiana.
I wonder how automobiles do during the spin cycle?	Everywhere you look around Springfield you'll see Lincoln this and Lincoln that...there's his library, his boy hood home, his office before he became president, his museum...we even saw his car...geeze.
When Karen told me she saw a drunken pink elephant riding a skateboard downtown, I thought she'd just been on the road a little too long.	Ron, did all your buds leave you in the parking lot again?
It rained so hard today that even the night crawlers were heading to high ground.	For the life of me, I can't figure out any scenario where a Sheriff would need a vehicle like this. Maybe the state police didn't need it since they now use nukes? Or maybe domestic disputes out here can get carried away.