Day 35: Tired Legs

Springfield to Champaign, IL
Miles:  97  Climb:  1,814
Total Miles:  2,808

The journey through the expansive Illinois corn and soybean fields continued today.  The conditions were perfect: good surface, not many hills, and pleasant temperatures. We rode the most rural roads we've ridden, yet. These were truly country back roads, which I love to ride, but my legs were dead. They ached the entire 97 mile ride.  Yesterday I felt strong and rode the 107 mile course hard. I paid for it today. My legs rebelled from the start this morning.  I tried spinning in a low gear at high cadence. I tried slowing the cadence. I played with my gears. Nothing relieved the soreness in the muscles. My quads and my hamstrings were telling me they'd had enough, but I had 97 miles in front of me.

I decided maybe I hadn't eaten enough carbs at breakfast to give me the power I needed, so I ate the Cliff Bar I had in my pocket before I got to the first SAG stop. The food on this trip has been a mystery to me.  It certainly hasn't been the fare of champions.  The SAG stop food is completely opposite of what I expected.  I expected to have high quality carbs and protein at the SAG stops. Instead, we have high calorie, high sugar food that I normally would not consider eating.  But when you are riding 80+ miles a day, day after day, high calorie food with sugars you burn quickly is the menu. When I arrived at the first SAG stop, I slathered a pile of peanut butter onto a piece of wheat bread and wrapped it around a banana, making a banana hot dog of sorts.  I paired the sandwich with a hand full of Cheetos and washed it down with a hydration drink.  I ate three Oreos and a peanut butter flax seed cookie and followed that with an orange.  When we got back on the road, my legs were still dead, and they remained dead the rest of the day.  I guess it is to be expected that day after day after day of long distance riding there will some days when the energy just isn't there. When that happens, all you can do is rely on the mental strength to power the legs to the finish.

Our second rest stop was at a volunteer fire department in a small town 33 miles from Champaign. The firemen had ice water for us and opened the fire station so we could use the facilities.  What a treat to use an indoor restroom on the road.  Normally we use a tree or the ditch, and in the flat farmlands of Illinois it has been challenging to find a suitable location. The warm reception and support we'be received from the towns we ride through has been heart warming.  We get a lot of teasing about why anyone would want to do this, but people have been overwhelming enthusiastic and supportive of our efforts.  It's restored my belief in the basic goodness of humans.

Tomorrow we ride to Crawfordsville, Indiana, another state and another time zone.  The anticipation for the finish is mounting in the group.  We are over two thirds of the way to our goal.  When we were in Kansas we felt like we were never going to see the end, and now we are feeling the end is coming too fast.  Forecast for tomorrow is for sunny skies and pleasant temperatures and the mostly flat terrain continues.  I've spent time this evening stretching my legs, rolling my thighs, and icing my knees.  Rex is meeting me in Crawfordsville tomorrow for our 41st anniversary.  I'm preparing for a fast 85 mile ride because I'm so eager to see him.