Day 28 - Sunday, June 7
Start - Carbondale, IL
End - Chester, IL
Miles (on the route) - 50.5
Miles (total) - 55.6
Avg Spd - 13.5mph
Max Spd - 33.5mph
Total Ride Time - 3:50
I was really struggling with motivation this morning, just didn't have a desire to get on the bike. Being in a city this large kinda had me longing for some of the normalcy I haven't had in some time. It was Sunday and having a leisure day sounded right, relaxing at Barnes & Noble to read some magazines or finding a music shop and browsing. I haven't taken a single day off besides the day in Lexington, VA with the bike out of commission; maybe it's time. I decided to catch a movie at the theatre and assess afterwards.
Went to see Terminator Salvation which was moderately entertaining. I suppose it satisfied my need for some escape from the trip because afterward I felt ready to jump on and do some mileage.My travels took me to Murphysboro and then alternate routes to Chester along the Mississippi. I chose the Mississippi levee alternate route that would take me out into more rural territory and along the levees by the Mississippi. I thought it would be interesting scenery, and it was flatter of course. The ride was peaceful through mostly farm country, spotted with little bodies of water trapped from Mississippi flooding. The ride took me up onto gravel roads on top of the levee and past a major coal operation. What appeared to be a mostly automated coal train station loaded car after car as far as I could see. Humming and buzzing with alarms as each car advanced. Between the station and the Mississippi a kid was fishing from some of the trapped flood waters and I stopped to chat. He told me his fishes there often but doesn't recommend eating anything from there due to the coal plant. We talked about the area, and he explained he doesn't care for southern Illinois. He's lived all over the west coast and preferred that area. With a recent graduation from high school he's decided to join the army because he says he won't be able to find a job in the local small towns. "The Army isn't laying anyone off," he explained. Throughout these travels from town to town I've wondered what it would be like to live there, how much would be different? I'm thankful I've never looked at such limited options. I'm not sure if I've just had other opportunities or always considered different options.My ride eventually brought me into Chester, the home of Popeye! Most of the businesses and other buildings were decorated with murals of the Popeye characters and throughout the town were statues of the various characters. These are the neat things you find that you would never expect. The city park offered free camping so my next priority was getting some dinner. I happened upon a pizza/italian restaurant and met a couple guys on the way in. They said they were passing through and invited me to join them. Mike and Skip were from St. Louis and operated a BBQ joint called Pappy's Smokehouse. They were on their way south to pick up some smokers and then headed to NYC, Madison Square Garden, for a big BBQ invitational. They've only been open for a year and a half but have already garnered quite a bit of acclaim. All the discussion had me ready to turn North and go straight to St. Louis for some brisket, but it will have to wait a few more months! I had big plate of pasta and chatted with them over dinner, and had a great time. Real nice guys. They even ended up buying my dinner, but I'll be buying dinner from them in St. Louis.