OK yesterday was a blast. Fun day with only 55 miles (90k) on the route so I was able to chill a little and nap in the shade for the afternoon.

My niece Becky came to join me for dinner and we explored and found a couple gems. First, (thanks to local knowledge from one of the more than proud people from the town I was in Ashkum Il) we found the oldest wooden sided church in the state of Illinois in l’Erable Il. This church is 161 years old which in the tornado belt is extremely impressive. 

Then we went to a locally recommended restaurant for dinner. We walked up and although there were many cars around one could never guess there was an operational restaurant on site. The Long Branch though was extremely good and generous and relatively inexpensive. Just one of the many surprises and shocks of the trip. 

Then to top it all off I met a group of cyclists going from Brooklyn NY to Oregon. Turns out the next day we would leap frog each other and spend quite a bit of time together. I enjoyed this group of young men. They are cycling farther than me each day and I’ll probably not see them again on this trip but what an enjoyable treat.