Day Seventy Seven

Monday, June 6, 2011
Distance: 20 Miles

Today I visited Cahokia in the American Bottom. It was great. I fell in love with UNESCO World Heritage sites after seeing Tikal in Guatemala when I visited my cousin in 2009. They are mind-blowing and amazing treasures. There are only a handful in the US, and (Cah-Hoe-Key-Ah) was right on my path. Some photos:


The main pyramid, Monk's Mound, in profile. Those small vertical hashes in the right third on top are people:











St. Louis in the distance (following two photos):






Monk's Mound Terrace

Monk's Mound Top

I ended the trip to Cahokia, and tried to pedal into St. Louis and over the Mississippi River. I got on the highway and was on the approach to the bridge when it became apparent that I was going to be eighteen inches from traffic and a Jersey barrier from a fall into the drink. I backed off, hoped sides of the highway, and took the light rail into downtown. I pedaled through a beautiful path of parks, fountains, and grand architecture. I pulled in for the night at a motel next to the FBI field office.

Day Seventy Six

Sunday, June 5, 2011
Distance: 33.3 Miles

Today was going great. The sun was at bay, shielded by overcast skies. I was trucking along after my first stop and I got a nail stuck in my rear tire. I pulled off onto Old US 50 and started walking the 25 Miles to the day's end. Several miles in I got a generous offer of a ride. I dropped the bike into the pick-up's bed and jumped in. I am kicking myself because I have forgotten the gentleman's name who picked me up. He was kind, and helpful. He had been busing unsightly trash he had collected from the road and an abandoned lot to a dumpster. He drove me all the way to the bike shop. He was being generous to a needy fellow and I deeply appreciated it.

I got the tire and tube replaced, the brakes and handlebars tightened, and the gears oiled. I was warned that the bike is what I paid for it - the bike was already showing wear in the steering column and wheel shape. I left cognizant of the bike's future failure and current weaknesses.

I stayed in a Candlewood Suites, my favorite motel, and saw "X-Men: First Class". I thought most parts were great, but I found some things (Beast's character design, the appearance repression therapy backfire, the religious ret-con) to be mistakes and distracting. The prices here are much better than back home. I only remember prices this low when I was in elementary school. It's comfortable on the road to plug back in to the common, group experience of film, story, and pop culture.

Day Seventy Five

Saturday, June 4, 2011
Distance: 22.2 Miles

Today was the hottest day yet, 97°F. I had to end early. I pulled in slowly and exhausted in Carlyle at a US Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir and Recreation Area. Photosynth:
http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=18ca1b11-de9a-49b7-b082-1c1b01c3ae0f


I was only out a few hours but I was exhausted. I showered, rehydrated, rested, ate.

Day Seventy Four

Friday, June 3, 2011
Distance: 49.6 Miles

Today was quite hot. I rolled through lonely, rural towns. I gently flicked a sunning turtle off the highway. A good deed. In other fauna news, there is an invasive insect in Ohio and Indiana that Illinois has set traps to monitor, the Emerald Ash Borer It's in the wood; trafficking in firewood spreads it. A regular day; it ended in Salem, Illinois.

Day Seventy Three

Thursday, June 2, 2011
Distance: 53 Miles

I crossed into Illinois today at Vincennes.



The Lincoln Trail:


I have entered Central Time. I ate a late lunch at a restaurant set in Red Hills Woods State Park overlooking a lake. Another day of long, gentle rises and plateaus. I ended the day in Olney, Illinois.

Day Seventy Two

Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Distance: 47 Miles

Very hilly day. I found southwest and pushed forward. I found myself in pretty country with good looking, well-maintained homes, lawns, and gardens. I entered the Hoosier National Forest and passed by Crane Naval Base. Water levels are very high, a motif of my trip so far:


I could hear significant artillery fire from at least a dozen miles away. I continued on into the day, up and down slowly building rolls and hills through southern Indiana. I finished in Washington, played mini-golf, did my laundry, and ate Chinese buffet.

Day Seventy One

Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Distance: 39.5 Miles

I left Seymour, Indiana and headed for Bedford, Indiana. I left through a dense commercial, strip mall veneer stretch of town. I continued along easy light rural homes And found a wetland lowland. It was very long very straight and engorged from heavy rains. I exited up small hills and finished in the county seat. I seem to be hopping from county courthouse to county courthouse, Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart. This was sitting outside On the lawn of one town center.