ODELL, IL
DAY 24 JUNE 20 63 MILES
The best rides are the ones where you bite off much more than you can chew and live through it. Doug Bradbury
After the previous few days, 63 miles seemed like an easy ride in the park. Everyone started out later today; partly due to the shorter distance but mainly because the only restaurant in town did not open until 7 am. I felt bad for the lone waitress as 24 extra customers totally overwhelmed her tables and had her jumping. The flip side was that she received considerably more than her usual number of tips this morning.
The good weather lasted all day today. A slight westerly wind made pedaling slightly more difficult but it was not a problem. Actually, as soon as you start to ride, you create a headwind and the faster you go, the wind increases against you. You learn to live with the wind.
While the recent rains have been welcomed by most of the farmers, we passed one who thought there was too much rain. He was draining some puddles from his land to prepare for a tractor pull competition tomorrow. We wished that we could have stayed to witness the event but, of course, the next town was calling.
Another interesting occurrence on today's route was an unbelievably large array of electricity generating windmills. When we approached them, you could hear an eerie whirring sound unlike any other. And only by standing close to them could you appreciate their tremendous size. Stretching across the landscape as far as one could see, there had to be several hundred of them.
Very few of the roads we traverse have names. They are generally spaced 1 mile apart and each is identified with a number, usually in the hundreds. Therefore 1100 and 1300 would be two miles apart and would be located in the same county. The house numbers fall in the order of the particular block. 1125 would be one-quarter mile from 1100 street. They are laid out east/west and north/south. It is very rare for a road to be laid out on the diagonal.
In some cases, a road is not paved which requires our riding an extra mile or two out of our way to utilize a better road. Navigation is quite easy but a straight line between two communities would save us many miles.
We are in another city park tonight. This one has a large public swimming pool which we quickly utilized shortly after arriving. I had hoped for a hotel but the closest one is more than 9 miles away. Tomorrow is another "short" day so I will hope for a hotel in Henry.
Tip: Everyone owns a bicycle but few take full advantage of them. Riding burns calories and reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It improves your memory and brain power and creates a deeper and more recharging sleep. It is gentle on the joints and maybe, most of all, riding is fun.
