Up early for a good camp breakfast. Jim - who had scurried home for a night with his family - showed up bearing 3 boxes of fresh doughnuts. Early birds get the best ones. Packed up my tent and gear promptly, and checked around to make sure that I didn't leave anything behind. Nearly forgot my camelbak (for the 2nd day in a row). Rode out of camp with Janet, Rosie, Diana and Barb. Covered the first 30 miles of the day with them. In Malta (30), checked in at the water stop and then joined Jim and others at an adjacent cafe for some french toast. According to the meanu, loganberries were an optional addition. Yes please! But what was presented in a small cup next to the french toast was something that tasted very much like cranberry relish. Oh well. Fruit of some kind all the same.
Rode on to the lunch stop (around mile 50) with Jim, Doug, Brendan and Tony. How creative of Sharon to set up the table right next to, of all things, a cornfield. In fact, the truck was parked just off an intersection - and cornfields came to a point at all four corners. Made a sandwich to eat on the way, and left in the company of Janet, Rosie and Barb. A good part of this next section was basically flat - we were almost always bordered by fields of corn or soybeans. The sun broke through the morning haze, and it started to get hot. Our energy and sense of humor was being sorely tested. We stopped at around mile 75, under the shade of a large tree. Ate what we had, and assessed our water situation. Glad to find Nick at mile 80 with large containers of water and a laid-back attitude. Upon pulling out of that water stop, my determination was renewed. Barb mentioned that the next stop she wanted to make was our destination - where she could finally take off her bike shoes. I adopted this goal as my own and pulsed along the road. Where I found the energy (only some of it could have come from a 1/2 package of peanut M&M's which I quickly ate at a red light) is a mystery to me. The humidity in the air was like a damp towel that I couldn't shake off. But Barb and I pushed on. We finally arrived at the Coal City Area Club (weekend hangout for camp-loving locals), with Rosie and Janet close behind.
Sharon had set out some cheese and crackers, and out of the back of the truck, someone found a couple bottles of wine. Let me tell you - when you are dehydrated, you only need but one plastic cup of vino to forget the tedious aspects of the day! Dinner was prepared and served by a local catering group. They were astonished by how much, and how quickly we gobbled up pounds of pasta, and loaves of toasted garlic bread. As soon as they replenished the serving dishes, hungry Riders were lined up to empty them.
Returned to my tent to prepare for sleep. The air was very heavy and still. I retrieved a small paper plate from the back of the truck to use as a simply hand-fan. The inside of my zipped up tent felt like a steamroom. The ciciadas were VERY loud and their noise nearly drowned out the ruckas of the inhebriated campers parked just down the lane. What a day. What a night.
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