Day 19 June 13, 2009

Woke up at 5a.m. and biked to Marion and met Brian there. Biked 40 miles by 9a.m. averaging just under 20 miles an hour. Trip to be continued at earliest convenience.

Day 18 June 12, 2009

Left the fire station early and we were able to make good time because the mountains and hills had flattened out into the Midwestern terrain. We stopped for lunch at a church which had a basement dedicated to bikers. They gave us sack lunches to take with us. We crossed the Ohio river into Illinois by about four in the afternoon. We forgot to find a place ahead of time to stay, so we biked to the nearest town which was Shawneetown. They happened to be having their town fair this weekend and the local fire station was having a BBQ. We were able to camp in the parking lot behind the Baptist church which was easy walking distance to the fair and library. We are being picked up tomorrow by Brian (Sam and Jay's Dad) to drop our bikes off in Carbondale and then drive to Chicago to visit our Grandfather and to get Ben some medical attention for a rash he has aquired.

Day 17 June 11, 2009

We stayed for breakfast at the gas station. We each consumed four sausage biscuits with homemade jam. Then Lucy came over to the store and cooked us eggs and toast. We were reluctant to go but we left around nine because we would gain an hour crossing over into the central time zone. We biked to the Utica volunteer fire station where we had the place to ourselves. We enjoyed a small dinner then settled down in front of their television to watch game 1 of the NBA finals. Days mileage = 70

Day 16 June 10, 2009

We got up thirty minutes before sunrise so we could be on the road at sunlight. By lunch we had done 55 miles so we rewarded ourselves by going to a restaurant then going and taking a nap at the library. After lunch we biked for another twenty miles and took another break. At the end of this break three bikers pulled up behind us and introduced themselves as transam bikers. We biked with them for another twenty miles until we reached Double LL gas station which we all stopped to enjoy a popsicle. We stayed the night at Double LL which was one of the best decisions of the trip. Arnie the owner of Double LL offered us a shower and laundry which we could not turn down. Then his wife Lucy asked if we would eat dinner with them! We had pot roast and green beans and bread and home grown veggies. After dinner Arnie took us in his jeep to show us the farms and crops that we were so ignorant about. (We couldn't identify corn before this trip) We slept on the porch of the store. There was a massive rain storm that knocked the power out of the street lights several times. Total mileage of the day, 93!

Day 15 June 9, 2009

Woke up and biked out of Berea. Not a very eventful day. We are closing in on the end of the mountains. Stopped and got a cold drink from Ronnie who owns a small restaurant at the top of one of our hills. We camped at the Lincoln Homestead state park. After pulling in we saw three bikers loaded down with panniers rolling past and invited them to camp with us for the night. They were three college graduates that had met each other on a biking advertisement one of them had put out and decided to do this trip. At about nine o'clock a man on a recumbent bike came to our campsite. Mileage = 72 miles.

Day 14 June 8, 2009

We woke up at the crack of dawn and set out towards Berea. It was a hilly day and not very attractive scenery. We got to Berea by lunchtime and found a delicious Italian restaurant called Papa Leno's. We tossed our sleeping bags in the small garden behind a church on the Berea college campus. After dinner (again at Papa Leno's) we decided to check out the college library where we preceded to entertain ourselves until closing time. The days mileage= 55.5.

Day 13 June 7, 2009

After eating a very nice breakfast at the hotel we (3 normal bikers + Brian) biked until lunch at which point Brian and Amy left to head back to Brentwood. We took a very long lunch break and pulled into the Presbyterian church around 6 p.m. There we met up with the Brits who were very talkative and friendly as always. We slept in the parking lot behind the building to avoid the dew. Total mileage 50.5.