2011-06-03 Streator to Watseka, IL 86 miles

Last night as we were starting dinner, Kathy Kerby, a Southern Tier rider last year, rolled in with her bike in the car!  She drove down from Chicago to join us for dinner and a ride with us in the morning.  It was so much fun to see her again!  Mary, Coop, Sue and I were all there to greet her.  She even brought two cheesecakes, a chocolate and a carrot cake from Ely's where she works.  What a treat for everyone!

We were able to ride with her for 22 miles, and we had to say our good byes.  Kirby rode back to her car at the hotel, and headed out for her cabin in Lake Gage, IL.

Meanwhile, Mary and I rode off to conquer the next 64 miles...it was very flat, straight, hot (90+ degrees), and windy - headwinds, of course.  We did make quite a few turns to make the winds blow from the side, but inevitably in a few blocks we were back to the head winds!

We saw hundreds of wind turbines on both sides of us as we rode...miles and miles of them!  Obviously winds out here in Illinois farm country are not uncommon.  I suppose it was good that it wasn't raining, right?

We tried really hard to ride the entire route, but the combination of the heat and wind became a bit much.  There is something psychological about riding straight and flat for so long...

Mary suggested we stop and ride the van in, and to be honest, it did not take much convincing!  By the end of the day, there were only three riders who did the entire 86 miles: Donna, Hille, and Ramsey.  We all applauded them at dinner time!

Tomorrow we are headed for Logansport, Indianna (96 miles).  More flat, straight, remote roads, with a 60% possibility of thunderstorms by noon.  This ride is definitely a challenge, but it is still a lot of fun!