Day 25: Tunnel Hill, IL to Carbondale, IL

June 4, 2006

Update: Check out the report Ken wrote up about meeting me and Kert in Goreville! It's the June 10 entry. http://heartstringsxpress.blogspot.com/

Today was a day when Southern Illinois continued to redeem itself from the bad first day. Mr. and Mrs. Morris weren't up yet when I left sometime after 7:30, so I left them a note of thanks and cleaned up after myself, wiping toothpaste that I can only assume was Lulu's from the sink (blue Crest, I think) so they wouldn't think I left it.

I left kind of later than usual because I knew I had a short day to Carbondale and that nothing would be open on a Sunday morning anyway, but even by 8, the winds were blowing quite a bit. Mostly headwinds, but sometimes they couldn't figure out which way to go, and with the hills it didn't matter much anyway.

I missed a turn in Goreville and as I was checking the map and turning around a block later, some guy pulls over, jumps out of his car, and flags me down to see if I'm lost. He confirms my direction and offers me a ride to Carbondale while his wife yells out from the car for him to invite me to breakfast. They look like they're on their way to church, so I don't want to delay them, but they insist on breakfast at their favorite local restaurant. And what kind of biker would I be if I turned down free food.

Ken and Peggy treated me to breakfast here

I find out Ken and Peggy are fiddlin' truck drivers who have lived in Korea (Ken has a masters in Violin, Peggy in TESL), and we talk about travels and teaching. In one very funny moment, a gruff-looking patron who came into the restaurant and parked his classic Harley right outside was appalled when a little crowd gathered around my bike instead of his. "How embarassing!" he said. And I just laughed at him and his breakfast BLT.

Ken and Peggy left for church in Carbondale after giving me directions to the library there and said they might see me later since their church was nearby. And they sent me away with a piece of pie for the road!

Solar system sculpture at Giant City elementary

I got to Carbondale and confirmed that all three bike shops were closed on Sunday, as expected. I didn't have any major failures with the bike at this point, but I'm giving up on my Brooks saddle. It just won't break in and I can't get it comfortable in enough positions for my body (I may write more on this later for other lady bikers thinking about a Brooks). I also really needed to get caught up on my journal, so a half day off here wouldn't be a bad thing. However, the library there wanted $5/hour, so I decided to try the SIU campus instead. While in the library parking lot, though, I met Peter, and EB rider who seemed to be having a lot of fun on his trip. While we chatted, Ken and Peggy showed up and invited me to a church picnic that evening if I wanted to stay in town. So they headed home for the afternoon, Peter headed down the road, and I spent the afternoon in the library.

Meeting up with Peter, an eastbounder, at the Carbondale library that wanted $5/hour for internet usage. Pooh. I went to SIU and got it for free.

Mary, Norma, Ken, and Peggy at the church picnic in Carbondale

Maurice and Jesse helped me get housing at a church facility

We'd found one guy at the picnic who knew of a place for me to camp, but some of the younger church people said the house the church uses for Sunday School might work, too, so I got ANOTHER indoor spot with a nice clean shower. Awesome. We loaded my stuff into Jesse's car for the trip back to the church (no, not cheating--I'd already backtracked from the church to the picnic) and I settled into a soft couch for the night.

And we loaded everything up in Jesse's car since it was getting dark

Thanks to all who helped So. IL redeem itself!

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 1,201 miles (1,933 km)

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