Day 26

                                                                     Day 26
                                                       Marysville, OH to Wooster, OH
                                                        105 Miles, Avg speed 17.6

     It must have been fate that after suffering through 5 days of headwinds, rain, and cold temps that today we'd be treated to warmer weather, a slight but noticeable tailwind, and dry weather.  Everyone was in good spirits as we glimpsed the first signs of the yellow orb in the eastern skies.  We did have some rollers, but they were a milder version of what we'd encountered in Missouri.  The time flew and I got to the hotel at 2:15, and that was after visiting a malt shop and a bike shop.  I wasn't sure of what to do with myself, so I went back to the malt shop for an ice cream cone.  Most of our hotels have been at the outskirts of town, but this was an anomaly as we were actually within walking distance of restaurants that were of the non-chain variety.  A bunch of us went to the Old Joule House which was in an old converted jail in town.  A good time was had by all.  (Sorry for the short post but the original much longer post got inadvertently deleted and I don't have the energy to recreate it.)


 -Grinner

Hint of early morning sunshine

Big Chris, Shelly, Me, Lee, and UK Steve

How far we've come

Day 25

                                                                             Day 25
                                                            Richmond, IN to Marysville, OH
                                                            105 miles, Avg speed 15.9 MPH

     Yesterday I was hoping that today we'd have warmer weather, clear skies, and tailwinds.  Instead we got 50 degree temps, rain, and headwinds.  Therefore, tomorrow I'm hoping for subzero temps, snow, and headwinds of gale force intensity.  We'll see what happens.
      It was overcast and raining by time I got up this morning.  Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, I put on warmer gear and this time my raincoat.  There was the potential that it would clear later in the day, but this never happened, at least until we'd checked into our hotel.   It was a wet, soggy day.  Nobody got lost.  Nobody got injured.  Nobody shot anyone, although there clearly were temptations.  The biggest issue was my legs.  They were "dead," still recovering from yesterday's adventure.  "Dead legs," or more precisely "Crural Mortis," as we were taught in medical school, describes the state of one's lower extremities when they don't respond in the manner that the central nervous system directs them too.  The CNS says, "Legs, climb that hill".   The legs say, "No, I wont!"  This is how it went all day.  Have you ever gone to a stable to go ride a horse, and the trainer brings the horse out, but the moment you try to get on, the horse bolts for the stable?  Well, that's how my legs behaved today.  Badly.
     I was involved in multiple pacelines all day, at least until the second and final SAG at mile 75.  The point of this is that everyone takes their turn at the front to bare their share of the load.  One member of our group chose not to do this.  (He shall go nameless because I've learned that some people on this trip are reading this blog and revealing his name could result in my facial disfigurement.)   Everytime it seemed that his turn was about to come up, he would somehow end up at the back of the line.  After awhile, I asked him if he was planning on taking a pull?  Response...."No."  Are you planning on sucking wheels all day?  "Yup."  It was just that simple.  Well, I will give him credit for his honesty. 
     We got in relatively early to the hotel, 3PM, which allowed me to spend more time luxuriating in the recovery portion of the day.  This consisted of shower, stretching, recovery drink, laundry, and ordering a new pair of legs from Amazon.  This sopped up about two hours.  Then it was time for our RAP session where we discussed the general plan for the final day of our ride.  It was pointed out that there were going to be two final brief stops at the end of the ride, so we could all gather prior to departing en mass to the Atlantic Ocean for our wheel dipping ceremony.  The upshot of this is that the riders that tend to finish first on any given day, like the 'kiwis', and little Chris from San Diego, would have to wait for the rest of us.  Thus, there was no point in hammering it on that final day.  This would be akin to taking laps around the Champs Elysee on the final day of the tour, except there likely would not be any champagne as that would be against the rules. 
     Little Chris, (as to distinguish him from big Chris), who I've included a picture of, is somewhat of a mystery man on this ride.  Very little is known about him.  What is known is that in spite of being an exceptional rider on this trip, he is apparently a "B" rider in his group back home.  (I'd hate to see what the "A" riders are like.)  He practically always rides by himself, does not like to draft behind anyone, eats dinner in his room by himself, and is wanted in 23 states for a combination of unpaid parking tickets and trashing hotel rooms.  I've also included a picture of the Kiwis, Jason and Patrick, or is it Patrick and Jason?  I've alluded to them in past posts.  They are brothers from New Zealand who always ride together.  They are very affable guys and very strong cyclists.  To add to their workout, they carry on their backs, 2 Liter Camelbaks, filled likely with concentrated Kiwi juice and vodka.  This may explain why they are in very good spirits all the time.
     At dinner, at "Big Boy,"  I learned that Craig, the strongest rider in the group, possibly emboldened by the renegade group that yesterday bushwacked their own path to Richmond, has announced that from now on he's going to find his own routes to our hotels, and won't be riding with the group anymore.  My first thought on hearing this was, "Is it something I said?"  Craig will still be staying at our hotels and using the van to transport luggage but will be passing on the SAG stops, mechanical support, and clever banter that only we can provide.  As for me, I can assure all of you that I won't be doing this.  Look, I have hard enough time changing a tire, so the thought of hitting the road solo has no appeal whatsoever.  In fact, hitting the road is something I have no intention of doing.  It's going to be rubber side down, all the way to the Atlantic for me, baby.  Hopefully.   

