Date: 2007-04-25
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Miles today: 0.0

4-23-0764.25 miles today1,042 miles total56,429 feet of total climbing...arghElizabethtown, Il.Once again we wanted to get started early. There was a chance of rain today and the winds...the headwinds were back. :-((I got up about 5am and made a pot of Starbuck's, which I drank while we packed up.Mrs Gorp had to take a mattress back to where she got it, but I slept on a couch, so I was able to sit a sip my coffee while she pulled a mattress along in front of me. :-))We left at 6:20am...our earliest yet. We were met right away with those dang headwinds. It was 60 degrees and I could feel humidity creeping in.We rolled out of Sebree, Ky with plans of having breakfast in 12 miles at Dixon. When we got to Dixon, we found out the restaurant was almost 2 miles off route, so we headed on another 8 miles to Clay.We fought the headwinds and rolled into Clay and right up to a cafe.We had our sit-down breakfast. Unlike our breakfast yesterday at Fordsville where it was delicious, I would do my own cooking if I lived in Clay. :-))We did get to talk to some nice people though. One rather sophisticated looking lady who was wearing lots of jewelery and had her hair done up nicely and fingernails polished and was wearing her camo turkey hunting outfit kept getting up from her table and keeping everyone's coffee cups full. She had come in this morning from an actual turkey hunt. She was wearing so much camo that I almost couldn't see her. :-))We left there and rode another 20 miles into the headwinds before hitting Marion, Ky where we stopped for lunch. I had a reuben, salad and homemade chips and enjoyed the antique cafe we ate in. I also am enjoying the low cost of the meals. That reuben and homemade chips was only about $4.00.The route out of Marion had us going in a northerly direction and the winds were more at our sides. That was nice to be able to pedal at a more normal speed. The winds this morning had us pedaling hard to do about 8mph.We came to the Ohio River about 8 miles later. The area where we cross is done on a ferry...a free ferry. It was fun riding the bikes onto a boat and just enjoying the 30 mph winds along the river. :-))When we got off the ferry, we were in our third state...Illinois!!We rode into Cave In Rock, Il and turned west on a small, but very hilly road.It was pretty warm out and we worked up a good sweat climbing the small, steep hills and then rolling down to do it all over again.We got to Elizabethtown, Il after another 9 miles and rode right to the B&B.Mrs Gorp had called yesterday so we were sure of a place to stay. It was a good choice because this B&B is right on the Ohio River. The beautiful home is 100 years old.We walked to a restaurant that looks to be a houseboat moored to the shore of the Ohio River. We ate our dinner while we watched huge tree trunks floating by. They were moving pretty fast too.I'm writing this journal while I'm laying in bed and looking out the door at the river.We have another big day tomorrow, then a planned zero for Wednesday.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))4-24-07Carbondale, Il75.99 miles today (the most ever)1,118 so farToday started off early when I started drinking coffee that Sue had made. The coffee that I've had on this bike trip has been pretty good stuff compared to some of the coffee I get in Ga and Fl.Sue brought out some very good fresh fruit for us to get started on for breakfast, then she brought out a pancake puff apple filled thingie that was also very good. :-))We wanted to get an early start because we knew this was going to be the biggest day mileage wise that either of us have ever done.It was another mild morning with a chance of severe storms rolling through any time during the day.We thanked Sue and after she took our picture for her scrap book, we headed on down the road.I think the most surprising part of this trip so far is that there really isn't any flat roads. We thought we would be riding flat ground after the Appalachians, but now we understand there is a little mountain range coming up called the Ozarks. I thought they were down in Arkansas, but they come up into Missouri too.We stopped at a gas station in Eddyville for a coke.One of the nice things about most convenience stores and gas station on this trip have been that they have either outside benches or inside booths to sit in.We were sitting on an outside picnic table and saw a guy come rolling up on a touring bike. He didn't have panniers, so I figured he was being supported on his trip.Turns out he was a local that just rode 7 miles for breakfast. He has done long distance touring before, but I think he saw us go by his home and wanted to catch up to talk.His name is Keith Shaw, a rather famous name on the AT, but like this Keith said, he likes not being famous. He also said that he's probably the only person that lives in southern Illinois that rides a bicycle that still has a driver's license. :-))We headed on and by the time we got to Simpson, I was ready for a break. The only thing there was a PO, so I rode up the hill and sat down in the shade out front.The guy from inside came out and talked. He said we were the first cross country riders he's seen this year. He also said we missed the River To River Road Race last weekend. There was thousands of runners and onlookers on the road we were riding on for that event. I knew of the event because a good friend runs it each year.We got water there, then headed on.A small Jack Russell dog came out onto a fairly busy street and ran along