Day 68: Eddyville, IL

Day 68

July 23, 2015

Miles: 56

Carbondale to Eddyville

First of all, congratulations to Sean and Ali on the birth of their son, Ryan James Dougherty.  I'm so happy for them and know they will love being parents.

I'm writing this on Friday evening, but I'm writing about Thursday and will start with Wednesday evening.  Di and I went out for dinner at a restaurant called the Texas Roadhouse and we ordered buffalo wings for an appetizer.  When the waitress brought the wings she also brought us each another glass of lemonade, saying "These wings are so hot you'll need to drink a lot!"  And she wasn't kidding.  I ate one wing and then had to down the full glass of lemonade.  

My lips are burning so badly that I'm using bread to try and make them feel better

 We didn't wake up until 7:45am Thursday morning.  We went to the free continental breakfast offered by the Super 8, but it was much less than super.  All we were able to have was a cup of coffee, a glass of apple juice and two pieces of toast.  Not the way to start off a day of biking.  Fortunately, about five minutes after starting our ride we saw a Panera and stopped in to have our second breakfast.

Di happy after our second breakfast

Our ride today was mostly on back roads.  W rode around a number of lakes and spent most of the day enjoying the countryside. Even though it was a hot and humid day it was beautiful riding, even with all the hills we had to climb.

Riding around Tacoma Lake

Riding the countryside roads

The day's ride had its ups and downs

The constant stream of hills was so tiring that Di needed some more beef jerky to keep her going

We stopped in Goreville for some lunch and found the only restaurant in town, Delaney's.  It is a restaurant that caters to bicyclists and they have pictures of all the bikers that have stopped in.  The owner took a picture of Di and me and if anybody is ever in Goreville, then stop into Delaney's and look for us under the glass of one of the tables.

Lunch at Delaney's

Free dessert for cyclists!!

Most of our route today was marked as an official bicycle trail

That's the kind of sign you want to see when going downhill

It was a long day when we finally rolled into Eddyville at 7:30pm.  Di had rented us a cabin at a campground that was, shall we say, rustic.  Surprisingly, the cabin had a kitchen, bathroom, and a shower.  For what we've been used to when it comes to cabins, that is pretty deluxe!

Di making us mac'n cheese in our lovely cabin

Di getting cozy and comfortable in her sleeping bag

Tomorrow we are off to Marion, KY.