Illinois!

We left Kentucky in a whirlwind of emotions; a lot of happiness, a lot of tiredness, and anxiousness to see what is to come.  Regardless of our emotion, we were all ready to see the Ohio, and thus our gateway to Illinois. As we piled all 25 of us onto the ferry to take the boat over the river to what in our heads would be a whole new world, we had the feeling that our “Right of Passage” was complete.  According to most who have done the trip, the battleground that is Kentucky is a right of passage for those heading west, we all had it in our heads that the worst was over and that it could only get better from here.

Illinois was awesome, greeted on the Illinois side of the Ohio by several of the rider’s parents who gave us cold Gatorade and watermelon, things were looking up; not to mention we had our second rest day of the trip to look forward to after just one short, or not so short, 85 mile day of riding.

We awoke in cave in rock at 4 AM to get an early head-start on a long day, and try to give ourselves the most time in Carbondale where we would be taking our rest day. Before we knew it we arrived in Carbondale to one of the riders, Seth’s, parents house. At this house we find a cooler full of Fat Tire right next to a clear blue swimming pool. This was the most amazing way to end a hard day and officially start resting.

Our rest day in Carbondale was the last of only two scheduled rest-days along the trip. Best 6 or 7 of the riders live in Carbondale we had plenty of air-conditioned places to sleep and plenty of things to do.  We started by going to the “Famous” Thai Taste restaurant where we had delicious Thai food immediately followed by a Bike the US for MS party at a local Mexican Restaurant Tres Hombres, where our team was provided a keg of bud-light and their bar for the night. It was a much needed place to relax and feel for a night like we were back in the “real-world.” This, is a funny concept, and a common theme, among riders on this trip, the “real-world.”

I am currently riding my bicycle across the country one day at a time and this is literally all I am doing.  I wake up in the morning, pack up my temporary home, start eating, start biking, do more eating, more biking, (repeat as needed) then I arrive at my home for the night, I rebuild my home and repeat this process every night.  Each night we are in a new place going to new diners meeting new people but our team remains constant.  All of us co-exist through the chaos and do EXACTLY that, we exist.  Being on this trip all the way from one coast to another is not about a schedule or a timeline or work or stress or worry, it is simply about being; existing without having to know (or having any idea) what day of the week it is, without having to know when you need to wake up or go to sleep but rather just follow the cues from the sun. This is the beauty of this trip and what draws many people to doing such a thing. The liberating feeling that where we are, what time it is, how we smell or how completely ridiculous we look is simply not as important as just living and enjoying the ride.