Day 18 – A Wet Ride, A First, and a Potpourri of Useless Photos

The day started off very wet. I didn’t really think I’d take many pictures. Just too hard to operate the phone camera with water everywhere. But this afternoon, it stopped raining and I went a bit overboard with pictures.

This was actually a first for me – cycling through not only one, but two cities: Springfield and Decatur Illinois. I hadn’t realized it before today, but the largest “city” I’ve cycled in and around was Loveland or Fort Collins, Colorado. Both Springfield and Decatur are large enough that without Map on my phone, I’d still be looking for tonight’s lodging.

I’m, sure there is a way to change size and grouping of photos. I just haven’t discovered it. So here goes the potpourri of useless photos.

Yes. Illinois has curious cows too. The one eating joined the rest in looking at me just after I took the picture.
Just a little Land of Lincoln humor. The mailbox across the street had the name Hutchins on it.
A beautiful little public cemetery in the middle of nowhere. No town or church within miles.
The Lost Bridge Bicycle/Walking Trail in Springfield, Illinois. The name could be changed to The Lost Bill Trail. I knew it was what I wanted but didn’t find it right away. Thank you, phone Map!
And then the old trestle bridge. The old train route was made into a very nice rec path of about 10 miles. Bumpy, but nice.
Yes. Decatur can be proud. A very nice burg. Not on the prairie at all though. I travelled through a lot of prairie and farmlands to get to Decatur. The pride is, “You’ve finally ended up out of the prairie.”
Decatur Lake. It extends just as far to the other side of the bridge. It is one big body of water. It appears that there are many uses along the shore: private homes, water sport related businesses and public areas.

Today was my longest, but not hardest, at 82 miles. My legs feel it but overall, not too bad. Mostly level. Some rollers. About an hour of wind in my face. Outside of Decatur I was stopped at train tracks while the very long train went by. Two men stopped next to me, and we had enough time to chat about my ride and adventure. They took a picture of the back of my jersey with the website, wished me luck and handed me a nice subsidy for my journey. I felt appreciated and grateful.

Tomorrow off to Hume, Illinois. Diane and I are going to enjoy some relaxation at a B&B.

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