Over 900 Miles, and My First Motel ( Rest of Day 11)

Ahhh, luxury! I have to say, little beats a hot shower and a large room you can move around in! I'm also across my first time zone change!

The road started out as more ups and down today, with little shoulder. Add in that US 50 is apparently a popular route for trucks in Indiana, and it was a matter of constant nervousness. I was pretty sure before that I would not be making it into Illinois today, and the road seemed to confirm it. Still, I wanted to get close. After a surprisingly fast section, I found myself in some of the (major) road I like best - wide shoulder with little gravel. I also had my first tailwind(!!!) Ahhh, the miles flew by. The weather had been gray and overcast all day, with the occasional drop or two of rain. It seems the front was finally pushing in on me, and giving me a tailwind even as I headed west. Taking full advantage of it, I shot out about 20 miles and found myself quite near the border.

There was a small segment of the route that was marked as restricted on my route, so I figured I would get dinner at the Indiana side city (Vincennes), then see about crossing. As I got closer to the border, the front I had been riding fully overtook me, and I received some real rain (not that spittery stuff from earlier). I've already discovered that a long day in damp shoes isn't that fun, so I decided that if I could find one for a decent price, this was a night for my first motel stay. Route 50 apparently doesn't really connect with Vincennes as far as a bicyclist is concerned, so I decided to press on into Illinois.

Across the border I went on roads that had nice shoulders but had that undeniable look of a road that was closed to bicyclists. I hadn't seen a sign, and that was the excuse I was going to stick with if an officer stopped me! Of course, as soon as I crossed the river into Ill, there was the sign denying access to non-motorized vehicles. Phooey! Once I was off at the first exit, I checked my map and had a heart sinking moment. It looked as if I was going to have to add on another 20 to 30 miles just to go around the five miles or so of US 50 that was restricted.

There was a small paved road that paralleled US 50, so I decided to take my chances with that (it didn't appear on my map), with the vague idea that if it got me close, and I waited until after dark, it wasn't likely that I would get stopped if I sprinted the last one or two restricted miles *whistles innocently*. The road looked very promising for about half a mile to a mile, then veered off. The entire area was fields of newly planted corn, so I headed for the nearby house to ask directions. Before I even got to the front door, an older gentleman, thin and weathered, stepped out and commented on my being a bit wet (I was pretty soaked by this point). He was quite friendly, mentioned a lot of other bicyclists he saw going by in the past, so this was the route they tended to take, and told me I could follow the way I was going and get around the restricted area, complete with directions including "turn right at the church" :)

I must say, bicycling down small farm roads was very peaceful, with no worrying about traffic. His directions were great, and I managed to get into Lawrenceville with plenty of sunlight. After asking around, it seemed that there was one motel of the two in town which local folks thought might have internet available. I stopped off at a Subway to get dinner to go, attached it, and followed the directions I had to the Gas Light Motel. I think I like non-chain motels. While the room is like any other hotel or motel room or a bit larger, the office is clearly part of a family residence. When I entered the office, the noise chimed and a little boy, probably around 8 or 9, immediately popped his head through a door to stare at me. There were a few toys lying around, and shortly a man came from the upstairs area to get me set up. He was very friendly, and we chatted for a bit about my trip. The family is from the Indian subcontinent region, and the whole time we chatted, there were delicious food smells and Hindi (I'm assuming) music floating into the "office" from upstair and the back rooms.

So here I am, in Illinois, the land of Lincoln! In some ways, this trip has been a Civil war story to this point. I started out right in the Virginia region with plenty of markers and memories of my history on the Army of the Potomac floating around. Later, I ran across several Native American references including Seip Mound and several markers for treaty locations. Now I'm into the home of Lincoln. From here, I will have to find a new story to watch unfold! Lots of sleep tonight!!!