DeKalb, Illinois

We had a nice day touring the Central Illinois countryside today.  Everything fell into place; our fitness, weather, wind and roads and we were able to complete our 68 mile ride at better than 14 mph.

We had a few riding challenges.   I had a spoke problem and noise in my back wheel that took a little group problem solving. 

Rob experienced a minor equipment failure that resulted in a low speed crash on a very soft road shoulder.   He took the opportunity for some roadside yoga.

We were surrounded by corn, soybean and wind farms for much of the day.

Here are the numbers and route for the day.

Here is what our month of riding has accomplished.  We're cycled everyday except one since May 3rd for 1705 miles. 

Princeton, Illinois

We spent the day cycling across Central Illinois with the Sunday drivers and motorcyclists enjoying a sunny day.  The traffic was light as we spent most of the day on the Walter Payton Highway.   As you would expect, it is US 34.

With relatively light winds and just a few nagging rolling hills, we were able to average 13.1 mph, which is not bad on a fully loaded bike.

The highway honored another well known American, born and raised in this area.

Besides that, it was a quiet day with lots of farmers fields.

Macomb, Illinois

Today was a challenging day.  We rode 70 miles, most of it into a 20 mph headwind,  a lot of it in misting rain and all of it in less than 50 degrees. It was the kind of day that if you had a choice, you probably would not chose to ride.  In a way, this is how self contained touring is different than cycling at home or supported touring, you have to go.  It is rewarding, when you are done.  That warm shower at the end of the day feels so good on your chilled body. 

Besides that, this morning was tire day on the tour.  For flats, Derald is first (or last), with 4 flats, Rob has had one and I have had one.  Derald rotated his tires today to even the wear.  Rob replaced his extremely worn rear tire.

For sites today, there was not much to see.  Things flattened out a bit in the afternoon.   I  was not inclined to stop and take pictures in the mist.

I  did get a shot of the courthouse in Macomb at the end of the ride. 

For those interested in trivia, Macomb is the home of the inventor of Monopoly, Lizzie Magie.

Quincy, Illinois

Today we finished our ride across Missouri and entered the 5th state of this adventure, Illinois. 

We got an early start in an attempt to beat the rain, but we were unsuccessful.   Severe storms (wind, rain and thunderstorms) were forecasted.   We were very lucky that all we had to endure was 30 minutes of heavy rain.

This is a picture of the Shelby Missouri courthouse, before the heavy rain.

As a result of the early start and nowhere to stop, we got to Quincy pretty early.  The ride over the Mississippi was a little scarey, but it was a good feeling (for Rob and me) to be on our home side of the river. 

One advantage of finishing early was that we got to enjoy the historic sites around Quincy. 

Quincy was the site of one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858.

This home, owned by Richard Eell has been verified as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

This bank was one of many historic buildings in downtown Quincy. 

Shelbina, Missouri

Today is the first day of the ride that I can say truthfully that I could have ridden further.   We put in nearly 60 miles at 13.2 mph.   There were hills and some variable winds, but it was a nice easy day.   The problem is that there is not a logical destination for the next 30 miles, so we were comfortably in by 2 PM.

There was not much to photograph today and no learning opportunities. 

We are enjoying a beer in our motel room and trying to anticipate the weather.   We have heard all day from the folks we met that there will be rain tomorrow.   Today was sunny and beautiful, but the forecast for tomorrow is rain and thunderstorms.  It should be an interesting last day in Missouri as we head to Quincy, Illinois tomorrow. 

Brookfield, Missouri

Today was a day of learning and discovery for the three of us as we cycled across Missouri.   We stopped in Hamilton, Missouri for a cup of coffee.   We were surprised to see it was the home of Missouri Star Quilt Company and a destination for avid quilters.

While in Hamilton, we learned that it was the birthplace of JC Penny.   We did a quick visit to the home.

Even better than all that, we learned that Hamilton is home to the world tallest spool of thread. 

What a day it was for sightseeing.   Imagine our surprise that when we stopped in Chillicothe, Missouri, we discovered that the town was the home of sliced bread.

It was truly a day of learning and wonder. 

The ride was okay.  It was a day of rolling hills (yuck) and roads that were sometimes good and sometimes (especially at the end) kind of bad.  The pavement was broken up and not in great shape. 

Up and down, up and down

Cameron, Missouri

We crossed into Missouri at the beginning of our ride this morning.   That makes this the fifth state of this journey (AZ, UT, CO, KS and MO).  We heard on the news this morning that Kansas City is nearing a record of 10 days in a row of rain.  With light sprinkles this afternoon, we hit 8 in a row.

