Day 67: Carbondale, IL

Day 67

July 22, 2015

Miles: 51

Chester to Carbondale

During breakfast this morning we mulled over the map to select a route to Carbondale.  We had three choices that the Trans America (TA) map gave us.  Two were 38 mile routes and one a 33 mile route. Of the 38 mile routes, one was hilly and one was not. My first instinct was to take the shorter distance, the 33 mile route, and Steve opted for the flatter 38 mile route that followed the Mississippi River. So we agreed to ride the longer route because it was a much prettier route, and the fact that it was 5 miles longer wasn’t a real problem because we had planned a shorter ride today about 45 miles.  

We set off a bit late this morning. I was messing around with putting our route in the Garmin and it took about 30 minutes.  Plus we were watching the Tour de France, which it seems, distracts us every morning. By the time we got on our bikes it was about 11:00a.  A late start, but then again, we had planned a short day so we were still confident we would arrive in Carbondale between 4 and 5.

Leaving Chester

One mile into our ride we knew we were in trouble.  We saw that a major road leaving Chester was closed due to construction; unfortunately traffic was rerouted to the road we were riding. For the next 4 miles we were passed by more 18 wheeler trucks than was safe and on a road that didn’t have a shoulder for us to ride. Steve wanted to reroute to avoid the truck traffic.  This is where Steve is better than me. We had about 5 miles before we were to veer off onto Lavee Road, which is the road that took us by the Mississippi River.  I probably would have stayed the course, but Steve insisted we reroute to a safer road.  So we did, but it added about 3 more miles to our ride; this is the first time we had to pick our poison today. A shorter, flatter but more dangerous road or a longer and hillier road, but safer road.

It was well worth rerouting.  We rode through some beautiful green pastures and saw some unexpected wildlife along the way.  Not to mention it provided us some additional training for when we ride over the Blue Ridge Mountains while in Virginia.  Lots of hills!

Do you see me?

Do you hear me?

Green pastures

Greener pastures

The road less traveled

Steve getting my attention

Pure White

Ready for picking

Tips

Levee Road was a nice road to ride as well.  For safety reasons mostly.  It was about 15 miles long and perhaps only one or two cars passed.  Surprisingly though, we never even saw the Mississippi River. Only the flooded levees and the farms.  Unfortunately, many crops were lost to the floods from a couple weeks ago.  As we rode on Levee Road we saw throughout the high water areas that remain.

Bullet holes in sign

Levee Road

Lost crops

Water overflow remains

High water level on right

We saw lots of these birds today

Wait for me

Busted - beef jerky.  I was hungry today.  Michelle and Brian bought this for me - teriyaki beef jerky - I needed my energy!

See you later

We stopped for lunch about 25 miles into our ride. We both had chicken breast sandwiches.  Steve and I discussed over lunch that we may need to eat more food and/or more often; perhaps have two lunches or two breakfasts because our energy was low today and we both felt hungry and thirsty an hour after we left Chester. So we decided that we would try to be more mindful of our caloric intake going forward.

I like mustard

Yummy!

So now we had about 28 miles to go. Another 15 miles to Murphysboro and then 13 miles to Carbondale. The first 15 miles went fast because we were recharged from our lunch break, and had a lot of energy because of the food that we ate.  At this point, we had another choice to make.  To ride the 13 mile recommended TA route or to ride a more direct route 8.5 miles.  I opted for the the 8.5 mile route.  It was on a main route much like Rte 10 back home, but it had a big shoulder for us to ride on.  It was shorter by 4.5 miles and we really didn’t know what the roads were like on the TA route, but we agreed they would be prettier roads for sure.  Steve wanted to take the shorter route too.  It was getting late and this route was an 8.5 mile, straight shot all the way to Carbondale.  No chance for us to get lost. It was not a very pretty route, but it was much more efficient.

Like Rt 10

We decided to stay at the Super 8 motel. It was about 2 miles east of the center of town, so we added a couple miles riding to this motel.  We have had good luck at this motel chain in the past. Big rooms and clean, and not very expensive. Moreover, they usually have a self service laundry room, although tonight we didn’t need it.  When we checked in, I asked if they gave a AAA discount.  The guy behind the counter said that we were entitled to a TA bicycle discount that was more than the AAA discount. Apparently, this Super 8 gives cyclists a great discount. Wahooo!  The room tonight only cost us $57 including tax.  It was after 6:00p when we checked in. 

Today was a great day riding.  The weather was great and pretty scenery as well. Today is an example of the many decisions that we make daily. Decisions that are mostly limited to the route, food, and lodging.  It's a very simple life out here on the road!

Tomorrow we are off to Eddyville, IL.