May 20, 2023
Day 6 - ending at Chester, IL
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Up this morning at 5:25am. Walked over to MotoMart for coffee, and also picked up a donut. I tried their French vanilla coffee this time. It was too creamy and sweet. Almost went back for a regular coffee to wash it down.
Last night just before bed, I remembered I didn't check for broken spokes during my bike inspection. I did it then and found one broken on the rear wheel, non-cassette side. So this morning I used up one of the eight spokes I have with me.
All set to leave at 8:19am. Today's goal is to get to Shady Rest Cycle Hostel at Chester, Illinois. Since my pretrip routing was from Carlyle, not Breese, I let the Garmin GPS give me directions: start off south toward Germantown. There's a place to eat breakfast there, and it's only 4 miles away.
The weather was perfect today - sunny, cool breeze, and a good tailwind as I headed south. The smooth road to Germantown was a delight. The GPS was not happy with me when I deviated from its route to get to the restaurant. And I wasn't happy to find the restaurant closed this morning. Nearby was an IGA store, so I bought breakfast items there.
I headed out of town going west on IL-161, per Google Maps, even though the Garmin wanted me to go east. Either way, there's be some east and west riding to get across the Kaskaskia River, which I did at 11:09am using IL-160.
At 11:45am, while passing through Venedy, I decided to stop at Seg's Place for lunch. This bar was interesting. They have a small chalkboard on their wall showing today's and yesterday's grain prices. The TV was on the MeTV channel. A couple of older men were finishing their lunches at one of the few tables in the place. The kitchen was busy fixing carryout orders, and thought I was there for a pickup. I sat at the bar watching the end of one western and the start of another while I ate. This was a nice break.
And there's nice noon report today: 25.6 miles.
South of town I could see a tall smokestack expelling steam, showing the wind was definitely from the north. Later, I passed right by the stack's power plant.
My new Garmin Edge Explorer appears to do a good job routing bicycle-friendly roads, but it also bypasses interesting things to see in towns, it seems. I entered Sparta from the northeast around 3:00pm. What the Garmin didn't know about was the high school graduation was just getting done, as it guided me by the high school. Finally got through that. Then I rode to the railroad depot where scenes shown in the movie "In the Heat of the Night" were filmed. The depot is an art studio now, but was not open this afternoon. That was OK. Years ago our whole family visited here while on vacation.
Lots of wheat looking good south of Sparta. Started to have some hills now, but they are so much easier to ride up on this bike.
Stopped at a covered bridge site, then finished the hilliest part of the day as I arrived in Chester at 6:00pm. The Chester Eagles offers a free place to stay for touring cyclists. This is handy for many, since Chester is on the most popular coast-to-coast bicycle route - the TransAmerica Trail.
I checked in at the Eagles at 6:09pm, receiving a set of keys for the place out back. I'd decided I would camp in my tent this evening, though the bunkhouse looks quite welcoming, especially if it was raining.
As I was heading back toward the bar for supper, another cyclist showed up - Didier Leclere, a Frenchman from Australia. He's on the TransAm, going east to west. After a picture, I continued on to supper. Had Ribeye Steak Sandwich and Tater Tots.
Back outside, I talked more with Didier, who was busy making his supper. A main component of his gear is his homemade food box.
I set up my tent in front of the hostel, to be close enough to a nearby electrical box. About 8:30pm, another tourist rolled in - Max, who's also doing the TransAm, east to west. He set up in the hostel. We all have sets of keys, but none of us could get the shower building open.
On to some picture selection and report writing before going to bed at 10:30pm.
Jeff
Spent: $2.80 (coffee) + $2.99 (Powerade) + $3.78 (breakfast items) + $8 plus $3 (lunch) + $4.58 (Clif Bars) + $15.07 plus $5 (supper) = $45.22
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 279 miles (449 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 7 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
I was told it's a Southern Illinois drink. On one of my trips I met some ATVers in Wisconsin who were from Southern Illinois. They had brought their own supply of Ski with them.
https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/straightpath/day-20-ending-at-gratiot-wisconsin/
Jeff
10 months ago