Was up early and on the road by 7am. Rich & myself bade farewell. The chances are that will be my only trip to Carlinsville in this lifetime and, I can be sure, long after my memories of the Illinois landscape begins to dime and fade My memories of the 42hrs in Carlinsville burn brightly & long bring a smile.
The plan for the day was to try to get to Hannibal just over 100 miles away. It was a nic morning. A mile or so beyond Carlinnsville I returned to the familiar landscape I had been following as far as Decatur. After about 18 miles I came to a junction with route 265 which ran 30 miles northward to Jacksonville where I'd hoped to rejoin route 36.
There was a light SW breeze through the morning which meant that when I turned north I had a tail wind for the first time on the trip. I was able to push through the miles with unaccustomed ease which made it a joy to be on the road. I completed the near 50 miles to Jacksonville in 3hre 20. At Jacksonville I asked locals in a petrol station if I could get to Hannibal or if I would have to go north to Quincy to cross the Mississippi. What entailed was a discussion at the counter involving about 8 people as to what route was best for me. A couple of phonecalls later I was told the way was clear for me on route 106 which would bring me to Hannibal. It turned out that on bridge had opened just that morning due to the recent flooding. I was very grateful to those people who wished me a safe journey on the road.
Before hitting 106 I decided to get some lunch in a diner. When the owner heard my story she didn't charge me for the food. Another example of the kindness & friendliness I've met along the way.
I left the Diner around 12 & hit the hardest headwind I've encounetered so far. The 20 mile stretch to Winchester was tough. I did it in 2hrs but had to stop in a petrol station to cool off. Again, at this place people were asking me where I was from, shaking my hand & wishing me luck. The best, though, were 4 young lads about 7-8yrs who came in while I was sitting at a table sipping my drink. They came over & sat at the table with me & asked if it was my bike that was outside. When I said 'Yes' they said 'Cool!'. So next came the inevitable question about what I was doing. Their reaction to my reply was priceless. The sense of wonderment in their wide-eyed 'Wow' made me smile. They just turned to each other & said 'He's going from Boston to San Francisco!!' I just started to laugh. Then they asked me where I was from. When I said Ireland the youngest lad asked "is that, like, another country??" Again I just started to laugh. The other lads had heard of Ireland.
The next 23 miles to Pittsfield were straightforward enough. The wind lessened & made it a lot easier. I had decided to stay here tonight as I'd lost time in the wind & it looked as if there was going to be a storm. I crossed the Illinois river which was in flood out as far as the flood levees which had been erected to protect the farmland beyond. THe last few miles of undulating countryside developed into a small race against some very dark clouds which resulted in a downpour just after I got into town. That night a major storm erupted giving a big light show with lightning blinking every few seconds. At one point the electricity was knocked out for a few seconds. I was asleep before the storm moved on.
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