Bike Repairs

Didn't turn out to be quite as short a day as I had hoped, but it was productive. And expemsive.

I rolled into Effingham at just over 40 miles but on the way to the campground I saw a bike shop. I broke a spoke on the rear wheel yesterday, and since it wasn't spreading and the wheel wasn't too untrue I had planned to fix it in Carbondale. But passing a shop was too good to pass up so I pulled in. In the end he couldn't fix it (his mechanic was off) but he called another shop on the other side of town and that guy said "Sure, come on over." For $45 he replaced the spoke, trued the tire, adjusted the rear brake, cleaned and lubed the rear derailleur, and cleaned and lubed the chain. Good deal.

By the time I finally got back to find the campground I had ridden just over 48 miles. If I wanted to eat dinner later it meant another 2 mile ride to the highway and then the same coming back. I decided to spend $12 and let a local pizza place deliver some spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. I ate it all, which is a good sign -- with today's cooler temps my appetite is coming back.

HUGE rainstorm last night. Tent was waterproof from above, but from below..... Had water on the floor when I got up this morning. Not a lot but I would have gotten wet had I not slept off the floor on my Therm-o-Rest. Huge storm.

Tomorrow will be over 60 miles to Mt. Vernon, IL. But cooler again. Have been riding through the heart of Illinois farm land and it's interesting to see the difference in farm crops. Some corn is barely 6 feet tall, other head high with tassels just starting to come out. Still others have pollenated and the ears are starting to grow.

No shoulders on Route 45 but drivers are treating me well. No yelling, no horn honking, no running me off the road. Happy, happy, happy.

Tonight's campground has showers so it's time to use one and shave for the first time this week.