July 14, 2025
Day 8 - ending at Harrisburg, IL
It was warm last night - inside! I switched the room cooling unit from AC to heat, then raised the temperature to 84F. At 4:49am this morning when I got up, everything was dry but my socks. I placed them at a better spot to dry, got dressed and put on a new pair of socks. (Wish I had my "spare" socks!)
I walked across the parking lot at 6:25am to Five Brothers Cafe next door for breakfast. While eating, I overheard the waitress ask a customer, "What's your usual for today?" I'm assuming that was in response to the customer saying, "I'll have my usual." It seemed funny to me at the time.
I was studying maps while I ate breakfast, since I didn't have a routing for from Fairfield to Harrisburg. Actually I did, since my routing did pass through both towns. But I remember there was a lot of gravel roads involved, and I wanted to get there quicker. In the end I decided to try US-45, Even though there's no shoulder on some stretches of it. I got started on that when I left the motel at 8:58am. By the way, before I leave Fairfield, I should mention that I really like the taste of Fairfield's water. I've never given much creedence to water tasting different here and there, but this is good stuff! (Maybe I'm just thirsty.)
It was just half a day ago now, and I can't remember what sections of US-45 had no shoulder, some shoulder, or a decent shoulder. But it worked out. I stayed attentive of what was showing on my rearview mirror, and all the drivers saw me and were careful. Traffic wasn't that heavy either, so it wasn't stressful.
After passing under I-64, I arrived at Mill Shoals at 10:37am. I like the mural they have on the side of the post office. I was having trouble getting a good picture though, because there was a car parked in the way. So I got shots a section at a time.
Noon arrived when I was at the intersection with CR-1675N. I stopped just long enough to record the noon mileage: 20.3 miles, then continued on to nearby Enfield. I found a picnic table on the north side of town to take my actual noon break.
Continuing on, I was at Norris City at 1:24pm. I stopped at Doug's Food Mart there for a strawberry milk and two chocolate chip cookies. They have a nice pavilion there to sit under. I checked the weather radar then, and saw that afternoon storms were developing once again. Nothing too close yet.
At 3:00pm I crossed North Fork Saline River. This bridge has a lane-wide shoulder, and it stayed that way all the way to Eldorado! That sure made things easier. It was near there that I rechecked the weather radar, since it looks stormy behind me. Sure enough there was rain where I had been not too long ago. Best keep moving.
There's a trail that runs from Eldorado to Harrisburg - it's sort of an unofficial extension of the Tunnel Hill Trail. I planned to ride that to Harrisburg, but then reconsidered after I arrived at the start at 3:37pm. The trail is gravel. The nearby shoulder of paralleling US-45 is paved. I was all about making time today (and not getting rained on), so turned around and went back to the highway. That worked well until I arrived at the edge of Eldorado. Then there was no shoulder. I rode on the sidewalk until that disappeared. Then I was back to doing what I was this morning and early afternoon - keeping a close eye on my rear view mirror. When I was past the town, the wide shoulder was back. To keep from repeating this when I got to Harrisburg, I did divert to the trail at 4:34pm. The trail is concrete from this spot into town, so that worked out well.
In Harrisburg I hoped to get a room at the Economy Inn & Suites, a place I stayed at in 2015. The relatively new owner of the place didn't think my bike would fit in a double-bed room, the only ground floor rooms they had left. I asked if I could see one of those rooms. Well, I have certainly been cramped more than what I would be in this room! She agreed there might be a couple of spots where the bike would fit. So she gave it to me, after turning on the AC. This is room #115. Out of curiosity, I looked up what room I was in when I stayed here before. It was this room! I went back and showed her the picture, and pointed out where I had kept my bike back then. She thought that was so cool.
I did remember that I ate at Hardee's for supper when I was here before. To keep the theme going, I went to the same Hardee's for supper - it's a short walk from the motel. And I ordered the same thing - bacon cheeseburger and chocolate shake. Since I have the information, here's what that meal cost in 2015 versus 2025: $9.50 then, $13.52 now.
I posted Day 6 when I got back (I was having troubles with that this morning), then wrote today's evening report.
I need to get to bed earlier than I usually do, since Jeff Lee and I are scheduled to meet tomorrow morning at 6:30am!
Jeff
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Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 363 miles (584 km)
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