Another chilly morning greeted us as we rolled out of Farmington's outskirts at 7am. I started out tagging behind Keith, a very strong rider. There were lots and lots of rolling hills, and some of them were very steep. At the first stop we had passed just about everyone. Gerald was riding with Kimberly so he was behind us.
Right before we descended into the Mississippi flood plain, we picked up Steve. We stopped for pictures with our bicycles on the bridge as we dodged semis. Steve added to the flow of the river.
We stopped at the second stop at the end of the bridge, and saw a six-foot bronze Popeye the Sailor Man. The creator of this cartoon character was from this town of Chester, IL. We picked up Brian and Alex at this stop, and went by Chester's attractions - jail, mental hospital, courthouse, and saloon. We continued to stomp up and down hills, and really got the pace moving in downhills and flat sections. We pulled into the lunch break at mile 70 a little after 11am. Lon and Wes pulled out before us, as they were marking the road because there were lots of turns.
We had tuna fish sandwiches, Jalapeno potato chips, and rice for lunch. We scooted out of there before sneaky Gerald could eat his signature two-minute lunch and pass us. We passed Lon on the road and then picked up Wes. We continued to hammer up and down hills into the next rest stop, atop a big hill in a scenic overlook park. More junk food - Twizzlers, M&M's Rice Krispy treats, Paydays, pretzels, etc.
We start stomping away again, this time with Wes. Dogs are chasing us left and right. We saw an outdoor sawmill in a field. They had a six-foot high saw blade. Looks like it was run by some sort of Amish type people - I think there some kinds that can use machinery. About ten miles from the end, Wes popped into his 56 tooth front chainring and took off with Brian in tow. Keith, Alex, and I held back to finish in one piece. Average on the bike speed was 19.8mph.
We finished a little before 3pm as the first bunch. Dinner was at great home cooking at Dolly's down the road. I had some pancakes, a ham and cheese omelet, toast, seasoned fries, and a slice of strawberry-rhubarb pizza with ice cream. The waitress was shocked at all the food we ate - seems to be a running theme of this ride.
Into Kentucky tomorrow.
