Now rounding the final turn...

Today we left Missouri, and in one trip across one bridge we symbolically went from the West to the East, from the South to the North, at least temporarily.  When we crossed the Mississippi, it felt like we are certainly rounding the bend and heading toward the finish line.  I know we have a good bit of riding in front of us, but based on where we started, and the non-direct route we took to get here, it seems strange to believe that we're in the home stretch when we just crossed the Mississippi.  Of the 12 maps we follow for the journey, we have completed 9.  Map #10, here we go...

We started the day in Farmington, MO and we can't thank the people of that fine city enough for their great hospitality.  The cycling hostel they've created in their town is a fantastic place and it certainly makes one feel like others are caring for our safety and our security.  I hope they keep this tradition alive and continue to host cyclists.  Other cities should take notice.  I know I challenged all other cities to match what Ash Grove, MO did - I still do, but Farmington's come pretty darn close.  

Monkey and Cow saying goodbye to Al's Place in Farmington

Despite the great reception that we've had from 2 separate cities in Missouri, I do feel that we were ready to leave.  Missouri's a beautiful state, very hilly, with some incredible land, but I will not miss (some) of their people.  I do have to say that I have never seen so much garbage tossed onto the roadside as I have seen in Missouri.  There were more beer cans, soda cups, beer cases, and various objects thrown overboard, that it really made me sad.  I joked earlier in the week that the loneliest places in the state would be the garbage dumps, because little apparently makes it there.   The people who enjoy such beauty as their landscape certainly don't care much for it.  The other thing I will not miss is the attitude held by too many of their people, that cyclists should not be on the road.  Despite us following a course named US Bicycle Route 76, meaning that this is a major route for many cyclists, we were yelled at and harassed by so many people.  Typically it was people in pickup trucks, and typically it was incredibly rude.  

This situation came to a head today, symbolically as well as literally, as we were heading toward the border.  We had a pickup truck driver with a huge trailer come so close to us that I reached over and slammed my hand into his trailer.  This poor fellow was so daft that he actually stopped his truck, as if we had done something wrong.  I had the fortune to be able to explain to this driver that indeed, this was a major cycling route, both a national and state cycling route, and that cyclists do have all the rights of automobiles, and that it is state law (I think) that vehicles must pass 3 feet away from these cyclists.  After this gentleman's wife replied that "but you was in the road," I believe we had an exciting discussion about who's road it actually is.  The wife took video of this exchange, apparently in the attempt to perhaps educate her fellow pickup truck drivers.  Again, most of the drivers we have encountered have been very respectful, but this not-so-silent minority have made our trip to Missouri, on the whole, a bit sour. 

As we passed across the river, heading into Illinois, I think we were quite ready to take on the challenges of the last 3 states we'll travel through.

Approaching a big, wide, muddy river

Heading over the Mississippi on a (very) old bridge

We entered Illinois at Chester, which is apparently the home of Popeye the Sailor Man.  This was obvious by the many statues of Popeye and his cohorts.  I believe that they have spent too much time obsessing over Popeye, and not enough effort with anything else.  Jerry and I had expected to have a lunch in this town, but after searching all over, were reduced to another Casey's General Store, where they fixed us a couple of sandwiches and we ate them sitting on the floor of their store.  I can tell you that we've had too much food from Casey's, mostly because that's been the only alternative.   If anyone hasn't had the pleasure, Casey's is basically a gas station where they have some convenience items.  The people in these stores have been very nice to us, but in too many cases these have been the only successful operating business in the town.  We thought Chester would be different, but sadly, no.

On we went, though Chester, heading for either Murphysboro or Carbondale, home of the Salukis of Southern Illinois University.  We chose to get off of the official Trans-America Trail today, simply because this was going to add about 15 miles and a whole lot of unnecessary climbing to our already long day.  We took Google's suggestions and took a direct route toward each of these cities.  Traffic was low, perhaps because it was Sunday, and the roads seemed reasonably safe.  Suffice it to say that despite such a small sampling, none of the drivers in Illinois seemed to have issue with cyclists on the road.  We settled into our Super-8, nabbed some Subway for tomorrow, and went out (took an Uber) to a brew pub restaurant tonight where I actually enjoyed a Bell's Oberon, something I've been advertising about every other day (including today) since our departure.  

Entering Illinois and advertising some of that good Bell's beer

We were able to make our stretch target, Carbondale, but again we were pretty ragged by the time we pulled up.  A couple of very long days, after a very short night at the Arrowhead, have take their toll.  We did about 92 miles today, but we were certainly aided by the friendly winds, along with about a 10 degree drop in temperatures.  Humidity remained high, but even a little heat relief was appreciated.  I hear we will return to the mid 90s this week.  We climbed over 5,000 feet again today, some of it very steep, so we will see how this continues this week.  

Tomorrow we head to the border - our target is a state park on the Ohio River.  There are few other alternatives, so we had to book a room and shoot for it.  No looking back.  I'll let you know how this goes.