Day 49: Iroquois, IL to Wenona, IL

June 30, 2008

102.06 miles, 7:55:14 Ride Time, 12.88 Average Speed, 26.88 Maximum Speed

I had a good night's sleep on the floor of the mayor's office, and was ready to ride out around 7:00. Jordan decided to have breakfast at the bar/cafe in town, while I, in an attempt to get some miles in before it got windy, left. It was a bright, sunny morning - a much more cheerful way to start the day.

I was on county road 2400N the first part of the morning. Around Pittwood, a dog ran out, but given that it had only three legs, and was on a (long) chain, I didn't consider it much of a threat.

After about twenty miles of mostly flat, straight roads, I stopped in Ashkum (pop. 724) where I had a sandwich and a quart of chocolate milk at a new-looking Subway/gas station. As I was finishing, Jordan arrived, to inform me that he had received a free breakfast at the cafe in Iroquois; clearly I should have stayed longer in Iroquois.

Later, it became hotter, the headwinds grew stronger, and after 40+ miles I was thirsty. We stopped in tiny Kempton (pop. 235), where I spotted a pop machine and drank, in quick succession, a Sierra Mist, a Sunny D, a Hawaiian Punch, and a Root Beer. Jordan appeared to be impressed and/or appalled by this. We had the usual conversation with a local man about our trips, then moved up the street to a building with a huge "Adventures Unlimited" mural on the side. It housed a publishing company, book warehouse, and a small retail bookstore. The publishing company, Adventures Unlimited Press, publishes some pretty out-there stuff: Conspiracy history, mysticism, cryptozoology, UFOs, etc.

As the man showed us around their "worldwide fulfillment center", I had to ask: "Why Kempton?" He explained that the owner of the company became interested in a commune located in Kempton, and moved there from Colorado to start his business. Interesting - definitely not something I expected to find in rural Illinois.

While we looked around Kempton, we noticed a little kid on a heavy, slow-looking bike checking us out. I asked him if his bike was fast (it looked to me like it weighed 60 lbs.), and he assured me that it was very quick. Later, as we left town, the kid appeared out of a side street and (briefly) zoomed passed us. I'm guessing that was the highlight of his day.

Soon after we left town, the sky suddenly grew dark and it started to rain. I sprinted for some trees half a mile down the road; I looked back to see Jordan stopped, putting on his rain gear. The rain was heavy, but it lasted only a few minutes, and by the time it stopped, I realized I had a tailwind, so I rode a few miles at 20+ mph, until I eventually stopped to wait for Jordan, who complained that all he had accomplished by getting out the rain jacket and pants in the rain, was getting everything wet.

The day felt different after the brief rainshower; the headwind from before never reappeared, the clouds went away, and we started riding 15, 16, even 20 mph. I got into the big chainring for the first time in weeks; that was fun.

We stopped for a while in Odell (pop. 1,014), a friendly town. Jordan had a package waiting at the post office - a new Brooks leather saddle. I waited while he put the new saddle on, and shipped his old one back home. The Brooks was hard as a rock; good luck with that, Jordan.

I had originally planned to camp in the city park in Odell, but now I felt stronger, so I rode on to Cornell, where Jordan stopped for the day at the "Manville Nazarene Campground and Retreat", and I pushed on towards Wenona.

It was 20+ miles to Wenona, and I was out of water for the last ten. I got to the Super 8 about 7:30, checked in, got dinner at the Pizza Hut next door, and went to bed fairly early.

A pretty satisfying day of riding.

Seconds after we arrived in Kempton, I found the pop machine I'd been seeking all day, and quickly sucked down these sodas, as Jordan looked on, appalled. About a minute after this picture was taken, I drank a root beer.

Kid in Kempton who later attempted to race us on his surprisingly fast bike

Jordan putting on his new saddle, outside the Odell post office

Today's ride: 102 miles (164 km)
Total: 3,557 miles (5,724 km)

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