Thursday June 14, 2001, 87 miles (140 km) - Total so far: 285 miles (459 km)Rode along the Hennepin canal towpath west for a few miles until the trail went into an area that was under construction, It was rough going through tall grass and areas of rutted dirt. Decided to follow the local roads, good wind with me today & good roads in this part of Illinois, with light traffic. Stopped for breakfast in Erie IL at Russ's café, place pointed out to me by another bicycler out for some morning exercise. Looked like all retired farmers inside, not a friendly group here. Made Albany IL at 11:00 p.m., Fulton at noon just after I ran into the great river trail.
At Fulton I rode the bridge over the Mississippi River into the town of Clinton Iowa, mostly just so I could say I rode as far as Iowa. Made a visit to the drugstore to look for something to relieve the swelling around my eyes, which was probably due to a combination of a reaction to pollen and all the dust from the road - not to mention the constant flow of sweat and the sunburn. Thus far everyone I have met seems astonished to hear that I've rode my bicycle from Indiana. This has come as a surprise to me, before I started I expected to meet many people traveling by bicycle, and people along the Grand Illinois Trail that were accustomed to it. I have not seen one other person that I would qualify as being on a loaded tour as of yet. Crossed bridge into Savannah IL stopped at McDonalds for lunch and avoided a brief downpour. After lunch followed route through downtown, attractive district here. The terrain changes just out of town, Hills and Bluffs along the river road, beautiful. This is why I do this! Stopped at Mississippi Palisades State Park around 4:00 p.m., gave up $8 for a campsite, but they have showers here, I took two. Most of the day I rode in +90 degree temperatures until the rain cooled it off to around 80 degrees, rain blew in again around 7:30 p.m. and I settled in the tent for the night.