Today was another short day. The last couple of days were also shorties. One was short because of weather but the others were short because of no resources. This means they have no camping facilities, hotels or churches to stay in. There is a point when we could go 20 or 30 miles further but the stops are logical and are meant to set us up for the following day’s ride where there will be the resources we need. Since we are running into so much rain we have now made a conscious decision to stay someplace where there is a roof over our head to stay dry. None of us want to camp in the rain except for Bill.
Today was another stop at a Church. It was a short 40 miles and Sue wanted to go further. Greg and I were logical in that we could both push on further into Illinois but there was no point because the ending location the following day was still the same. Bill was at a point of exhaustion and could go no further. The decision was made to stay in Marion. Which is good because we did encounter five step hills and a number of smaller ones during the day. Sue, the energizer bunny, decided to unload her bike at the church and ride to and from Illinois for the extra mileage.
This church was smaller than the one in Sebree and less room for cyclists. For the past couple of days we have been staying in dry counties and dry towns. This was a wet one. I really could use a cold beer.
Today’s stats: total mileage 43.32, average speed 11.8 mph, elevation gain 2339 feet, elevation descent 2215 feet, max speed 36.1 mph.