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From the edge of Illinois to halfway across Indiana! We will be in Ohio in two more rides.
From the pictures I took it's clear that there wasn't a lot of new scenery on our last ride. The farms were more picturesque, however. The land undulated a bit more and some of the roads were more windy (w-eye-nd, not win-d)
I'd geared myself up for a long hot slog. 96 miles in the 4th day of heat-wave riding. I think the support team finally figured out the logistics of providing water and accommodating those who did not want to ride the entire distance. I, myself, started the day with an extra bottle in my back pocket. It came in handy between the 60- and 80- mile mark!
I rode with Elizabeth for the first segment, then she decided to rest in order to be ready for a visit with her daughter and grandson. I rode on alone, but between two groups not far ahead or behind. At mile 60 or so, I ended up riding with Judie again. That was a good place for company. Straight, flat, hot, and busy with trucks!
When we got to royal center at about mile 78, I chose to take a turn that actually took me into the town. Our route skirted the town, with more lovely corn and soy as scenery, and Judie chose that route- with a stop at the van for lunch. I could feel myself relaxing as i anticipated sitting in a building for a restful lunch before heading out to the brutal last 20 miles.
I asked a young lady with 2 kids out for a walk where in town I could find a cafe. She said it was closed, bit that the bob-o-link was just at the end of the street we were on. Yay!
I had a cheeseburger and a rootbeer float....and sat at a table. Aaahhh! At the booth next to me were two young men. They were farmers, mostly complaining happily to each other about the annoying decisions of their fathers. One very interesting thing: something was going to perish in the heat (I didn't catch whether it was a cow, hog, or some # of acres of a crop). The young farmer "oh well, it only cost me about five hundred bucks!"
Meanwhile, the female counterparts (age-wise - i don't believe these young ladies were connected to the guys in any way) were outside with a totally different conversation, "how much to start a savings account? $25? Ooohh..."
Really different economics between these two groups who probably just graduated high school together.
The final part of the day... Just as I got done eating, and was putting on my gear outside, a big black cloud appeared overhead and the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees. The young lady said, "I hope it doesn't rain on you!". I said, "I hope is does, it's hot!"
Oh my goodness, the last 20 miles were lovely! All of us who rode the whole day were smiling, happy, and nodding knowingly at each other about how great it felt to feel the breeze, the cool, the plopping of raindrops, and the sweet smell of moisture in the air as we cruised through a lovely mile 78-96!!
Strangely, the cloud disappeared soon after the last rider got in. The rest of the evening was kind of hot again. A sweet treat from mother nature!
During our rest day in logansport, I cleaned my bike, I'm having lunch with karinas childhood family friends, and may end up hanging out with a plant genetics colleague in the afternoon. We have two long rides (71 and 83 miles) to get us out of the heartland, and then 5 rides under 70 miles as we enjoy Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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