-Grinner

Has anybody seen Wavy Gravy?

Jim, making surgical adjustments to my Calfee's rear deraileur

Little Chris, wanted in 23 states

No, I didn't ride into the ditch

The Kiwis, looking toasted

Day 24

                                                                    Day 24
                                                    Lebanon, IN to Richmond, IN
                                                       107 miles, AVG 16.0 MPH

     We lost an hour yesterday, moving to the Eastern Time Zone at the Indiana border and subsequently, when the alarm went off at 5:30, I felt as if it were 4:30.  I had committed to visiting the Roark Bicycle Factory and departure was to be after breakfast.  There were 7 of us that went, while the other 14 intelligently chose sleep over education.  The bike shop was about 20 minutes away by van and once there we were given a tour of the factory which primarily makes aeronautical parts in addition to its small side business of making custom Titanium bikes.  My analysis of the visit.....First, they use titanium tubes molded to specific shapes that are then welded together in the shape of a bicycle frame and Second, I wish I had been one of the 14 lucky ones that was spending this time sleeping.  After awhile, we were back in the van and back at our hotel.  It was during this van ride that I committed my first major blunder of the day.  In spite of the fact that the van clearly had its windshield wipers on, I chose to ignore this fact.  No instead, I relied on the internet weather report that promised only 20% rain and temps starting at 45 rising to 55 by the end of the day.   Thus, I headed out wearing a long sleeve jersey with a light non-waterproof windbreaker over it.  I put my warmer, waterproof rain jacket into my duffel which then was stashed securely into the luggage van.  Within minutes of departure, it started to rain.  I couldn't believe it.  With the combination of wind, cold, and rain, my hands were getting numbingly cold...so cold in fact that I had trouble working the shifters.  The first SAG was at 34 miles.  Perhaps there I could warm up.  What I wasn't expecting enroute was a Road Closed sign right in front of me.  This was not on the cue sheet.  The last time this happened, Mike was there instructing us on how to proceed.  Mike was not there this time so I figured that if they had meant to divert us they would have told us, therefore, the thing to do was to proceed onward past the road closed sign.  This was my second blunder of the day.  What I had failed to notice was that there was writing on the pavement, placed there by America By Bike, instructing us to follow the detour.  Shortly I found myself on a ripped up road with construction equipment digging around me.  I was stopped by the foreman, who asked what I was trying to do.  I told him what road I was trying to get to, and after walking through a bit more muck, I followed his directions on an alternative route that got me back on track.  Fortunately, with about 8 miles to go, the rain let up, and the feeling in my fingers slowly returned.  I had now successfully obviated the obstruction, was starting to feel warmer, and life was indeed looking up.  By the time I got to the SAG I felt pretty good.  I also found out there, that 6 bikers in the group, faced with the same obstruction, chose an entirely different route to our destination, Richmond.  One member of that renegade group knew Indiana well.  He led and they followed.  They cut 10 miles off the ride. 
     The rain had now ceased entirely and I was feeling pretty good.  That is until, after following the cue sheet meticulously, there was a choice to go right or left that was not listed.  This was odd as every direction on the cue sheets for our entire trip had been spot-on.  I waited there for a bit and then unfolded the soggy cue sheet to look at the map on the back.  This was no help.  Just not detailed enough.  Had I made a wrong turn somewhere?  This didn't seem possible.  Eventually I was joined in this quandary by Anthony who reaffirmed my belief that we had made no mistake and that the cue sheet was wrong. Still, we didn't know if we were to go left or right.  Fortunately, we were joined by Ohio Steve who had a treasured device mounted on his bike....a Garmin!  He quickly figured out using the map feature where we were and more importantly where we needed to go.  We later learned that this road did not exist the last time America By Bike used this route and thus the cue sheet didn't take this into account.  We were shortly off, and after awhile arrived at the second and final SAG at mile 65.  It was cold and I found a little shelter in the side door of the luggage van where I huddled and ate my sandwich. 
     Before I left, it started to rain.  How I regretted not having my warmer, drier jacket.  It was made clear to us at the start of the ride, that once the luggage is packed into the trailer, it is to be left alone.  It was essentially forbidden to try to retrieve an item during the day once it was stored in there.  However, I was one of the last to leave that day which meant that my luggage was the last to go in, which meant that it potentially would not be a disaster trying to get to it.  I asked Karen, the co-ride leader and she mercifully said OK.  Soon the door was open and there was my duffel.  Within a minute I had on the better jacket.  Immediately I started to feel better.  I even put the hood on under my helmet.  I felt like I could handle anything.  Could I handle the remaining 40 miles, in 49 degree temperature, with winds coming at me at 15 MPH?  With this jacket on I could.... and I did.  It wasn't pleasant.  It wasn't pretty.  It was a true slog in every sense of the word.  I was creeping along at about 14-15 MPH but I felt that with every mile I was getting that much closer to the promise of shelter and a hot shower.  Mike, at the start of the ride, promised that at times "our comfort zones would likely be stretched".  I would say that today there was a lot of stretching going on. 
     Tonight, I along with UK Bob, and Anthony, got to spend time with Steve's family at a Mexican Restaurant.  Steve's family lives within driving distance of Richmond and came by to see him tonight on his journey.  This was a great time.  He's got a great family and I felt very comfortable and at home.  We're doing a very intense thing here on this ride, but the people at home are equally intense in their support.  It was cool to see a collision of these two worlds.  I miss my own family, I really do, and I will see them pretty soon. I look forward to it.  In the meantime, there's still work to be done here....precisely nine more days worth.  Lets hope for warmer weather, brighter skies, and tailwinds, tailwinds, tailwinds.

