2015-06-22 - IL - Day 26 - Henry to Orion

I rode with Nils slowly to rest stop 1 against 13 mph crosswinds, passing Olivia and Libby along the way. The stop had a gas station and cafe. After a break, I left with Nils and missed a turn that many others missed as well. Nils turned back to make the turn and I cycled ahead to catch up to Libby who also missed it. We rode a slightly roundabout way to Kewanzee, 3 miles away from the rest stop 2 at the side of the road. I stopped in town to take photos and got there a bit later. We thought for sure we would be the last ones there but there were 4 others behind us, who had all gotten lost.

A group of us -- Joe, Will, Nils, Alex, Zach, and I -- left together and took the wrong direction at a confusing Y-intersection. We rode almost three miles in the wrong direction before figuring it out. Joe and Will continued on, and I heard later that they cycled about an extra ten miles and had a great time getting lost. The rest of us turned back. The winds had changed and were in our favor. Alex, Nils, and I rode fast to the end, twenty to twenty-eight miles per hour. After the pastor spoke with us, lots of free food was prepared for us at the United Methodist Church: lasagna, salads, garlic bread, baked treats, sodas, Gatorade, and water. Showers were available to us at the nearby fire station. We watched the first Matrix movie, and I was one of the few people who stayed up for the whole thing. I had forgotten how good it was. Meanwhile a tornado made landfall twelve miles away and eerie orange light filled the skies.