Today was a long day. My route took me from Chenoa, IL to Litchfield, IL. We passed today through cities like Normal and Bloomington, and I would like to personally thank the wonderful men who run Wilson Cycle in Bloomington. I noticed that the back bike rack was leaning slightly and stopped in to see if they had any in stock or any ideas that could help. They never tried to sell us anything, instead they came right outside, got down on the ground and started tightening bolts and looking at what could be the issue. They were able to secure it and make a recommendation in case I chose to upgrade the rack at some point and it wasn't even what they sold, just what they thought would work best for us. Before we left the son took a picture with me and one of the car with the logo and gofundme QR code on it to post to the Facebook page for the store and promote the ride.
We also met some wonderful people along the route in Elkhart where a group of men eating lunch asked about the ride and one had seen it on a sister station to one in Las Vegas and was able to answer why I was riding before I could. He said he had seen me on a station that turned out to be the local WB affiliate. I was flattered any of them had heard of me and two even came outside to check out the bikes before I took off riding.
We had another brief navigation error but thanks to a lovely woman who came out of a nearby office, we got directions to a bike path for me to ride and moved on. Everyone we have met has been incredibly nice and helpful.
We had dinner at the final stop on my route sheet and it is the place I will start from tomorrow morning, the Artiston Cafe. It has been around since 1924 and predates Route 66. The food was delicious making it a perfect end to the day. Late in the afternoon we ran into a lot of rain so I finished my ride wet and cold and unfortunately popped a tire on the bike I was riding at the time but thanks to the foresight of my husband I have back up bikes, and my mom's quick response to come switch them out for me got me back on the road quickly. When we got settled into the room I worked on repairing the blown tire and I admit, I was struggling, There were a few tears and some major moments of doubt but words of encouragement from my husband telling me to just do what I could helped me refocus and fix it making me feel very accomplished. I know it seems silly but it was a big deal for me.
Tomorrow we head for Pacific, MO and will already be through the first state on our trek. If you see the bright yellow jersey or the blue car with the stickers and magnets about the ride, feel free to say hi and take a picture with us. We always love to meet new friends.
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