Day 20 – Day 24: Two More States and 1 Time Zone Down

July 10
Hodgenville, KY to Falls of Rough, KY
61 miles

July 11
Falls of Rough, KY to Sebree, KY
75 miles

July 12
Sebree, KY to Cave In Rock, IL
58 miles

July 13
Cave In Rock, IL to Goreville, IL
61 miles

July 14
Goreville, IL to Chester, IL
69 miles


Sorry we haven’t posted in so long. We are busy biking, eating, finding shelter, and sleeping, and are having the darnedest time finding the time to write about the day. We have barely taken any pictures either (yeah, we're kinda tired of the farm landscape too). But, the good news is that we are now 1 time zone closer and two states closer to home! We finished Kentucky on the 12th and have ridden across Illinois in 2 days. We are on the banks of the Mississippi tonight, poised to attack Missouri tomorrow.

Some brief reflections on the past few days:

Unpleasant surprise of the week: Illinois is not all flat! The southern tip is decidedly hilly! According to fellow Transamers, the route isn’t flat until we get to Kansas, and then it’s so flat and boring that we’ll be wishing for hills again (ha!).

We continue to be impressed with how friendly and welcoming of cyclists the residents of the many small towns that we pass through are. We have experienced many simple acts of generosity that really mean a lot to us. In a small market, the owner approached us and offered us popsicles, and then filled up our water bottles with ice (!). In Whitesville, the two young checkers came outside to talk to us about our trip and asked if we needed our water bottles refilled. At the delightful Marion Café, our server welcomed us to stay as long as we wanted, even after they had closed. (BTW, we had a very memorable dessert here: a piece of Ho-Ho cake, a delicious concoction of chocolate cake and whipped cream filling.) At Delaney’s Café in Goreville, we were treated to dessert (as are all cyclists). We are approached by literally dozens of people every day, asking about our trip and giving us their well wishes.

Many businesses keep logs for bikers passing through to sign. In Sonora, a man in a car flagged us down to encourage us to stop in at the local café (Brooks Café) to sign the log. We did stop, and were amazed to find a log that went back to 1978! It’s great fun to read comments from other cyclists, some of whom we have actually met on the road.

We are passing Eastbound cyclists in spades now: 3-5 groups per day. Many are road-weary and ready to be done, but yesterday we met a group of three (an American woman travelling with 2 Dutch men) that were still enjoying themselves and so enthusiastic about the trip that it was a real joy to talk to them. We got a lot of helpful tips about the route ahead.

Another task slowing us down is the number of turtle rescues that have to be performed daily. We have a picture documenting the process. No doubt our speed will increase noticeably once we are out of turtle country. K also stopped yesterday for a snake (the first live one we’ve seen on the road), but after noticing the rattle, she decided he was on his own.

We experienced another fabled Transam institution on Saturday: the bike hostel run by the First Baptist church in Sebree. In exchange for a 5-minute attempt by Pastor Bob to save us, we were treated to a stay in an air-conditioned basement with mattresses, a hot shower, tv, and use of a full kitchen. Most cyclists also have dinner cooked for them by Violet, Pastor Bob’s wife, but unfortunately, she was tied up with the Sebree Summerfest so we had to fend for ourselves.

Over the past several days, we have passed through several Amish and Mennonite communities. The motorists in these locales are very patient with us cyclists, we figure since they get a lot of practice with the horse and buggies on the road.