Day 22: Carbondale, IL to Chester, IL

June 23, 2006

55.77 Miles, 4:22:27 Ride Time, 13.09 Average Speed, 38.5 Maximum Speed

I overslept this morning (I'd like to be able to blame this on a malfunctioning alarm clock at the Super-8, but it was my fault), and didn't ride out until 9:00. I had ambitions the day before of doing a long ride, and getting several miles into Missouri, but because of my late start, I settled on trying to reach Chester, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. I had ridden off route the day before, so instead of trying to get back in sync with my maps, I just rode straight out of town on State Route 13 to get to Murphysboro. When I got to Murphysboro, it took me a while to figure out how get back on the route.

It was overcast most of the morning, and I had trouble getting interested in the ride. The terrain was mostly flat, and despite my dawdling, I reached the small town of Ava fairly soon.

I stopped for an early lunch at the BrunZeez Cafe in Ava, mostly because of their enigmatic name (and even more enigmatic sign - a seemingly random assemblage of images that I found strangely compelling). My teenage waitress had apparently just gotten the job about five minutes prior to my arrival; I might even have been her first customer. I ordered a fish sandwich, which must not have existed on the menu, since the waitress wasn't sure how to deal with it; she asked if she could bring me some fish and bread (separately, presumably), and I agreed that yes, that would work.

Lunch was good (the fish was bluegill, not the usual cod). I was outside getting ready to ride off when my waitress brought me my sunglasses... she might have had trouble taking my order, but she was probably smart enough not to leave her expensive sunglasses behind, as I had done about ten times in the last three weeks (half the time I remembered to go back and get them, the rest of the time someone brought them to me). I decided that it would be a miracle if I arrived in Oregon with this same pair of sunglasses...

The remainder of the ride to Chester was uneventful - one of the easiest days of riding of the entire trip. I stopped and talked to some farmers (on County Farm Road, appropriately enough) for a while, then rode on.

I arrived at the outskirts of Chester as the sun finally came out, and saw a Best Western a quarter mile to my right. I rode down and looked it over - it looked nice, so I checked in. It was still early in the day, so I decided that before getting cleaned up I would ride into Chester and check out the town. I was kind of impressed with the place - it was neat and well-maintained (at least the parts of the town I saw). I stopped at the public library, where the librarian immediately asked if I wanted to use their internet connection. I told her no, that I had that at my motel; I asked her what there was to do in Chester, and she and the other women standing around burst into laughter. Apparently, Chester is not a very happening place. They did suggest that I ride a few blocks to the courthouse, where there was a nice view of the Mississippi River (and the Chester Bridge across it) from the top floor.

As I rode around, I noticed murals of Popeye and his friends everywhere. Chester is the birthplace of Popeye creator E.C. Segar, and the town obviously considers Popeye their claim to fame. There is even a store, Spinach Can Collectibles, that sells nothing buy Popeye-related merchandise. I bought some postcards there, and the lady mentioned another, less frequently noted (in)famous person who lived in Chester - serial killer John Wayne Gacy was imprisoned in the town's Menard Correctional Center before he was executed.

As I rode back to the motel, I saw a Dairy Queen, and stopped for a chocolate milkshake. After I got back to my room, I cleaned up, and looked around, noticing a coin-operated washer and dryer in the motel (in much better repair than the ones in Elizabethtown, but more expensive, natch.)

I had dinner at a buffet about a half mile down the road from the motel - it was only ok. I walked past a Wal Mart, but couldn't think of anything I needed (of course, I'm sure I'll think of several essential purchases I should have made, the next time I'm staying in the middle of nowhere).

After doing some laundry and reading my St. Louis newspaper (no USA Today, much less Wall Street Journal available in town), I went to bed.