Day 36 - Willow Springs, MO to Carbondale, IL

67 Miles / Day 36 of 50 / Willow Springs, MO to Carbondale, IL

We woke up ready to ride. A night of luxuries of a hotel room (AC, shower, continental breakfast) quickly reminded us what life outside of a 4 by 6 tent was like. Talk about a refreshing reminder.

The mighty Mississippi.

We filled up our wattle bottles and were sitting at our first stop light of the day when Jack said "Uhhh, Seth you're tire looks flat."

Now before I beat the dead horse and share some bike problems I need to take a minute to shine some light on the positive. My back tire, the Achilles heel of our trip, has made it over 1200+ miles (since Colorado) with no issues what so ever. Turned out my air stem had bent and was leaking. Easy fix. One new tube and 20 minutes later and we were on the road.

Don't forget to eat your spinach.

Lesson #76: Pay more now, and end up paying less over the long haul. Pay less now, and end up paying more for it in the end.

As we fixed the tube Jack and I talked about how nice it's been to not have rear wheel issues the last thousand miles or so. In Salida, CO I had my back tire restrung and a new rim put on. If I would have invested this energy at beginning of ride I most likely would have avoided the time and money of dealing with a bum back tire the first 2000+ miles of the ride. Hindsight is 20/20. Lesson learned. Hope it sinks in enough to remember in the future.

The ride was absolutely gorgeous. We rolled up and down back county roads in Missouri as we rode into the Mississippi River Valley. The lush, green scenery was a nice change of pace from the not so lush windy and dry Kansas landscape. And the fact that pops was carrying most of our weight in his '88 Mercury made the ride that much sweeter. (Thanks pops).

Lesson #77: You take the biker out of the Midwest but you can't take the Midwest out of the biker.

Towards dinnertime we crossed the mighty Mississippi into Chester IL. The home of the beloved Popeye the Sailor. As soon as our bikes touched down off of the bridge Jack and I felt like we were home. (Illinois, Ohio, Iowa - they're pretty much all the same, right?). Midwest love - forever we're home.

6 down, 3 to go.

We grabbed burritos from Moe's, a nice change of pace from our normal gas station food dinner, and retreated to the motel to watch the All Star game. Great to see Joe Mauer play and the AL win it. Sorry Jack, home field advantage is ours.

Thank you pops for making it down. We really appreciate you taking our weight as we ride during the day. This supported touring thing is...incredible.