-Grinner

Great Welcome Sign from yesterday I forgot to include from Hillsboro, IN

Huddled with food in luggage in van

Roark Bicycle Factory

Day 23

                                                                   Day 23
                                                      Tuscola, IL to Leabnon, IN
                               122 miles, Avg Speed 15.4 MPH, Time in saddle 7 hr 51 minutes

     We had a strong NE wind today and since our general direction is NE, this was not good.  In fact, most of our general direction for the remainder of the trip will be NE.  I yearn for the days of the tailwinds.  Will they ever return or are they gone forever?  It was essentially a push the entire day with no let up.  Even if you go up a hill, you may work hard to get to the top, but there is some recovery as you descend.  Today = no recovery.  It wasn't painful, but it was hard work the whole way.
     We got a relatively late start, 7:30, this morning.  The good news for the day was that it was going to be sunny and dry, although temps would be in the low 50's.  However, with a strong wind, there was clearly a windchill factor going on and I'm glad that I dressed as warmly as I did.  Immediately we had a long section of just heading North, straight into 15-20 MPH winds.  This was our wakeup call.  After 14 miles, we turned right (east) expecting that our speeds would increase.  They did, but only slightly.  The flags told the story.  What was supposed to be just a northern wind today was really a Northeasterly wind.  Thus there would be no escape.  Somewhere around mile 30, I noticed that I seemed to be feeling the bumps on the road a little too well.  On stopping, my suspicions were confirmed.  My rear tire was soft and needed to be changed.  With the help of Mike, who drove up at just that moment, the tire got changed and I was off again.  This was flat number 11, a high number, but still shy of the leader with 13.  The first SAG was at 44 miles and I got there at 11AM.  I knew at this rate, I might not get done until 7PM, given the fact that we're going to lose an hour going into Indiana.  After that SAG it seemed to take forever to get to our lunch spot at mile 84.  I ate quickly and caught up to Lee, Anthony, Simon, and UK Steve.  We had a paceline going for a short bit, but then Lee and Anthony fell back and soon we were joined by Manny and Buckeye Bob.  Soon, the five of us were working together.  It was then that I made my big mistake of the day.  The previous night at RAP we had a free for all discussion on safety issues.  One of the topics was pacelines.  I took it upon myself to "educate" the group on what I felt was proper paceline etiquette.  This included suggestions on turning your crank at all times, not standing up without proper notification, holding a straight line, not overlapping wheels, and foremost.....keep the speed steady and DO NOT SURGE WHEN YOU GET TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE!   So with all that in mind, as soon as it was my turn at the head of the line, I immediately cranked up the pace by 2-3 MPH and blew apart the paceline.  Manny and Bob stayed with me, while Simon and Steve dropped back.  Now it was just three of us.  We kept up this unpleasant pace, for about 10 miles, until Manny and Bob dropped off to go look for some beer to bring back to the hotel, which was still 20 miles away.  Why they needed to do that now was bewildering, but there was no time to discuss it, as they were clearly on a mission and fading specks in my rear view mirror.  Now I was by myself.  I longed for the good old days when I didn't have to bare all of this wind by myself.  Just then, Simon and Steve caught up to me, both chiding me for my foolish paceline behavior.  After a few apologies and an offer to spend the night in the cooler, all was OK and we worked diligently together for the last 20 miles.  Once there, we stopped at McDonalds for shakes and had the worldly discussion of who makes the best shakes.   Our conclusion?  Well, this is how it shakes out from top to bottom:  1) Denny's 2) McDonalds 3) Sonic 4) Steak and Shake 5) Burger King.  
     For dinner, Craig, (the strongest cyclist in the group), Lassa, Simon, UK Steve, and myself went out to a local sports bar where we took in the local flavor including a few non-local libations.  We also got to witness Lassa downing a second hamburger.  The big man needs his grub. 
     Tomorrow, some of us will be getting up early for a visit here in Lebanon to the Roark Bicycle Shop where they build custom Titanium bikes.   Although I'm clearly not interested in purchasing another bike right now.....I already own the Rolls Royce of bikes, Calfee......factory tours have always been a favorite pastime for me and the Rourk factory can not be passed up.

