I was feeling much more chipper. What a difference a day can make (along with a good night’s rest). Even though I was passing through what seemed like the same mile of cornfields again and again, I was feeling upbeat despite the incessantly boring surroundings. To give you an idea how starved I was for stimulation, when I spotted the “hill” in the picture above I slammed on my brakes and stared at it in awe. An actual terrain feature – wowzers! For all I know it was a manmade mound that was part of a toxic landfill or something, but it provided enough excitement to get me through the day.
I stopped in the small town of Brook for lunch. Half of Main Street was boarded up, so it was livelier than many others I had been through. I made it into Earl’s just before they stopped serving lunch at 1:00. After a good BBQ burger and fries, I popped over to the hardware store for bug spray and some electrical tape to fix the broken visor on my helmet. In case you were not aware, it’s a good idea to not drop your helmet on the sidewalk every chance you get.
I crossed the border into Illinois and cruised into the tiny town of Iroquois, population 207. My ACA map said you could camp at the city park, and boy did they have an impressive park for such a small town. As I was sorting out who I needed to contact for permission to stay there, Carla arrived after seeing me roll into town and jauntily opened the maintenance building. Inside was a cot, an air conditioner, a min-fridge stocked with cold spring water, and best of all a shower. I was hoping for a flat spot of grass to set my tent up on, so this was way beyond awesome. This was one night that I wouldn’t need that bug spray!
After getting settled in and showered, I headed across the street to the Iroquois Cafe for dinner. The chicken sandwich left a lot to be desired, but the fries were good. I also had the pleasure of talking with Gordy. He was almost 70 and had come straight to the bar from kayaking with his friend (whom he claimed tried to drown him). Gordy had bright eyes and a cherubic complexion under his thin white beard. He was eager to tell me as many of his stories as he could, all of which began with “Back in nineteen-sixty ____...” Apparently, nothing interesting happened to him after 1970. Gordy had been in a motorcycle “club,” worked in the building trades, and knew a whole host of interesting characters in his younger days. Whenever he’d start in on a new story, his wife sitting next to him would roll her eyes, having heard them all before. I imagine it has to be a big thrill in a town that small to have someone new around who has never heard your stories ten times before.
What I Learned: Never have a beer with lunch! I did today and all I wanted to do for the rest of the ride was pull over and take a nap.
Distance Today: 28 miles
Total Distance: 1,213
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