July 23, 2025
Day 17 - ending at Pleasant Hill, IL
Lots of birds singing at 5:30am this morning when I got up. I slept OK on the rocky trailer back-in spot, thanks to my sleeping bag pad. I packed up and was leaving site #12 at 7:41am, heading for the restaurant at the Pere Marquette Lodge. I had their "Louis Joliet" breakfast, which may be their biggest one. I finished it all except for a few of the potatoes. My waitress gave me a cup full of ice for my thermos as I left.
Today's destination is Pleasant Hill on IL-96. I had it figured as 54 miles. I was following the MRT today through Calhoun County, the area between the Illinois River and the Mississippi River. First I had to get to the Brussels Ferry to get across the Illinois River. I decided to use the highway (IL-100), instead of the bicycle trail to get there. That worked out well.
I arrived at the ferry staging area at 9:30am, and only had to wait a few minutes before they had me ride my bike on. It doesn't take long to get across the river, and I was in Calhoun County at 9:40am. The ferry attendant directing cars had me get off last, saying then that there wouldn't be any cars behind me. Makes sense.
One problem for today was going to be the high temperature and humidity. A Heat Advisory had been issued. I decided that I would take it slow and easy today, and stop at every place I could that either had ice cream or soda with ice in it. My first break was at Hagen Family Orchard, where I got some ice cream and also two Gatorades. I'd tried getting the Gatorades earlier this morning at the state park, but they were sold out.
I passed through Centerville at 10:50am and was in Brussels 8 minutes later. In Brussels I stopped at AJ's Bar and Grill. Their soda is served in a big cup, so I had lots of ice. The server asked me first though, to taste a little of fountain Dr Pepper, saying she thought it was a little syrupy. It was, but that was OK with me, I was mostly interested in the ice. I sat inside there and also was able to charge my phone.
Back to riding at 11:42am. One person at the campground this morning and another on the ferry had both said there would be hills today for me. They were right. There sure are a lot of hollows in this area. Fortunately, I think the MRT chose the best (flattest) east-west road it could to get over the bluff between the rivers. I was on that road when the noon alarm went off. 13.7 miles for the morning.
I passed through Beechville at 12:22pm and Batchtown at 1:43pm - both too small to have any place for ice cream or soda. I was still in the hills until I arrived in Hamburg at 4:30pm. I stopped at their North Park, where they have a gazebo with a picnic table. It's next to the river, and there was some south breeze, so it was a nice place to rest. I wasn't pushing myself at all today. I'd walk up hills when I felt like it, and take very long breaks. I decided this break would be an hour long. I was almost out of water, but did notice a church about a block away has a faucet. So I walked over there, but the faucet was locked. If there'd been some sort of bathroom and water at this North Park, I might have stayed and camped here. I did eat a bag of peanuts while I was checking maps and mileage and options.
Pleasant Hill was about 17 miles farther on, and it looked like I was finally on flat roads. So I took off at 5:17pm to get Pleasant Hill. The road I was on (Mississippi River Road) connected into highway IL-96. I was at that intersection at 5:41pm. I took several more beside-the-road, in-the-shade breaks this evening, rationing my warm water, thermos ice water, and my last bottle of Gatorade. Finally I arrived at the city limits for Pleasant Hill at 7:25pm. The school's display board showed it was still 90F.
There's a motel in town, and I decided that I would try that tonight instead of camping. But the place is now out-of-business, so I continued on to the west side of town to the fairgrounds, where they're set up for public camping. No one is here camping but me. It appears that the water is shut off to the bathrooms, but there is electricity and water at the sites. I'm at Site #5. If I'm reading the pay schedule correctly, tent camping is free. At 8:25pm, just about sunset, I was all set up.
I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do tomorrow, which is supposed to be a repeat of today temperature-wise. I'm not sure I'm up to another 50-mile day like today back-to-back. I'll sleep on it.
Jeff
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Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 715 miles (1,151 km)
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