Our tents got soaked last night. We dried them out the best we could and packed them up. I forgot to close my tent door the evening before during dinner, so it was the worst and needed to be open up this evening in the hotel.

We woke up and had a great tail wind which led us 10 miles till breakfast in Oquawka. Some club riders passed us, they had left an hour early for a century ride which was partially on our route. We couldn't keep up with them. I had to do 24mph to pass them, but couldn't maintain it.

In Oquawka I had Alaskan Style french toast, which includes fruit, whipped cream, and ice cream on top.

We stopped at the Henderson county covered bridge. It said "Five dollar fine for leading or driving any beast faster than a walk or driving more than thirty head of cattle mules or horses at a time on or across the bridge".....so we obeyed.

The tailwind at breakfast had us planning for long miles! The next hotel was not for another 50 miles; we knew a tailwind would make this easy. Soon after eating, the wind switched. Our friendly tailwind was from the side, then became a headwind. Even at a stop, our flags whipped and flapped, so we had to lower them.

The ride was slow and long, so Chuck and I entertained ourselves by tossing corn kernels at Katie (up in the air, letting the wind carry them back to her). Katie didn't seem to mind, it kept her mind off the slow pace. Katie even pointed her speedometer away from her view so she wouldn't look at it. We finally had a great route, reliable equipment, and energy...just to be trumped by a headwind.

We stopped for lunch at a place called The Pink in Lomax Il. The waitress was a cyclist, so she took good care of us. Thanks! She even found us a warm-showers phone number, just in case we decided we couldn't make it to our hotel.

I want to thank the friendly Ohio state cycling club riders for their conversation and hospitality. They even waved us in towards their pit stop area, but we didn't have time for another friendly chat. Thanks everyone! In hindsight I regret not chatting with them more.

We wanted to stop several times, but never found any hotels. In Dallas City there is a beautiful road right on the river. Their is a nice little campground, but we were not sure we wanted to camp a 2nd night in a row, and the mayflies were invading. Katie was not happy!

After making a tough decision (aided by the may flies, and a nearby shooting range), we decided to continue another 15 miles to Nauvaoo for a hotel. The wind was dead against us and we slugged along at a snails pace. Finally we arrived, and had dinner at a little cafe. At dinner, I noticed that my fellow riders all looked like zombies. Blank stares and quietness seemed to dominate the table. A quick shower and bed. Tomorrow we may need a rest day.

This group has the muscle to do 75+ mile days, but we just keep having holdups. Oh well, the adventure continues. We may have to take a rest day soon however, maybe tomorrow. The girls are tired and their legs could use a recovery day especially after that headwind. Hopefully it turns into a tailwind and we won't even have to pedal.

64 miles (395 total)
Google Earth File