We experience nice tailwinds in the morning and a little help in the afternoon.   Outside St Joseph, we get on some rolling hills that were a challenge with 8 to 10% inclines.

We reached the end of the Santa Fe trail yesterday.   Today we crossed the Missouri and the Lewis and Clark trail.

Atchison, Kansas

Not much to report today.  It was a fine day of cycling, but not so good for photography (I was a bit lazy).  It took a bit of work to get out of Topeka.   We had a nice wind out of the south.  We got sprinkled on for the 7th day in a row.

Today we went over 1200 miles.  We have cycled 14 days in a row without having a rest day.  Everyone is healthy and we all have tired legs to start each day, but that goes away once we get warmed up.  We are on schedule to be near Rob and my homes by June 3rd and to the UP by June 10th.

 

Topeka, Kansas

Today we cycled through the rolling hills of Kansas.   We covered 70 miles and had a lot more hills than we expected. 

              

We rode through the area they called the Flint Hills on quiet country roads.  It was a very nice day of cycling.   We had persistent very light rain and strong winds from the south.

The northbound segments were great.  Eastward took a little extra energy. 

We passed a farm, apparently occupied by a local wood carving artist.

           Looked to us like a flying pig

Since we are in Kansas, what else but the crew from the wizard of OZ.

Tomorrow looks like our last day in Kansas.   This is a big state and extremely varied from the arid western part of the state to the fertile farms of the east.

Council Grove, Kansas

As instructed by Rob's wife Beth, we got off our lazy butt$ and cycled over 60 miles today.  Derald managed to find one of those fantastic food places.  After 10 miles, we stopped at a Mennonite Cafe in the very small town of Durham.   I don't usually take food pictures, but my breakfast of a cinnamon roll and fresh pork sausage was wonderful. 

We were quite an oddity in the Cafe, but the people were very friendly. 

We stumbled across more Santa Fe trail historical markers today.  Those folks had it quite a bit harder than we do.  What a courageous group.  We crossed the trail repeatedly throughout the day.

The wind today was from the south at about 20 mph.   It was great when we were going north, but a challenge on our eastward stretches. 

On the way into town, we ran into our friends Ed and Steve.   I  don't think we will see them again, but they joined us for a few beers and dinner.   I had a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy.   It was the perfect beer after a long day. 

Hillsboro, Kansas

Today we cycled 56 miles, putting our total for the adventure at 1011 miles.  It is hard to get lost, because we just headed down the same road.  For the 4th day in a row, we got rained upon.  Nothing too severe, but we did not miss by much.

We were on the blue dot, headed east.

Our ride went well and we are all pretty relaxed and comfortable on our bikes after more than two weeks.  The aches and pains (and sore butts) are subsiding.  We came into town facing East Southeast winds at 19 mph and were able to keep our speed up.

Surprisingly, we have been able to find some really nice coffee shops and good beer in these small towns.  The people are very friendly and interested in our adventure.

While mostly green fields, we passed some petroleum producing areas today, which were interesting. 

In McPherson, Kansas, the town was named after a Civil War General.  In addition to a statue of the Union General, the town had a beautiful courthouse and great coffee shop.

Tomorrow, we turn a little north and look forward to some tailwinds. 

Lyons, Kansas

After traveling 52 miles today, we reached a total of 955 miles, so far. 

We had an interesting morning, spending time chatting with Ed and Steven, from Santa Fe, New Mexico and Bellingham, Washington respectively.   They were fellow long distance cyclist and we spent breakfast at the motel telling stories.  They were about 70 years old and had made the transition to e-bikes and 100% motels.  We have a lot to learn from them.

Our first site of the day was Pawnee Rock.  It is known as the half way point of the Santa Fe trail. 

The rock is a mound 50' high and not too impressive. 

Our next stop was a bike shop in Great Bend, Kansas.   It was in an old downtown building.  Rob had his pedals replaced after an equipment failure, late yesterday. 

We were able to get a great lunch and were stock up on homemade cookies at a local coffee shop. 

The town of Great Bend is the county seat for Burton County.   They had a very unique county building. 

As we near the center of the state, the terrain has changed.   It is much more green than the western part of the state.

I took this picture of a few cows 🐄.   Cows often express their curiosity by watching us intently as we cycled past them.

We ended the day with 30 minutes of cycling in a light rain.  It is the third day in a row we got rained upon.  The ground is pretty wet, so we expect to stay in motels for the foreseeable future. 

After dinner, we walked around town a bit.  The Rice County Courthouse pictured below is a fine example of Romanesc architecture..... according to Wikipedia 😀