Day 35 -- Springfield, IL to Champaign, IL

Miles: 102.31
Total Miles: 2649.63
Time: 6:38
Average Speed: 15.5 mph
Max Speed: 30.28 mph
Flats Today: 1
Total Flats: 14
Elevation Gain: 1380 ft
Weather: Slight head and side wind around 95 degrees
Today was the 3rd of 3 centuries in a row, so we took it slow and steady. We got on some real back roads for the first time. Also, a lot of the roads were chip-and-seal, so it was even more like Ohio than before. We basically rode through corn and beans again for the whole day. We woke up at 5:20, ate breakfast at Bob Evan's at 6:00, then loaded at 7:00 and made our way to Champaign. We rode behind Phil all the way to the first sag stop. There wasn't much for those first 30 miles, but right before the sag stop, Wade felt his front tire go low... He had a flat. Since it was about 50 feet from the stop, he just rode it in then changed it while we were there. There was a lot of firsts during that flat: Wade's first flat tire on his front tire, Wade's first time changing the tire all by himself, and my first time sitting back and just enjoying someone else change it. It was a great flat.

After the sag stop we rode for another 30 miles through corn fields and beans. Luckily the wind wasn't really strong or we would have had trouble today. Anyway, about half way between the sag stops, we ran into some construction. The road sign said road closed, but we rode through it anyway. When we got about 50 yards into the construction, we had to pick up our bikes and walk through dirt and stones. After we got by some of the construction equipment, we had to walk across a small bridge to get to the other side of the stream. When we got over the bridge, we had more dirt and stones until we came upon some large rocks that went across another stream. We walked across the rocks, then after some more dirt, we could finally get back on our bikes and start riding again. Don't worry, we took plenty of pictures of that great adventure.

After the construction, we rode the next 15 miles through more Ohio terrain all the way to the second sag stop. At the sag there were some awesome jokes that I have to share. It was at a cemetery, so Phil asked if it would be located at a dead end. Also, there were blueberries there and one of the staff members told us to eat them because they have anti-accidents. Good thing I'm not a fan of lame jokes or this could be a really long paragraph... Riding through just corn and beans all day can make you laugh at the stupidest things. Anyway, about 20 miles after the second sag stop, we turned a corner and got behind a crop sprayer. I don't know the technical name for it, but it was very large and created a great draft for me. I followed in right behind it while Wade took pictures of me being an idiot. We followed him for about 2 miles, then we finally decided to pass him because he wasn't comfortable with us behind him.

We finished out the day and went into the hotel. It was a little bit of a challenge to find the hotel because it changed names from the Comfort Inn to the Quality Inn. We did find it eventually, and luckily we made it just in time to unload luggage. After we checked in and such, we headed out to Church with big John and Fran, then we stuffed ourselves at a buffet and came back to the hotel. With all of the miles today, we officially made it a century. That's 3 century's in 3 days... I don't know how proud I should be, but I do know how tired I am.