-Grinner

Meadow of wild Yarrow in Illinois

Entering Indiana

Exiting Illinois ( We never saw a welcome sign after our Ferry ride so this will have to do)

Lassa with burger number 2

Day 22

                                                                                  Day 22
                                                                     Springfield, IL to Tuscola, IL
                                                                       78 miles, AVG 15.6 MPH

     Today was one of those days for which no one in their right mind would be out on a bike.  I've woken up on many a weekend morning, looked outside at weather like we had today, and said, "Time to get back into bed".   However, that's not how it works here on America By Bike.  We need to stick to a schedule, regardless of the weather.  It's not a coast to coast trip in 33 days, weather permitting.  It's 33 days.....period!
     Thus, we set out this morning amidst 15-20 MPH wind, 50 degree temperatures, and rain.  The rain fortunately was not a downpour....just merely a drizzle.  However, with the winds and lower temps, we needed to make sure we were dressed warmly enough.  For me, this consisted of full cycling tights, base layer, long sleeve jersey, rain jacket and long fingered gloves.  In addition, I put my pseudo water repellent rain booties over my cycling shoes.  It's debatable if they did anything.  My shoes still got wet. What's not debatable, is that they are a pain in the butt to get on.  They don't have a lot going for them. 
     Our one SAG stop of the day was at 41 miles where the gas station we stopped at was kind enough to let us huddle inside and eat our sandwiches.  After that, it was back to the same stuff, peddling past quiet farmhouses amidst grey wet windy skies, on quiet roads, the only sounds being the rain hitting the rain jacket and the tires humming along the wet pavement.  It was a bleak day.  It reminded me of Cormac Mccarthy's "The Road" minus all the soot.  The one excitement for the day, other than Lee taking a minor tumble from one of his tires abutting an uneven portion of the road, was being chased by one fast and seemingly agitated dog.  You would be amazed at how fast, even under these adverse conditions, I was able to accelerate.  Flight or fight...I choose flight every time, especially when dogs are involved.  There were other dog encounters during the day, but all were well behaved, and received my positive reinforcement of "Good Doggie" after I was well past them.  (Later at our RAP session, we talked about dogs and how best to deal with them.)
      The saving grace of the day is that it was short, our shortest of the trip.  Over dinner at Denny's, we all agreed that had this been a 120 mile day, this would have ranked as one of the worst.  As it was, although it was our shortest, it was not our easiest.  Tomorrow, we cross into a new state, Indiana, and into a new time zone, Eastern.  Although we're not looking forward to the 120 miles of this, we are looking forward to hopefully staying dryer. 

