RideTheLightning

Illinois and the First Homecoming

Adian's got new ride!

Well, we did it (of sorts)!  We touched-down here in beautiful Glen Ellyn, IL late-ish Wednessday Evening, after a heafty 100 and some odd mile push (exteneded at the end by a bit of detouring and route finding errors) from the town of Lena, IL.   After leaving leaving the library and the previous blog post, we managed to get sucked into the park in Galena.  We spent the entire day longing around and convincing ourselves that we didnt need to ride anywhere.  Hey, we were way ahead of schedule.  We picked out a fantastic route for the next few days, agreeing that we would follow various sections of the Grand Illinois Trail that circumnavigated the state, in an effort to extend our ride and not overstay our welcome in Glen Ellyn.  Welp, that lasted for about half of the first day, and then BJ and I quickly decided that we should just go straight east instead of northerly.  That decision also quickly suaded us to aim for 2 big days of riding, rather than the 3 that we had planned on ( and 160 miles of riding).  The sustained 15mph due westerly wind that first day was heckish, and allowed us to ride only 55 miles, getting us to Lena, IL.  Being only 1 day out, we felt like we had made it, so we treated ourselves to some delicious pizza and beer in town.  We then crusied over to the park, watched the end of a 10-12 year old softball game (in an effort to keep ourselves awake and wait for the folks to clear out of the park so we could go to bed). 

We awoke to a calm day, and pinned it - 65 miles to Dekalb before lunch.  The lack of wind was amazing, and we were happy.  From Dekalb we were set to hop on some established bike paths, hoping to stay off the roads.  In true form, that plan failed quickly as we decided we’d just ride due east instead of spending the extra 5 minutes to find the bike path.  And a bad idea it was.  We ended up on an extremely busy, shoulderless Route 38.  We managed to duck off this and found some good old country roads that lead us into St. Charles.  From there, we hit the Praire Path into Glen Ellyn, getting in a causal 3 hours after BJ had told the family we’d be there.  No matter, they were excited, and we were excited.

And now it’s been an insanely causal hang out, enjoying the perks of good coffee, soft couches, fluffy pillows, and the best of the best of hospitality.  We’ve also gotten back into the swing of culture, enjoying museums and music downtown.  The bikes got a full cleaning and are a shiny chrome again, and we’ve been loving the rounds of tennis ball golf and hangin at the pool.  And we did some hair cutting / shaving…..

 Tomorrow we start work.  Many many thanks go out to Flock Kinsey for the unbelievably hospitality, from delicious food to the surrendering of beds for us, all around, its been fantastic. We couldnt have asked for  anything more.  More action to come from the shores of lake Michigan and the Dew Tour.

Nothern Nebraska: Off-Guard but Outta There

Greetings, from South Soiux City, Nebraska.  We’re holding on to Nebraska and fighting off Iowa for as long as we possibly can - not crossing the Missouri River until we get a quick blog post up.  Apologies up front for the delay in action on the site, and for the lousiness of this post - turns out the brand new library here in South Soiux City only allows 30 minutes online and lacks any USB connections - no photos.  Sorry.

Regardless, the action has been ongoing since our last post.  We left the dreary rain, expecting to have a flat, cornfield-ed, sunny ride thru Nebraska. That was wrong, turns out.  Northern Nebraska (following highway 20) is actually quite a hilly little place.  Highway 20 is the “Bridges to Buttes” scenic byway, and is truly lovely.  It started out with rolling hills, topping plateaus with expansive valley views below.  Then we entered the frustrating sand hills region - windy, endless, hilly.  Each corner leaves you thinking that it’s the last, and that the landscape will open up into the expected Nebraska scenery: fields.  But it didnt.  It was just another quick downhill then uphill with the questionable bend at the top.  And the miles wore on. 

The weather was also uncooperative and totally unexpected - rainy and hovering in the low 50’s for a solid week now.  It was frustrating, tiresome, and forced us to get creative.  We spent alot of time in gas stations trying to warm up by drinking brown water (Nebraska coffee is pretty weak).   We did get some rather nice sleeping arrangments, as the farming communities here in Nebraska pride themselves on their public parks.  And so much pride, in fact, that they sometimes have well-concealed sprinkler systems (so well concealed that I managed to set my tent up no more than 2 feet from a powerful little bugger, and was awoken at 2am to the sound of a jet engine and water spraying me in the face).  Still, we love the free grassy spots to camp.

We battled some fearsome sidewinds, and headwinds, and finally, yesterday, we found our long awaited tailwind.  We took the opportunity to crank out 102 miles, and did so in flying colors.  Exhausted and unmotivated to cook, we were treated to a dinner in Lyle’s Bar in Newcastle, NE, thanks to the loving generousity of my parents.  Thanks Mom and Pops, from all of us Lightningers.

We’re told Iowa is a land of long rolling hills as well. No big deal, this time we’ll be prepared. With only about 450 miles till Chicago and a cushy 11 days to meet our deadline, we’re feeling pretty good. Hopefully summer cooperates and we get a little –not too much– sunshine in the next two weeks. We’ll try for another stop soon for pictures and more bloggage. Till then, we’ll be out pedaling on the thin shoulders of Highway 20. Adios.