trying to bite my right foot. I wasn't worried about the dog, but after he kept it up for so long, I decided to try and make him think twice before chasing bicycles, so I got my pepper spray out and gave a quick shot just in front of him. I didn't want to hit him right in the face, but I wanted him to get a whiff of the pepper and go home.Well, he got a whiff and stopped and headed back. I was feeling very proud of my good deed when I heard Mrs Gorp behind me, coughing and gagging.All I could think of was "Holy crap, I'm in BIG trouble now!!"I stopped to see if there was anything I could do. I put on my best humble face.She was coughing and spitting and drinking water...and all because of a little pepper spray. I hope she learned her lesson about riding too close to me. ;-))We kept riding the hills and I would look back every once in a while and appologize again. You can never appologize TOO much to a woman. Ha!!It turned out to be one of the hottest days yet. I was ready to stop when we got to Goreville.We found a small sit-down restaurant and went inside to a very busy place.We had a late lunch and I drank about 5 glasses on lemonade. When the waitress saw we were getting ready to leave, she came over and said we couldn't go until we had some apple pie.She gives a free slice of pie to all the cross country bike riders.She took our picture for her register and wrapped a piece of pie for each of us to take.I asked what her name was and she said it is Sarah. She was a young girl and she owns that restaurant called Delaney's On Broadway.Sarah really impressed me with the friendly way she ran her restaurant. She's quite an entrepreneur.We rode on and came to a beautiful place called Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. I even saw a bald eagle riding through there.Some of the roads were very rough, but it was still a nice ride.The traffic started getting heavy as we got close to Carbondale. We rode right up to the Carbondale Cycle where I had Ernst from Danville Bike Shop forward the crank to my bike. I picked that up and told the guy we'd be back tomorrow to get some work done on our bikes.We were tired and wanted to get a room before the rain hit. We did ride through a couple small showers, but they just felt good.There's a Chinese restaurant next door to where we're staying, so we walked over there because it was so busy. It wasn't a buffet, but had a nice menu to choose from. I was surprised when I saw I could get a whole pompano, so that's what I ordered and it was delicious. They even made a fish looking thing out of some of my vegetables. It was one of the best meals I've had yet on this trip.The crank on my bike has been working flawlessly since we left Danville, so I am shipping the bike parts back to Co-Motion tomorrow.We rode 75.99 miles, but I heard Mrs Gorp telling her husband on the phone and everyone else she talks to that we rode 76 miles.4-25-07Carbondale, Il.A Zero Day!!Today was a scheduled zero day so we could get our bikes checked out and the chains and cogs cleaned and oiled.We headed up to Mary Lou's Restaurant for breakfast and had another very good meal. Mary Lou's is just a small place that looks bad from the outside, but is very nice on the inside.They had the best biscuits and gravy I've had in a long time...and my pancakes weren't bad either. :-))The bike shop wasn't open yet, so we rode a couple miles to the PO and I mailed the crank back to Co-Motion.Mrs Gorp has been trying to figure out ways to mail home some weight ever since I got rid of the last 3.5 pounds of my stuff. She hasn't been able to part with any of the stuff she's carrying, so she stopped by an auto parts store and had a guy with a wrench take off her kickstand and a mirror.I should send more stuff home just to see what bike parts she can do without next. ;-))We stopped by Wal-Mart and I got more mixed nuts and some fresh bread. Mrs Gorp made me promise to buy new bread because I'm still carrying the bread that I left Yorktown, Va with. She seems to think it would go bad after 3 weeks.We rode back to the Carbondale Bike Shop and Chow cleaned our chains and cogs and re-oiled everything.He did a wonderful job. It all looks like brand new again.I'd recomend Carbondale Cycle to any other cross country riders.I bought a small cycling hat to wear under my helmet. The bike helmets today have lots of air grooves in them and Mrs Gorp says that the suntan I'm getting on my bald head makes me look like some comic strip guy named "Voltron".Mrs Gorp finally found a new saddle she likes and she bought a mirror like the one I'm using. Now she's going to carry her old saddle until she decides for sure that she likes the new one...so much for getting rid of weight. ;-))I came back to the room and rested while Mrs Gorp went out and got her hair trimmed, a fascial, a manicure and a pedicure with yellow toe nails to match her screaming yellow jersey. It sure is nice being a man and not worrying about how I look or what color my toe nails are. :-))I spent the afternoon answering emails and guestbook entries. I hate to get so far behind, but I still don't have a real good routine out here on the road yet.Bluebearee must have been on her computer because I got a reply back from her almost immediately...thanks!! :-))When Mrs Gorp came back, we decided to go eat. We made a bad choice going to a pit barbeque that probably won't be open much longer. The only good thing about that meal was that we stopped at Sonic on the way back and I got a milkshake and Mrs Gorp got a hot fudge sundae.We ended up riding over 8 miles on our bikes on this "rest" day. :-))