After the day of rest, my dad got started again to Farmington, Missouri, 52 miles away. It was his first day back in the hills and he had to reacclimatize himself to using his shifters. He spent the night at Al's Place. Al was a local cycling racer who was very active in the community. He died of cancer at the age of 49 in 2005.
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| Starting outside the city limits are painted signs and arrows on the street giving directions to Al's Place. |
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| Al's Place is in an old jail. My dad thought that was fitting somehow. |
On Tuesday, September 7th, Dad rode 51 miles to Chester, Illinois, home of the cartoonist who created the Popeye characters. He spent the night at a hostel for cyclist that was sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. They served $.75 draft beers and my dad liked hanging out, eating a good dinner, watching baseball, and drinking beers with two recent college grads from the University of Oregon, Eugene, who were also riding cross-country. They had met originally at Al's Place, but my dad started the day before they did. They met up again on a bridge outside the Chester tourist center. Dad had the address to the hostel and the three of them went there together. Before the end of the night, a lady had bought the three of them a round of beers and that was the first time my dad had someone buy him a beer for being a cyclist.
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| Bill had to get a picture of a vineyard/winery sign since there were so many. |
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| Welcome to Illinois Sign |
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| Picture of Dad at a Popeye statue after entering Illinois. |
The next day, Bill rode 54 miles to Carbondale, Illinois, home of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Along the way, my dad was daydreaming and missed a turn, so he took a shortcut. Also, he noticed his back tire was low and he thought he had a slow leak. He went to a bike shop to pump air into the tire. When he got to the hotel, he did some investigating and found that he had a real leak that he fixed. He also went to get his haircut and beard trimmed. He walked into the barber shop and he was the only white guy in the shop. All was good and he felt 10 years younger after being trimmed.
Thursday, my dad went on to Eddyville, Illinois. After 38 miles, he set up camp even though he knew it was going to rain that night. He could have pushed on to the next town for a motel, but didn't want to do a 70-mile day. It rained all night, sometimes hard, and he got water in his tent somehow. It was even raining when packing to leave the next morning, so everything was wet. Even the saddle was wet, because the cover he kept on it somehow blew off during the night. He was able to bring his bike into the warm shower room that had a fan, so his seat was almost dry after leaving it in front of the fan for two hours before departing. It's a leather seat and it's not good to ride when it is wet.
Also, he only rode 14 miles on Friday, so it didn't matter too much that the seat still had some moisture in it. When he got to Golconda, Illinois, he stayed in a hotel to dry out.
Saturday, September 11th, my dad stopped in Marion, Kentucky, after 38 miles, because the next spot was 42 miles away, and he didn't want to go that far. He is starting to feel conflicted as he is getting close to the end of his trip. On one hand, he doesn't want the trip to end, but on the other hand, he is sort of tired of getting on the saddle every day. On another note, my dad had a new discovery today, which occurred after another fried catfish meal, the second of his trip; he decided he likes catfish. It's good.
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| Horse and Carriage Sign |
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| Dad leaving Illinois. |
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| Dad's bike gets a free ferry ride. |
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| The Ohio River |
It was 44 miles to Sebree, Kentucky, where he stayed at another cyclist-only place, First Baptist Church, where he was treated like a king. He had a great lunch and waffles and bacon for dinner. This place has been hosting cyclist for over 30 years and they have meet some interesting people. About 275 cyclists come through every year. There are many international cyclists, and also a cyclist on a tricycle powered by hand, who kept his wheelchair in a Bob trailer, a cyclist on a unicycle, and two people riding on Penny-farthings, the type of old-fashion bikes that has big front wheels.
Dad will continue through Kentucky and plans to meet his brother, Jack, during the week.
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