-Grinner

Bleak day

Days 20 and 21

                                                                              Day 20
                                                                   Quincy, IL to Springfield, IL
                                                                    110 miles, Avg. 18.0

                                                                              Day 21
                                                                         Springfield, IL
                                                                                Rest

     We mixed things up a bit on Day 20 by not eating breakfast at the Hotel, but down the road 14 miles at Mike's Place in Liberty, IL.  It's nice to do something out of the routine to break it up a bit.  The temps were in the low 60's and although there had been the threat of rain, it never materialized throughout the day.  Breakfast was great, and as I've been accustomed to do now, hit the road with a full stomach.  We all felt good for a number of reasons today.  First, the temps were good.  Second, the ride would be flatter than the previous few days, and third, we were heading into a rest day, so no matter how bad it was, there was R&R waiting for us in Springfield.  The route really was flat and after awhile I joined in with a paceline.  A group of us did this, averaging about 20 MPH until the second SAG stop at 66 miles.  After this, it broke down a bit.  Buckeye Bob, the 58 yr. old with a 30 year old Cannondale that weighs ten pounds more than any other bike, refused to keep the pace at 20 when it was his turn to pull.  Instead, he would push it to 23 and after a few rounds of this, I had had enough, and fell back to ride solo and save my legs and my brain.  The others kept going, but I caught up to them at the next water stop and we traveled together for the last 10 miles.  In town, some of us stopped at the R & M bike shop to browse.  We met up with Clay there.  Clay is the second unfortunate member of our troop who discovered a crack in their carbon seat stay on their new Trek Madonne, in Clay's case, 8 months old.  (Shelly was the other).  It was discovered late the previous day and he was forced to sit idle in the van with his bike on the roof as it was unsafe to ride.  You would think that Trek would replace this free of charge, but the best they would do is a new bike at 20% below retail.  They insisted that it was in a crash, and even though it was, (a very minor spill early in the ride), you would think that there must be something terribly wrong with the way they are building bikes if they are that delicate.  I would have been irate, but Clay, being the Southern Gentleman from Virginia that he is, took it in stride, and shelled out the dough for a new bike.  My advice.......if it says Trek on it, don't buy it. 
     The evening was very pleasant.  After our RAP session, where the matter of our disappearing SAG stops (*) was brought to the attention of management, the "Store" was opened up, where we could purchase America By Bike shirts, socks, bandanas, and shorts (I bought some socks). I then went to the mechanical session where I had Mike, the ride leader, put a new chain on my bike.  I had gone 2100 miles, and it was time. We hold a mechanical session every evening where you can bring your bike down to be looked at for any mechanical issues.   (For the bike techies out there, I have SRAM red components but chose a Shimano Ultegra chain for this on Mike's advice as he said it will be a lot quieter.  He also has SRAM but uses a Shimano chain for this very reason.)  Most of us met again at the hotel "Happy Hour" where we stuffed ourselves with free food and drinks and laughed for a few hours.  I was too full to eat a meal after that and was quite content to go to my room and continuing the mellowing out process. 
     *As for the SAG stop issue, some of us have noted that at the beginning of this trip, we would frequently have 3 SAG stops, and now 2 seemed to be the norm.  When we ride out of Springfield tomorrow, we will have only one scheduled SAG stop.  To me it's not a big issue because if I need food I can carry it in my bike jersey.  The issue is water, and it's nice to know that there will be water at a certain mileage mark.  As it is, you can always flag over one of our vans if you need some and if you were desperate and a store weren't close by, you could go up to someone's house and ask for some, which some riders have done.  Some in the group have been miffed about that considering the overall cost of this trip.  Anyway, the bottom line is that since there are only two vans, there is just so much they can do in terms of support while also trying to keep track of everyone on the road and providing help where it's needed.  I'm content to let others vent about this.  As far as I can tell, soon we'll be at the Atlantic Ocean where there will be plenty of water. 
     Today, was a day of rest.  I managed to sleep until 7AM!  Then it was on to a leisurely breakfast with multiple cups of coffee.  After that, Lee, who had rented a car, took me and some others to two bike shops and then to the Lincoln Museum, which was amazing.  It was designed by a team of Disney Imagineers.  I didn't know if I was in Springfield or in Orlando at the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids Exhibit".  It truly appealed to kid in all of us.   Who knew that the Emancipation Proclamation could be so much fun?
    Soon it will be time for the hotel "Happy Hour" and I will start fortifying myself for tomorrows ride.  Also, for those that are interested, in addition to the usual pictures, I've included pictures of how I've organized my clothes in their separate labeled plastic bags (which I'm quite proud of) and also the "Cue Sheet" with all the route directions for the day.  Tomorrow, we leave this Shangri-La, for Tuscola, IL.  I'm hoping not to dehydrate. 

