Illinois caverns are closed. I talked to the dept of natural resources and they said even they don’t go in there anymore due to the condition of the bats. Oh well.
Illinois
Day 24: Waterloo on down the river
Had a good night at the Sunset Motel, I had intended to get more things done, but once I hit that bed my eyes became quite heavy.
I woke up at 7:30… Rolled over and slept in… Agreeing with any excuse that came to mind.
I finally rolled out of the motel at 10:30, said goodbye to the owner, Steve, and his chocolate lab, and headed over to the Bean Tree Cafe.
I ordered The Works breakfast and a coffee. Not more than five minutes after I’d sat down other patrons started asking about the bicycle, where I was from, where I was going, what it was like. Everyone was friendly and supportive, a couple of women who were having breakfast confirmed the route I’d be taking today will be a beautiful hilly one down to Chester.
Let the adventure begin with half the day left… 😉
Day 8: Photo of the Day
Savanna bridge
Day 23: The wait is over. Back on the road.
Dena and Rick made a great breakfast. I slept in and finally got rolling about 10:00am. I packed up all my gear onto the bike, said goodbye to Dena; Rick and I biked to Blues City Deli and has an awesome sandwich.
I pedaled through downtown looking at all of the old stone and brick buildings.
At a stop light a man started yelling at me from his car, “Are you from Minnesota? Did you bike here???” I answered in the affirmative and shouted my destination. He proceeded to tell me he’d canoed from the Mississippi River headwaters to the gulf of Mexico… Twice.
He then asked if I was headed South why was I bicycling north? I explained I was headed across the river and then South. He somberly responded, “Oh.”
For years I’ve heard the horror stories about East St Louis and those stories were repeated over and over again by the locals of St Louis.
The fact I’m writing this is evidence I’ve survived the ride through East St Louis.
I met a woman when I stopped for gas who asked me, if based on the license plate on my bicycle, if I was really from Minnesota. She turned out to be from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, but had been living in the St Louis area since the 1970s. We chatted for a bit, she congratulated me on the ride, and offered to buy anything I needed in the store.
I came across an ornamental iron works business and the owner was just pulling up while I was taking photos. We chatted for a bit and he gave me some information about the quality of the roads and shoulders down toward Carbondale. He has the Venice Cafe magic bus on his property and we bonded over that.
When biking through Dupo, Illinois, I met a man who talked about different routes and I mentioned about heading toward Memphis and he said, “Oh lord, you don’t want to go there. Memphis is one big East St Louis. If you have to go through it, do it during daylight hours.”
He wished me luck and recommended I ride down Highway 61 for the full Blues experience.
I finished going through Columbia, Illinois and it was already 3:15pm by that point so checking the map I saw that I wouldn’t make it down Bluff road as far as I’d wanted before dark, so I readjusted my plans and aimed for Waterloo, Illinois with the plan to get a room at the motel and then finish my paper work I’d brought with me. Get up at six am and get a hundred mile day in along the river tomorrow.
Main street Waterloo already has their Christmas decorations up…
I had a Thanksgiving Sandwich (turkey,gravy,stuffing,cranberry) and a cup of chili for dinner at Mamma’s on Main.
Day 20: Ferrying the River
Crossing the Illinois River
Day 20: Frosty
Left Subway last night and Beth, the owner, handed me a bag of cookies; had one for breakfast this morning.
Woke at 6am, Erik (view his website) started the coffee and breakfast… I rolled over and moaned a few times. Everything was damp and frosted.
I’d tried stuffing newspaper in my shoes last night to dry them out, but it didn’t help much.
After breakfast of cous cous, onion, carrots,and scrambled eggs, I packed up and headed back to the laundromat to dry my shoes and warm my hands and feet.
I’m sure I’ve damaged the adhesive on my shoes, but I can reseal them and it was worth removing some of the dampness and all of the cold.
We’ve been passing quilt prints painted or stuck to barns around here. Barb told us that it’s a thing that people travel from around the country to see. They’re pretty neat looking.
Heading to the Brussels free ferry across the Illinois River and then into St Louis to stay with a friend of a friend.
Sunrise on the Illinois River
Day 19: Camping in the Illinois River Valley
Tonight we stopped into the Hardin Drive-In restaurant and asked if we could camp behind the restaurant if we ordered dinner. The employee called the boss and asked and they said yes; so we ordered a pizza for $12.75 and setup on the riverbank just downstream from the historic Hardin bridge. The southern most bridge on the Illinois River.
We had a side wind or a tailwind all day, along with some big hills during our 55 mile ride. Erik topped out at 49mph (beating his earlier speed today of 44mph) coming down the ridge into Hardin at dusk.
Laundry is doing circles at the 24 hour laundromat. This post is being transmitted to the internet at the Hardin Subway.
On to St Louis tomorrow …. 63 miles to go.
Day 18: Grocery Shopping
Those sure look like fluffy moisture heavy clouds to me… But they also insulate and can keep the air warmer. Everything is a tradeoff.
Today’s menu is: ham and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and rye crackers , and a bottle of cheap wine. … And probably a Clif Bar or two.
Day 18: Winter is coming
Heading to at least Ashburn, MO with Erik today into the headwind. Maybe push to Louisiana, Missouri if the stars align. The days of sixty degree weather are over up here … Must push South into St Louis before Saturday when the high temperature is just a few degrees above freezing.
Day 16: Rainy Rest day
Just hanging out in my tent today reading a book, eating peanut butter,and resting. The rain started coming down just before 5am. I started dreaming about being inside my grandparents house while it rained and then I woke and realized it really was raining. I checked on the bike and all the gear. Everything seems good. So here I lay with my laundry drying above me until the rain slows. I’ll probably go into town today and pick up some more food in case I’m stuck here tomorrow too.
