Day 19 – Henry, IL to Odell, IL

Logistics:

The car was waiting for us in Odell about 60+ miles away. Neither Kevin nor Theresa could fathom Pulling the dog today and it was going to be in the upper 90's so we left Zin in the RV in the comfort of the AC. After some coffee, toast we got the bikes ready and we where off by 7:00AM our earliest start yet!.

The route:

Henry, IL was 7 miles south of our campsite so we had to make up that distance before we could get on the true trail to Odell. We covered that in short order with speeds around 15 mph. Once in Henry, Kevin spied a Casey's General Store that had a very open parking area where we could stage the RV tomorrow morning, so we swung in there to ask the manager if that would be OK. The Fair was just starting there so there would be lots of traffic in and by the store but she was OK with us parking the RV there during the day while we bike. We have not yet been told no when asking if we can stage a vehicle overnight.

Unencumbered by the 80lb trailer, Kevin was anxious to get as many miles in before the heat set in. Our first climb of the day occurred just out of Town as we rode a very narrow Bridge up and over the Illinois River. Once over the bridge we turned right onto Highway 26 and were expecting another turn .3 miles down the road. There was a road that felt right, but the sign did not match our directions. We continued for about 1 mile looking but no other street appeared. A quick iPhone check and sure enough the road we passed was it. We did a u-turn and headed back an wouldn't you know it the sign was switched around again! Is there a thing going on in IL where street signs are getting switched? We encounter at least 1-2 each day.

We were down in a valley and new we needed to go up, up, up. Once we got back on course we saw the hill that would get us out of this valley and into the flats. Not seeing any substantial hill for 2 weeks the legs did not know what to do. Theresa struggled in her middle ring on the Green machine and Kevin walked up it with little effort in his small chain ring on his triple. The roads then flattened out but Theresa was not recovered and fell way behind (she pushed too big a gear up the previous hill). The headwinds were from the SE which of course was the direction we were heading. After about 3 miles Theresa was able to catch back up (Kevin coasted and waited and coasted and waited). Once in tow Theresa did a solid job of minding the gap just to the left rear of Kevin's back tire. We hammering away at 15-18 mph as we rolled into Wenona. Wenona was the half way mark for the days distance (oh wait – it was not 57 miles, not even 60 miles, it was closer to 70 miles). We were ready for a quick bite to eat after the first 30 miles were done before 10AM. Along the main street was a grill ( the only one open actually) that boasted Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. This met the criteria so we parked the bikes in front as a intoxicated local stumbled out to great us. The bar area already had several stools occupied and there was a separate dining area which had a few tables with the usual clientele intently watching 'The View' . Kevin and Theresa split a skillet meal which was exactly the right amount. We filled water bottles with ice water and made our exit. On to the next 30 ++ miles. The draft line resumed as we made a long stretch directly east on a corn and bean lined road. Finally a turn to the south, but what ,it looks like gravel, can this be right? We double checked the street sign and it was correct. The gravel was actually fresh “chip seal” that had been laid over an existing surfaced road with lots of tar underneath. It was hard to control the bike and Kevin asked “how long on this?” Theresa replied 3 miles. Kevin just sighed (knowing Theresa's 3 miles are more accurately 5 miles). Theresa's back started to ache really bad so she did what she could to hold a 10mph pace. Kevin slowed to match her pace so she might draft. As he slowed so did she, then he slowed some more, and so did she. The pace line was not going to happen, so Kevin road a head just to get this stretch over! The next turn gave a bit of relief and another town. Time for something cold. We stopped at a Casey's and downed a mega dt. Coke and shared a PayDay. We stood inside to cool off as it was over 90 by now. We put the remaining ice and soda in a water bottle and filled the others with water. Only 12 miles left to the end! It was a steady climb into Odell. As we could see the bridge over I55 we also saw a truck slowly coming in our direction. “What is he doing?”, Theresa asked. Just then we could see he was throwing out new Chip-seal. He was nice enough to pause the rock throwing until he got by us, then resumed. We carefully surfed thru the new rock, up over the bridge and into town. Kevin clocked 67 miles, way off from the original estimate (a theme that Kevin has experience almost each day). The temp in the car registered 100. We were thankful we did not bring the dog!

Stats:

Day 14 of riding, 67 miles, 13.6 mph avg, total trip miles 719 and 4200 calories burned for the days ride.

Kevin's Garmin:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/198865208#.UAC4rdEo1PQ.email

After the ride:

We shared and ice beer from the local Store. Loaded up the bikes and headed back to the campsite. Dinner was Braughts on the grill as it started to rain. The rain was welcome as it cooled the temps down to a tolerable level but the humidity lingered. Theresa checked into work then started to upload picks.

Tomorrow's plans:

We will take both vehicles and stage the RV in Henry at the Casey's and then drive the Jeep to Cambridge for a planned 57 mile day (stay tuned to find out the true mileage). Not sure if we will bring Zin as the weather is suppose to be a repeat of today.