Day 32

Day By Day Notes From The Road
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This document updated August 1st, 2004

Madison Wisconsin to Belvedere Illinois - 82 Miles

By Erwin:

Today was a windy day - everyone was feeling a little sluggish at first, but once we got into it, we rode well. The 109 miles of yesterday were making our legs feel weak.

The route offered a familiar sight: long rolling hills (up and down, up and down, etc), corn fields as far as the eye could see, small towns, centered around the grain silo and (since a few days) the occasional bigger town.

The highlights of the day were that we stayed in a very nice campsite (outdoor world), the use of which was donated by the owners. Also, we crossed into our 8th state: Illinois.

Tomorrow, we will have the first of our back to back century rides. All are praying for good winds!

By Lucija:

Bike cleaning.  I've cleaned my bike more times on this trip than during the four previous years of ownership.  If it didn't squeak, it meant it was doing just fine, and if it did squeak, I'd give it some oil and that was that.  Then I entered the world of the Big Ride, where people sleep with their bikes (two of the riders really do - in their tents!) and clean their bikes everyday.  So these days I too own a pair of gloves, chain cleaning tool, chain degreaser, alcohol, and all sorts of rags.  On the rest days I spend at least one hour trying to get my bike shining for the week to come.  Does all this effort make a difference?  Hmmm, I'm not convinced yet!

Photos:

We made it to state number 8!