Biking to Illinois

My
day
starts
early...

My
favorite
time
of
day...

When my
bike and I
share
the misty
world....

with
only
a few distant
birdsongs
and a
silent
barn...

as I bike
alone
in the
predawn
light....

I
look
for
bridges...

I
love
bridges...

connecting
one
world
to
another...

a
manmade
metaphor
for
reaching
across
rivers....

across
our
differences...

across
the
edges
of our
lives...

and
a
covered
bridge...

What
does
that
mean...

metaphorically?

Don't know.

No
time
for
more
metaphors.

The
sun
rises.

Time
for
breakfast...

and
Google
maps.

Ready
to
go!

Good-bye
bridges!

Good-bye
Rockville!

We're
on the
road
again!


66 miles
to
Charleston,
Illinois!

362 miles
to the
Summit.

Our
final
destination!

Biking
through
Amish
country.

Beautiful
day
on
the
road...

Cornflowers
by the
roadside...

Farmers
starting
their
early
markets...

Mmmm!

Why
would
anyone
choose to
drive
to the
Summit?

Confident
in her
biking
and her
navigating
Al
crosses
the
road.

Hmmm.

What's
this?

A
brick
road?

In the
middle
of the
country?

Al
thinks
it should
be a
yellow
brick
road.

But
at least
it's better
than
gravel.

Oops!

I spoke
too
soon!

Are we
on the
right
road?




This
is
awful!

Scary
house.

Scary
dog.

Where
is
KC?

Where
is this
place?

In the
middle
of
nowhere.

Overgrown
gravel road
for miles
and
miles.

The
road
splits...

to no
good
end.

This
map
is
useless!

We
need
our
Summit
friend, Dave,
who teaches
us
orienteering!

As
we
trudge
along...

(isn't trudge
an interesting
word?

It sounds
like it feels.)

We find
odd
rocks.

Shiny
black
and green

smooth,
glassy.

Now we need
our Summit
friend,
Dave Egan,
who teaches us
geology.

We
finally
see
cranes.

But
no
people.

Did
I mention
it's beastly
hot?

110 at least!

we're
running
out
of
water!

What is this place?

Not a park.

Not an estate.

An empty land
somewhere on
the edge
of
Indiana.

Finally,
a light!

Civilization!

a
friendly
face!

Christina
runs out
of her
neat white
house
and offers us
cold
water!

Where
were
we?
we ask
her.

What was
that
huge
empty
place?

Why
that
was
the old
Peabody
coal mine,
she tells
us.

Hmmm.

Maybe
that
explains
the weird
rocks~

Well,
we're off!

Within a mile,
we
find
Illinois!












Looks
a lot
like
Indiana....








only
maybe
hotter!

Long
long
miles
in
Illinois.

We
need
our
drinks!

We
need
our
SAG
support!

The
heat
is
getting
to me...

Can we
really
make it
biking
all the way
to
Missouri?

Al
gives me
an
energy
snack...

and
we
soldier
on...

Finally,
the
promised
land...

or
at least
Day's
Inn...

and the
nice
desk clerk
who carries
my bike
up the
stairs.

As the
red sun
sets
on
Charleston,
Illinois....

we
begin
planning
our
next day...

of
biking
to
the
Summit.