Yesterday, I did a fairly poor job of planning my nutritional needs and was running on fumes when Jon spotted a Subway for lunch. The best evidence I can offer for my state of hunger was that I couldn’t even muster the energy for a decent Jared Fogle joke. This morning, I loaded up at the Quality Inn breakfast buffet: eggs, sausage (actually, I think, just some sliced hot dogs), English muffin (with a combo schmear of Philly cream cheese and Nutella!), yogurt, and a banana.
We left Pontiac a little before 8:00 and made really good time to Normal/Bloomington. We grabbed a quick bite at McD’s before leaving Bloomington, and spent the next 20 miles on a beeline into Lincoln. My only gripe for the day was the non-existent shoulder for much of the ride. Early on, leaving Pontiac, we jumped onto the old Route 66 roadbed for a couple of miles, but it ended up being far too choppy. There were several stretches of wide, paved trails—an especially nice, long one coming out of Bloomington—but they weren’t frequent enough or long enough. I haven’t yet decided whether it’s charming or tragic—probably both—that so many of these small-town communities are clutching at Route 66 straws. On more than one occasion these past two days, I’ve found myself reciting lyrics from Mary-Chapin Carpenter’s lovely and elegiac “I Am a Town.” There’s plenty of socioeconomic evidence for the damage done by Walmarts and Dollar Generals, but interstate highways have their fair share of culpability. (And I suppose that Route 66 itself devastated some old railroad towns that it bypassed… and of course we have the history lesson of “Blazing Saddles” to demonstrate the importance of having your town on the railroad line.)
Right after lunch in Bloomington, Jon noticed some minor, but troubling, deflation in that damn rear tire again. If it’s another leak, it’s a super-small one. He could ride 10-12 miles before the tire felt too spongy, but it never came close the point of “riding on the rim.” We have a short ride into Springfield tomorrow, with ample time to take it into a shop and get another new tube, if necessary.
Today’s ride ended up being my longest of the year, just under 72 miles, but it didn’t feel like it… I think, probably, because of the sameness and the straightness of it all.
Rideworthy 