I woke up early. I felt a little strange being in a town park. I packed up and planned my route for the day.
I ate cereal for breakfast. That made me really happy. It was a bright and sunny morning. I started out quite good. But as the day wore on, the wind picked up. My knees started to ache. I think my seat has been making a slow sink into the frame.
The sun was constant and scorching.
I began to get very tired around 3pm. This was also the time I approached the Illinois River. This meant large hills. The heat and the pain in my knees made the climbs almost unbearable. I did manage some good downhill sprints. This included one such sprint reaching 38 mph. The adrenaline from that was not enough to help me across the river however.
I saw the water tower for Henry in the distance. The water tower has come to be a relieving sight. I know seeing one means the next town is near, the next meal, the next fill up of water. And Henry was my last town of the day. I was delighted at the idea of being done for the day. The bridge across the Illinois River was a two-laned steel monster arching upward in the middle. There was no shoulder and no sidewalk. I tried to getting a sprinting start but the grade of the arch pushed me quickly down into my lowest gears. Perhaps it was the prior 50 some miles or the angle of the seat or just my waning selfconfidence, but something made it nearly impossible to cross that river. I pedaled as hard as my tired legs could move me. At barely 4 mph the cars behind me became very impatient. The narrow bridge and busy traffic made passing me near impossible. So i tried to pedal harder. My knees were in excruciating pain. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Finally I reached the peak and coasted into Henry.
I could have camped in the town park for free, but I really wanted a shower. There was a campground about 6 miles north of Henry. Washing away two days of sweat proved too alluring. There seemed to be some local festival at the park anyway. I bought some sandwich ingredients and headed north.
The website listed the campground hours until 5pm. I left town at nearly 20 after 4. I pedaled hard but my knees resisted. I called the campground about 4:50 to make sure someone would still be there even though I'd get there after 5. They assured me they'd wait. I reached the road to the campground shortly after 5, only to find myself standing at the bottom of a half mile gravel driveway up a hill. I pushed my bike up.
I finally walked into the office and store and looked around. I then realized that I didn't see a credit card machine. I asked. The teenage girl said only cash or check. Why didn't I get cash back at the store?! $15. I only had $7.
The girl tried to be helpful and said Henry was only 5 miles away and would have an atm. I told her I knew because I'd just come from there. I told her it'd take me near two hours to do that. She looked confused and said again it was only 5 miles. I told her I came by bike. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as she asked the usual questions. It wasn't her questions, it was just the idea of another 6 miles on my knees. The girl text the owner who was at the camp. The woman came in and said 'Ah, a cyclist, eh? What's the trouble?' I said I was thinking they took cards and didn't have enough cash. She asked if I had $7. I said I did. She said okay. We'll just charge you $7. I thanked her and paid. She sent me near the showers too.
I setup camp, showered, and ate. I took some painkillers and passed out grateful, but mentally and physically exhausted.
Sent from my HTC PURE™, a Windows® phone from AT&T
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