Day 36 -- Champaign, IL to Crawfordsville, IN

Miles: 80.22
Total Miles: 2729.85
Time: 5:05
Average Speed: 15.7 mph
Max Speed: 30,2 mph
Flats Today: 0
Total Flats: 14
Elevation Gain: 1501 ft
Weather: Low wind around 95 degrees
Today was more corn and beans just like Ohio. We crossed the border to Indiana, but not many more exciting things happened. One thing that did surprise us was that we came to 4-way intersections that didn't have a stop sign in any direction. It wasn't a fluke because there were more than one of those intersections without a stop sign. Also, the drivers in Illinois and Indiana were not friendly at all to bicyclists. There were many drivers that beeped and yelled at us for no apparent reason. Despite that, we had a great day riding through corn and beans. We woke up around 5:15, loaded at 6:00, then ate continental breakfast at the hotel. After we finished eating breakfast, we went to Bob Evans to wait on Fran. We had a choice between Bob Evans and continental breakfast, so we chose to eat at the continental breakfast then just wait outside Bob Evans for Fran. Anyway, we didn't have to wait very long for Fran to finish, then we headed out for the day. Once we turned a few corners, we came to Anthony Drive. I told those guys I wanted to take a picture by the sign, so they agreed, then Fran told me that his middle name was actually Anthony. Since my first name is Anthony, and Wade and Fran's middle names are Anthony, we all 3 took a picture by the sign. We were feeling great, but soon our luck turned. It only took 5 miles for us to get another flat... but at least it was Fran this time. He changed his tire, then Wade pumped it. I really like when Fran gets flats because he changes them, Wade pumps it, and I watch. We got passed by almost everyone during that flat, so we were in the very back of the pack. We drafted behind 2 of the staff members for about 25 miles, then we took a picture while they moved on. I'm not quite sure what the building was that we took a photo of, but it was very unique. I think it was some type of old corn bin, but I am sure Puthoff will let us know what it is. After we took our picture, we road the next 5 miles to the first sag stop.

After the first sag, we rode through some small towns and more corn all the way to a new state with more corn. We got to the Indiana border, then before we took a picture with the Indiana sign, we turned around and got a photo of the Illinois sign since there wasn't a sign when we crossed the Mississippi River. I look so short next to Wade, dumb kid. Anyway, we got the Illinois picture, got the Indiana picture, then we road through more corn and beans to the second sag stop. We didn't stay as long as we usually do because there was a nice restaurant across the street. We had some pie at the restaurant, then we continued on our way. We got less corn on this section and more trees. It was a nice shady ride all the way into town. I also got into a nice conversation with Fran about civil engineering and planners, which got my mind off of my sore legs. It was really funny at one point because we were deep into the conversation when we had a turn coming up. The cue sheet said, "Don't miss this turn. Don't go straight down the hill because you'll have to climb back up." Wade, that little punk kid, knew the turn was coming, knew we were deep into the conversation, knew that we weren't paying attention to the cue sheet, knew that we would go down the hill if he didn't say anything... so he said nothing. We approached the hill, and were going to go down without hesitation, then Larry Johnson, the 74 year old, yelled, "Don't miss that turn." We quickly turned and didn't go down the hill. Wade immediately said, "Dang it, I almost had you guys. I was going to let you go down the hill, then laugh at you." It was a very steep and very long downhill, so thank God for Larry Johnson.

We rode into the hotel, quickly checked in, took a shower, then sat back and watched the World Cup finals. It was a nice day of riding with a few amount of attractions, but tomorrow is a short day of riding with an enormous amount of stuff to do. We're going to see some awesome stuff tomorrow... at least we think it's going to be awesome.