Springfield, IL to Tuscola, IL 80 miles

This was one of our extremely short days, but it was an interesting one. We left town about 7:00 and were on the country roads by about 8:00. We battled a very slight headwind all day, but it wasn't too bad. We both feel that we are now in good enough shape to handle most conditions. About 20 miles into the ride, I noticed a very annoying clicking noise going on in the axle that connects the pedals, which I believe is called the lower bracket (I know as much about bikes as Terrell Owens knows about humility, so I am probably wrong on what it is called). Anyway, we saw two ladies out cycling after about 35 miles, and we stopped them to ask if they knew where a good bike shop was. Teresa ended up taking us five miles into Decatur to a place called Spin City Bikes. The guys in there were very friendly and helpful. It was a one of a kind shop, let me tell you. When was the last time you went into a bike shop at 10:30 a.m. on a Monday and were offered a beer on tap? We decided to go with the coffee instead. While we waited for my bike to get fixed, we walked over to Jimmy Johns and ate sandwiches, and we both agreed we could eat those everyday for the rest of the trip, since we are both ruined on Pizza Hut for life. After the bike was up and running, we headed back towards our route in which we backtracked at least three unnecessary miles, making it a little longer than the expected 77 mile day. If it were over 100 miles for the day, we would have been mad about a three mile detour. The last 40 miles into town were spent going down back, back, country roads, and I wasn't even sure if we were on the right route. However, we were, and we made it into town at about 3:00. We came to the Holiday Inn Express, and Dad had a great comeback. He barely had to lift a finger for this deal, but got us a great room for $60. Then, one lady came in about five minutes later, and paid $95...sucker! PHIL'S BACK!!! But his brain is nowhere to be found. He was showing me his impression of the "moon walk" when we were in the room, which was basically an awkward strut walking straight forward. I wouldn't even go so far as to call it a "reverse moon walk." Well, we have 121 miles tomorrow. Goodnight.

Blake

P.S. I forgot to mention that at one point in trying to scare cattle yesterday, I'm pretty sure Dad barked like a dog. However, I wasn't certain if that was the tactic he was going for, nor did I ask...the world may never know.