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Why do you have a flag? (You look like a dork)

Oct 23rd, 2022 - Julie Kauffman

Mike enjoying an Illinois sunrise in an attempt to beat the wind

Today was another challenging day, with a strong and persistent headwind. We had another 60 miles to go, mostly southeast, with winds out of the south. Unlike yesterday, we mostly stair-stepped south and then east the whole way, and each stretch of a headwind was only a couple miles. That helped mentally a lot.

Mike and I stopped for a couple hours in the town (city?) of Marion about halfway through our ride. We went to Walmart to get dinner for tonight and breakfast for tomorrow. Afterwards we stopped at a Thai restaurant for lunch. We were waiting in the parking lot for it to open at 11 and we weren’t the only ones. It was the place to be for lunch on Sunday.

Apart from the wind, the weather was good. Warm and sunny. The scenery was good too. We passed a lot of fields and residential neighborhoods. At one point we rode down a street with some kids playing. I was ahead of Mike and the kids cheered me on and told me I was a winner. When Mike went through they asked him why he had a flag. They were probably too nice to point out we look like dorks.

Highlights

excellent Thai food for lunch
we rode through Shawnee National Forest, which was beautiful and provided some shelter from the wind

Lowlights

there have been a couple times where I was riding ahead of Mike and a dog has chased me and then by the time Mike passes the dog, the dog has ignored him entirely. Today, however, Mike was ahead of me and passed a house unscathed. When I rode by four dogs came barreling around the side of the house and chased me down the road.
headwind

Julie’s food

Breakfast: snausage bap
First Snack: no cow bar
Lunch: Pad Thai with tofu
Second Snack: Clif bar
Dinner: nuggies, chick’n piccata, peanut butter and bread

Stats

Total distance: 62.81 miles
Elevation gain: 2,226 feet
Weather: windy and dry, high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit

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Why do you have a flag? (You look like a dork)

Highlights

Lowlights

Julie’s food

Stats