-Grinner

Typical flat landscape of Illinois. What we saw all day.

Lee, Abe, and Anthony (from left to right)

State Capital

The gang takes over Mike's Place for Breakfast

Unfolded Cue Sheet

Folded cue sheet attached to handlebars by map clip (lent to me by my friend Rowan)

How I've organized all my stuff  (By the way, the Chamois butter is not Assos, but is the best I could find on the road, as the Assos is running low).  Must have chamois creme at all times!

All of that stuff then goes into three separate bags that then go into my duffel

Day 19

                                                                             Day 19

                                                            Kirksville, MO to Quincy IL

                                                               97 miles,  Avg 17.1 MPH

     The memories of the previous day were still fresh, as we left the Day's Inn in Kirksville at 7AM.   Although this was to be a shorter ride than yesterday, we were promised the same hills that we've gotten to know the previous few days, at least until we crossed into Illinois.  On that very first hill today, I got a message from my legs that they indeed also remembered the climbing of the last few days quite well.  If they could talk, they would have said, "Mark, let's call a cab."   Unfortunately, the only way to get to Illinois and out of Missouri was over those hills.  The saving grace of the day was that the sky was overcast, the temps early on were in the high 60's, and the humidity was tolerable.   After a few of the rollers, I started to feel pretty good and as long as it didn't rain, I felt that everything was going to be a good day.  The farmland was waking up as we rode past overall-clad farmers in our loud jerseys, spandex shorts, and carbon bikes.  What a sight we must have been.   At the first SAG stop in Baring, Manny went into the cafe across the street and apparently upon his entry, the place fell silent and all the faces turned and stared at him.   To them, Manny, with his blue and white biking outfit, biking helmet, blue sunglasses, and tatooed arms, must have looked like he just arrived from another planet.  The joke we had is that he should have asked, "Do any of you gents have any chamois creme?  I have the worst chafing problem".   Anyway, he left there unharmed.  I took a picture there of the bank across the street there that had seen better days. 

     After Barring, I rode the next 45 miles at the front of the pack.  My energy level was high and I felt great.   Buckeye Bob and San Diego Chris kept pace.  After our last climb in Missouri, you could see off in the distance the Mississippi.  It was exciting as it was not only an important landmark on our coast to coast journey but also was to be the site of our lunch.  Because of the recent flooding there had been concern all along over whether the water was going to be too high for the ferry to run, but this was not a problem today.  After lunch, we got onto the ferry and ten minutes later we were across and into Illinois.

     Illinois was remarkably flat.  There were about 6 of us doing a paceline into the wind, each of us pulling for one mile.   This worked great because by time your turn came up, you felt like you had pretty well recovered.  The mile pull took some effort, especially with trying to maintain an 18 MPH pace, but it was a lot easier than dealing  with the wind on your own.  As we approached Quincy, our end point for the day, it broke up as Craig peeled away to go to a local tavern on the river, as Craig is want to do. 

     Quincy seemed like the most civilized city we had visited since Albuquerque.  After all those miles and miles of desert and farmland, to come upon a city with children playing in schoolyards, people going about their business in a bustling downtown, and a street reminiscent of Summit Avenue in St. Paul complete with tall hardwood trees and Victorian mansions....was a really nice sight.  Although I loved everything we had seen up to now, this was a world with more familiarity to me. 

     Steak and Shake was also familiar to me, as was their 2-4 "Happy Hour" which we arrived at with plenty of time to spare.  We stopped there before the hotel as we were in dire need of some recovery that in truth only a chocolate shake can provide but we were also hoping to escape the chore of unloading the luggage van which fell upon those that arrive first, in this case, if our calculations were correct, would be the Kiwis.  The shakes were superb and gave us all  instant energy boosts that we immediately put to good use by unloading the van that was waiting patiently there for us at the hotel entrance.   The Kiwis had taken there own pre-hotel trip to a bike store and arrived just as we had unloaded the last bag.   We were outsmarted.  All was good though, as soon I had showered, spent time in the hottub, read the Wall Street Journal, and watched an episode of "Jail" on Spike TV.  Life is good.  Tonight I ate healthy Pannera Bread dinner.  Oh it's nice to be back in a Blue state and back in civiliziation. 

-Grinner

Baring Bank-- Too many withdrawls

Canton Ferry

The mighty Mississippi

Waiting to load the ferry

Quincy Illinois- the eighth most livable town in the US

One way to avoid flood damage on the Mississippi

Biking across the Mississippi

Morning in Missouri

Downtown Quincy