Day 35 Shabbonne State park to Lansing Indiana 94 miles

I only biked 40 today as my leg were really sore after yesterday and I had a fitful night of sleep.  I decided I would not have the endurance to tackle 94 miles today and hope to tackle the 90 mile day tomorrow.

The day started out overcast but it did not rain even though it look like it might rain in the distance.

I went out with Julie Wiersma one of our SAG drivers to have her drop me off at the third SAG stop which is 45 miles into the ride where I would start my ride.  One our way out on the route we missed a turn and went several miles before we realized we were off route.  We turned around and also found a lone cyclist who also had missed her turn and let her know she was off route. She decided to use her GPS to see where she had to be rather than turn around and back track several miles.  She ended up getting back on route and really did not add any additional miles- Smart cyclist.

The route was a pleasant ride using both the IM trail and the Old Plank trail around Jolliet. However we found out 2 groups of riders ended up 40 miles away from Lansing and a group of 2 were so lost they had to be picked up.  Apparently a police officer noticed they were away from where he had noticed other riders with same safety vest and let them know they were not where they were supposed to be.  We sent a vehicle to pick them up.  As they were Canadians and did not have cell phones with them, they could not communicate with the tour. Fortunately for them they were assisted by a police officer who was very alert.  We do have a participant who is roller blading from Iowa City to Grand Rapids and is finding the route challenging as the roads are rough and we have encountered some gravel which is very difficult for roller blades.  He is developing some tender blisters.  Hopefully the routes for the next three days will be better for him.

 

 

We also had a cyclist have a serious spill and ended up in the hospital to get x-rays and stitches.  Apparently he did not see a big pothole, hit it with his bike and went over the handle bars and landed on his shoulder and chin.  His handle bars are broken and need to be repaired before he can bike again. 

At our peleton meeting, we welcomed back Mark and Susan Deckinga. You remember Mark broke his leg 27 miles into the beginning of the tour in California.  Susan will be riding with us for the next 3 days.  Good to see the both of them. 

At night, we were treated to a great spaghetti supper with salad and an ice cream social afterwards by the people of Illiana Christian High School.  Apparently, tomorrow morning we will also be served breakfast by them which gives our cooks time off which is much appreciated. 

I am writing this post Wednesday night but cannot post it as my computer is unable to link to their Wi-Fi tonight.  Will try to post this tomorrow, but wanted to write down my thoughts before I forgot some of today’s details by tomorrow night.

Tomorrow we will be leaving Illinois, entering and leaving Indiana, and entering Michigan plus changing a time zone.  First time we will be hitting 3 states in one day while on a bike trip.