July 28 - Chester, IL to Carbondale, IL

Written by Yinka with additional comments from Michael

Yinka:

I started the day on a bike with thoughts of Bob on my mind. Why was I here again? To support my people.  To have my kids be a part of this amazing journey. To remember how great it is to be on a bike. Michael, Eric and I biked through corn and soy bean fields, on top of a levee, past a coal production plant right next to the Mississippi.

The first big hill had me swearing at the big coal trucks coming too close.  This continued for roughly 10 miles.  But the levee road was empty.... not a car in sight. After about 20 miles we stopped for lunch at the historic Bottoms Up Bar and Grill. Alex and Adrianna had a great day watching TV with Gloria and seeing the fish farm. Michael and Eric were so supportive of my ride and kept me moving.  I stopped at about 30 miles and was so pleased with getting that far. Michael and Eric pushed on to the end.  

At the end of the day, we went for a swim and Thai food. Then Alex and Adrianna enjoyed the bouncy house (an inflatable house kids can jump in) at the monthly Carbondale Downtown Business Community Fair. 

Michael:

We appear to be out of the killer steep hills in the Ozarks, but there are still hills.  So we took the Mississippi levee alternative route today in order to avoid many hills.  This was some of the most peaceful riding we have had all summer.

Gloria was able to get her phone fixed in Carbondale.  She is delighted to have a consistently working phone again.

Life was certainly great today.