“And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Today’s ride to Springfield Illinois’s a long one at 105 miles. However, we are blessed on this ride as we had a ferocious wind from behind. The first part of the ride contained quite a bit of climbing but with the wind at our backs. I started out pretty fast and thought offer of the other riders would catch up and hang with me but none did save for Richard. Richard usually rides slow but has  racing background. When he wants to, he can really fly. Richard is from Wales and is a classic  English gentleman with a great sense of humor and also takes extraordinary photos. I welcomed the company as we rode into the first SAG.

Most of the riders were not far behind and we had a little to eat but Richard asked me “if I was ready to go”. I could tell that he wanted to hammer today and liked his spirit so I said “let’s go”. From that point on we hammered pretty hard. After we hot the Illinois River which has a pretty tough climb to get over, the route flattened out considerably and we averaged in the 20’s. As we rode into the second SAG at mile 67, we were doing over 25 mph. Weave sandwiches in the Sag and lingered a little longer than we had in the first SAG, but as we left, no other riders had come in.

At this point, the route was flat to gently rolling and we had a significant tailwind. We had entered a rural area with few services and little traffic and were moving along really well when Richard had a flat. He fix it and then it flatted again. As he worked on replacing the second tube, he told to ride on. At first I refused, but he seemed adamant so I reluctantly rode on. The rest of the miles went by quickly even though a few turns put me in a cross wind. I was stopped by a train for about 5 minutes and stoplights in Springfield but rolled into the hotel at 1:30.

In 21012, he had a 3 hour rain delay and i don’t think that i got in until after 6 and in 2014 we had a bad headwind and I am guessing sometime after 3.  Most of this group realizes how lucky we are but I am still amazed at the good weather and wind. It seems that it may be getting hot but by now it has warmed gradually so even that can be tamed.

Rick our mechanic is back today and tomorrow Tom as well as another rider will join us. Unfortunately, Tracy has been hurting really bad with back and hand issues and must return to Denver for medical treatment and evaluation. She will return in NY state but we will miss her enthusiasm and smiles.

Tomorrow off to Champaign and then a rest day. Everyone’s legs are hurting plus other issues so we will all welcome a day of rest after 620  some odd miles.

Thanks for reading

~chuck