Wenona, Ilinois

-
A light began to emerge in the leafy distance of the corn rows yesterday morning. We left Wenona and did about 20 miles of the usual farm lanes before crossing the Illinois River and stopping in at Henry, a small town of a few thousand people. The grocery store was small, but our first in close to a week. We took a break in the central park which had a large missile as commemorative military memorial.

It was here we began to depart the squares of tedium. The terrain shifted and there were even small hills! The roads had bends, curves, wandered and wavered instead of running razor straight down the grid. A delight! A revelation! There were a few small farms sprinkled among the mega-crops and we saw goats and cows as well as dogs who wanted to chase us. Traffic was quiet, temperatures cool, and fleecy white clouds kept us company.

I gladly welcomed the changes in scenery. If variety is the spice of life, the last few days were a bland dish. The wind was still against us and when I took a turn at the front I consciously looked away from my cycling computer and our speed. Spirits stay higher when you remain ignorant of your reduced pace in numbers. In my head I kept repeating "All things are temporary. All things are temporary." I felt tired in the afternoon and campgrounds were in the far distance so we splurged at a Motel 6. Interior living has been extremely luxurious.

Sadly, I seemed to have lost my trusty aluminum spork yesterday so we have taken turns eating our last two meals.

Wenona to Kewanee: 62 miles

Goodbye fabulous Wenona

A curve!

Comments

  1. the Old GuyJuly 27, 2018 at 9:59 AM

    Although it may not seem like it to you, it seems like you are flying to me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BenJuly 28, 2018 at 12:15 PM

      Totally flying!! Look at all those miles.

      Delete
  2. CheriJuly 27, 2018 at 8:04 PM

    First a Motel 6, then really be wild - purchase a second fork, and maybe even a spoon!

    Ride safely.

    Cheri

    ReplyDelete
  3. Debbi StevensonJuly 28, 2018 at 2:05 AM

    I agree with Chéri, buy a 2nd spork. We broke one when camping so having to eat using a spork with no handle or share was a real pain. I said some hills would be good 🌝 whats your total mileage? Going to Fordingbridge today! Xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. BenJuly 28, 2018 at 12:15 PM

    Youre near my moms hometown of Colchester IL, town of 1000 people. Nearby are the dickson mounds, Indian burial site. Very cool to check out if you pass by.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Variable Weather

-
Image
Yesterday we officially entered the British part of the trip. The weather was overcast and cold (52 deg F/11 deg C). I'm pretty sure London was actually warmer. Due to the dismal weather we weren't inclined to take a break until about 24 miles in when we reached the town of Lindsay. This was the only town of the day with any kind of business though we were well stocked with snacks and lunch. We huddled together under the overhang of the roof as it began to rain. The rain eased up before too long and we continued on our way. Later we took a break just standing at the side of the road and I took the chance to wish Happy Birthday! to my younger brother. The scenery was much the same as previous days: gentle hills, grasslands, lots of hay bales waiting to be collected, and the occasional herd of cows meandering around. A group of pronghorns scampered away as we rode past, flashing their white tails towards us. Did you know that pronghorns are not antelope nor deer, and that their...
Read more

Gentle Undulations

-
Image
"Gentle Undulations" sounds like a band from the 80s. It's also the best way to describe the terrain of southern Virginia. Our ride this morning took us past wheat fields in various stages of growth under a blue sky peppered with fat white clouds. We had no rain today, which was a nice change. We mostly rode on quiet rural roads with tortoises and snakes also making their way across the thoroughfare. We went past places with names lifted from my home country, places like Stonehenge, Isle of Wight, and Scotland. However - given that we went past all these places in the span of a few hours - the settlers decided not to copy the original geography. Around noon we took a 20-minute ferry ride across the James River to Jamestown. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America and, boy, do people seem to like to visit it. Despite it being a fairly random Wednesday in May the visitors' center had a lot of cars parked outside it and people were making their ...
Read more

Hitchhikers

-
Image
Memorial Day (a public holiday in the US for the non-Americans reading) was a rest day for us and we spent it in Washington DC. We took a train into the city from Springfield, anticipating bigly huge crowds. We had to steel ourselves for the masses, we have not spent much time in busy areas lately. Perhaps the overcast weather kept people away but it wasn't particularly crowded. We observed various military groups and high school bands setting up for the afternoon's parade. We didn't stick around to see the parade start and instead went to some museums. We visited the National Air and Space museum and the National Museum of the American Indian, both were great. Later, we trekked back to Springfield. Last night's accommodation was 5 miles off the route so this morning we set out to rejoin the main route again. For the uninitiated: we're following a route and using maps put together by an organization called Adventure Cycling. It means that we don't have to do n...
Read more