After spending the night at home, which was a welcomed change, Joan and I got up at 4 am to get back to the ride. I could have used 2 or 3 more hours of sleep! We brought treats from Rolling Donuts for the Riders – the donuts disappeared in record time!
Today marks a major transition in the ride for me. Up to now I’ve been riding ever closer to home but once our route passes Northern Illinois University (my alma mater), I’ll be riding away from home.
The roads of DeKalb County bring back memories for these are the very same roads I trained on 30+ years ago while I was a student at NIU. Most things out here have not changed much at all with one noticeable exception. When I used to ride out here farm dogs were a constant threat but now it seems that every farm has a fence to contain their dogs. What a wonderful change!
The high point of the day was the stop for our second breakfast in Malta. Per usual, two bikes parked outside a local café attracted more, which attracted more, and soon a large group of riders were eating, laughing, and sharing stories from the road. All while locals stared at the strangers in bright colors and spandex that had invaded their town.
Greg, who did a solo cross country tour years ago, his wife, Erin, and daughter, Julia, were kind enough to visit me at Coal City. Its always nice to see friendly faces from home! Thanks guys!
After the long rides of the past few days, it was dinner, shower, and then I crawled into my tent. I didn’t change, I didn’t pull out my sleeping bag, I didn’t even inflate my thermarest – I simply placed my exhausted head on my unpacked bags, wondered how I would be able to continue on, and fell fast asleep.
Today’s question – how can the hills (highway overpasses) of Illinois hurt more than the mountains out west?
Sunday, July 27, 2008
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