Day 16 and 17 (June 9th/10th) Saturday was day one of our ride along from Homewood, IL to Chebanse, IL. We had three riders join us in Homewood for the trip to Chebanse where we stayed at Zion Lutheran Church. The ride started off smooth as it was a beautiful day and we set out at a nice steady pace in large groups. After lunch the groups split up and I ended up riding with Keith and Allen (one of the riders who joined us). Keith was a little ahead of Allen and I so when Keith went straight into and through Kankakee I just followed thinking we were headed in the right direction. After having gone on for about 10 miles without seeing any sign for our next turn or any signs for Chebanse I started to wonder if we were on the right road as our millage was in the mid-60's and I'd been told that the total mileage for the day was only in the mid-60's. Keith was about a quarter of a mile ahead of Allen and I by this point and I decide to pull over and call Jon to clarify the directions. It quickly became apparent that we were never suppose to go through Kankakee and that we were headed in the wrong direction. After talking with Jon I tried to call Keith but just got a recording telling me that he had yet to set up his voicemail. As we pondered what to do with Keith probably a mile ahead at this point my phone rang. Thankfully it was Keith, who called after noticing we were no longer behind him. He cycled back to meet us and we headed back in the direction we had came. By this point Jon had reached the church in Chebanse and called to check our status. Jon's grandfather was able to pinpoint our location and point us in the right direction before setting out to meet us and bring us water.
In between the point where we got the directions and we met them down the road we came across a set of giant railroad tracks that ran diagonally across Rt. 28. These were unlike any tracks that we had crossed previously in the trip as the area between the track and the road was much deeper and wider. As I got closer to them I knew I needed to take it easy but when my front tire hit the first track it wedged itself into the area between the track and the road and down I went. Allen who was off to the other side of the road also encountered the same problem and wiped out as well. Thankfully both of our bikes were ok and we just left the scene with scrapes and bruises.
We met up with Jon and his grandfather down the road and they gave us water and helped us navigate the final six miles to the church where everyone else was waiting for us. We ended up covering 77 miles on the day with our little adventure!
Jon's family and the people of Chebanse were amazing providing us with an amazing meal followed by trademark brownie and ice cream sundaes! Check out my sundae in the photo. Brownie, Ice Cream, Strawberries, Gummy Bears and sprinkles! We say were are on the bike across America diet - I'm not sure how I will adjust when I go back home in August. Jon's family then made us an absolutely amazing breakfast the next morning with Egg Casserole, French Toast Casserole (if whoever made the French Toast Casserole is reading this and wants to send me a recipe that would be amazing! bikexc@gmail.com) and many other delicious breakfast foods! I must say it was the most delicious breakfast I've ever had!
After the great breakfast we left Chebanse headed for Champaign and the University of Illinois. We had a few riders join us in Chebanse before meeting up with about 20 more people for the final 15+ miles from Rantoul, IL to Champaign. Having never been to Champaign or even Illinois before it was pretty neat to ride in with the entire group and have everyone cheering for us. A special thanks to all who were there to support us from the friends and families of the riders to the University of Illinois Alumni Association - all in all it was an amazing day!
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