Day 35 / Saturday, July 11th / Springfield, IL to Champaigne, IL / 97 miles





The skies were gray as we departed Springfield, the home of Abraham Lincoln, at 7:00 am after a good breakfast at the Bob Evans Restaurant. Today was more country roads and corn fields.




As one person put it in the group " we've seen a lot of cornogrophy" the past few days. We rode at a moderate pace today just enjoying each others company.



Mary from NY, who had a bout with food poisoning several days ago, was feeling much better. I had to sprint ahead to capture this photo on the left. Mary is being the workhorse here pulling everyone on some wet roads from the mist in the air. Our pack of about 8 riders stayed together to the first sag at about 32 miles.









On the left is a picture of a nice home in the country. What caught my eye was the beautiful white picket fence outlining the property. My wife, Donna, loves white picket fences, however; I don't think she wants to move back to Illinois. Her blood has gotten rather thin living in Florida for over 30 years.








Today Zero, one of the riders in our group, was welcomed by a host of family and friends. He is from Chicago which made it easy for them to come. Zero normally is one of the first several riders in, however; he along with many other riders got lost on some unmarked roads. He came in about an hour later than his predicted time. I felt like I was on the Tour de France as I came in amongst the roar of people cheering and clapping. After cleaning my bike and showering I glanced out my window to the awesome sight of Zero rounding the corner into the hotel and being greeted with a special celebration poring a special Korean liquid over his head. What a great moment seeing everyone celebrating a special occasion of a determined, competitive, devoted man dedicated to raising funds towards his project for a Korean memorial in Chicago.

Many riders are riding for charities. If anyone is interested in supporting any of these charities let me know and I will give you more information.

In closing: Who is the Jack commenting on my blog. We have two Jacks on the ride and it was neither of them. I am wondering if it could be my good friend Jack Styles?