Day 140. Sept 11. Tuesday. Joliet to Pontiac, IL

Another beautiful day.  Perfect except for the wind that came up about noon.  It did get pretty warm, too, but we survived.

I am taking pictures every day but not of everything.  There are so many rte 66 signs and places of interest, it is almost overwhelming.  Highlight of the day was the Polka Dot Cafe.

This was listed as a point of interest and it was cool, right on rte 66.  We were too early to get to eat there but I at least took pictures.

Our ride today started on a bike path.  The rest of the day was on roads of all kinds.  Beautiful quiet backcountry roads with no traffic, route 66 old highways with very little traffic, to major highways with no shoulders, skinny shoulders with a rumble strip, to major wide shoulders that were awesome.  And the shoulders came and went with no warning so we really had to be on our toes.

Tonight was our first meal prepared by riders.  Doug and Steve made macaroni and cheese with veggies added in, a salad, and pies for dessert.  It was so good.

We are camped at the local fairgrounds tonight.  Great showers compared to last night.

Tomorrow is my turn.  Hope I  and my partner are as successful.

One irritating thing that happened today was my bike was making all these noises that no one could pinpoint.  I stopped four times trying to figure out where the noise was but to no avail.  No one could figure it out.  When I got to camp, I cleaned my bike and rode it around. No noise.  Just like taking your car to the shop when it makes noises.  It sounded like metal on metal or a rock against metal or brakes rubbing or whatever.  In camp, I had our leader who knows a lot about bike mechanics look at it and of course it didn’t make the slightest noise. I am stopping at a bike shop along the way tomorrow if there is the slightest noise.  Just can’t take that.

73.5 miles today.      3947.0  Total

Author: bikeral2000

Retired musician, now gardener and cyclist. View all posts by bikeral2000