Day 25 - Moline, IL to Savanna, IL - Two Far 2020 - NTF (Not Two Far)

June 24, 2020

Day 25 - Moline, IL to Savanna, IL

The Three Mile Curse

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We thought today's route would be easy to follow and ride. 50 paved miles on the Great River Trail from the parking lot of our hotel in Moline to 1/2 mile from our hotel in Savanna. It didn't work out that way. The trail is not really continuous. There are multiple on road sections and signage is not always easy to spot - or even there at all. We had our Ride-with-GPS route on the Garmins, but it had it's own glitches. We got off route on dirt, gravel and sand - more than once. We backtracked to get the right road - more than once. We got frustrated and took it out on each - more than once.

And, then, at the end of the route, we were beset with the three mile curse. Over the years, we have had flat tires, mechanical issues and rain during the last three miles so many times that we have gotten in the habit of calling "three mile warning" when we reach that point. It is a time to know to expect bad things to happen, even though there is nothing we can do to prevent them. We were right at exactly three miles to go today when the rain started. This wasn't the big soft drops we got a few days ago (also at three miles!), this was hard, driving and cold rain. After about two miles of that, we were able to pull under the canopy of a grocery store to wait it out. The storm passed in about thirty minutes and we had dried out a little. It was a quick run here to the hotel and after long hot showers we are fully recovered. Beware the three mile curse!

So here are today's pictures.

One of the nice sections of the Great River Trail

Must be the town mascot of Port Byron, IL

3M plant between Cordova and Albany. They manufacture specialty chemicals and adhesives.

We saw this couple riding a tandem on the trail at Fulton. They are Bob and Janet. We had a great visit with them - they're thinking of trying a recumbent tandem.

Dutch windmill on the riverfront in Fulton. There was a Dutch heritage center, but it was closed, so we don't know the story.

Another Dutch figure up the street from the windmill

This chicken was overseeing the rest of the front yard...

A potato field south of Savanna. This is the first one we've seen in Illinois.

A maximum security federal penitentiary in Thomson, IL a few miles south of Savanna.

Kerry here... Today, the 3 mile curse had a "final 500" twist - the motel driveway is a 300 ft. 12% climb. We huffed and puffed but managed to keep our feet on the pedals instead of the pavement. Jeanna later said that if we had another 10 feet to go she wouldn't have made it. I later treated her to a McFlurry, both to make-up for earlier bad behavior and because she deserved it for making the climb.

Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 503 miles (810 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
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Dave CardarellaLove the chicken and front yard.
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3 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo Dave CardarellaYeah. The the nice thing about cyclo-touring is that you have lots of time to admire things as you roll by :-)
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3 years ago

John PescatoreI think the 3 mile curse is preferable to the mid-ride curse!
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3 years ago

Janet ArnoldWe enjoyed meeting you in Fulton. Safe biking. Hope to meet you again someday. We will follow your blog. Bob and Janet
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3 years ago

Rachael AndersonTo John PescatoreDefinitely!
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3 years ago

Jeanna & Kerry SmithTo John PescatoreFor sure! Do you suffer from a mid-ride curse?
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3 years ago

Bill ShaneyfeltI left Savanna in 1984 after 7 years there. Not once did I ride my bike to work at the Army Depot (now closed) 10 miles north of town. There were no bike paths and the narrow winding road had blind curves with cliffside on one side and guard rails on the river side. Much has changed!
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3 years ago

John PescatoreTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithFor many years, any mechanical problem and the 1 bike accident I had (foolishly passing a stopped trash truck on a downhill stretch without yelling out and having the trash guy slide the can across the street and knock me off the bike...) all happened roughly mid-ride. I've gotten better about preventive maintenance (and trash truck passing), so lowered the probability a bit.

Un-predicted rain still seems to wait for mid-ride. Last year on a 61 mile group ride (with no rain predicted and no green blobs on the radar nearby at start) it started to rain 20 miles in. A check of the radar on my phone showed a small green blob that appeared to just be crossing my route, so I started up again. Apparently, the blob decided to follow the same route, so I was in a deluge for the next 30 miles. I kept thinking it would stop any minute now - for two hours I thought that.
The rest of the group was spread out ahead of me and behind me - turns out they were smarter and switched to the 40 mile route and escaped much of the rain and were back 90 minutes ahead of me sitting at outdoor tables in the sunshine at the brewery where we started...
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3 years ago