Data: 107 miles 16.4 mph avg
Nice Saturday bike ride today. It was into a head wind much of the way, but we had four of us in a paceline to help minimize the wind's effects. The terrain was mostly flat, but we had a few spots that reminded us of Missouri. The miles and miles of corn fields weren't "showing off" yet, as the plants are still only about 6 inches to a foot tall.
Our group of four decided not to have the breakfast at mile 14. We had already eaten at the motel, but they offered a full breakfast at a place in Liberty, 14 miles from the start. Since we kept right on going, it meant we were ahead of the support vans for the breaks and lunch, so we had to stop ourselves for more water and food. But it also meant that we were ahead of the worst of the afternoon headwinds, so we think we made a good decision.
Here's Jerry, who found a new way to fill his water bottle.
Two big events for me today were 1) going over the Illinois River, and 2) riding past the Nestle factory in Jacksonville where they make Coffeemate.
We crossed the Illinois River at a town called Meredosia. Someday I hope to be cruising down this very spot on the Illinois River when I do the Great Loop.
We stopped midway across the bridge for this shot of where I will cruise by in a few years. That's a huge starch factory on the east bank looking downstream.
Once we crossed into Meredosia, I thought this artwork on the wall was pretty cool. It says Meredosia Historic Skinner Family Tribute.
Barbara Munk, our tour "mom", said she'd driven past this Nestle plant many times, but never noticed it until this year because I keep talking about Nestle all the time, and of course I wear my Nestle jersey every few days.
Our route took us in front of the state Capitol, but the motel was another 5 miles headed out of town. So, we got this photo, but didn't really get to tour it or the Lincoln Museum. The other two in the photo are Dave and Geoff; Jerry is taking the photo.
We beat the luggage van to the motel by about two hours, so we had milkshakes at Steak and Shake across the street, and then brought Quizno subs back to the motel to eat, just as Jerry's son and daughter-in-law arrived from Wisconsin -- with a very special treat! After looking at Jerry's Leinenkugel Beer jersey all day long, we got to sample the real thing. They had brought a couple cases from Wisconsin.
Late this afternoon I did laundry, but had to carry it to a laundramat down the street. Actually, it gave me a chance to make lots of phone calls to family. For the second dinner, we went back to Steak and Shake. I may become addicted to milk shakes.
Happy Mother's Day to all you moms tomorrow.
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