9-23-2012 (Sunday) Cape Girardeau, MO to Golconda, Illinois

Miles biked today 80
Ride time – 6 hr. 56 minutes
11.5 MPH

I know we said it before but we will say it again, what a difference a day makes!



We woke up this morning raring to go at 5:30. It was pitch dark and there were many stars in the sky yet when we left the hotel at 6:00 and stopped at Denny’s for breakfast at 6:10. At 6:45 it’s daylight and we headed out of Cape Girardo across the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge into Illinois. It was rather cool this morning, even by Wisconsin standards, our starting temperature was 40 degrees, so we had on long biking pants and fleece jackets which made for a very refreshing early morning ride. We had seen frost on the roof of a house along the way and the forecast was for all time low temps for the area. As soon as we crossed into Illinois the roads flattened out and we cruised along through the alluvial plain of the Mississippi River for the first 55 miles of today’s ride, what a relief after the Ozarks.



We were so excited to be bicycling on flat land!

In the early morning hours we came across a “Murder” of 20 to 25 crows feasting on fresh possum road kill…..quite a site! They were bound and determined to keep it for their own because they didn’t fly off until we were very close to them.

About 24 miles into our ride we stopped in Tamms for a short break at a convenience store where we saw a bicycle with a BOB parked. We no more than walked through the door than a bearded old timer says, come on in, breakfast is on me. It’s my official job to greet bikers as they come through town. We thanked him for his offer but declined as we already had eaten breakfast but did take him up on a cup of coffee and a soda.

Special thank you to Donn - he welcomed us to Tamms and bought us our morning beverage!

Back on the road again we cruised through the towns of Ullin, Karnak, Boaz, Mermet, and Round Knob before getting into 15 miles of hills again separating the Mississippi River watershed from the Ohio River watershed.



We arrived in Golconda about 2:30 and stopped at the Dairy Bar and Café for a late lunch / early dinner and then checked into lodging for the evening. There are any number of B&B’s in the area but with Labor Day past, they apparently are closed for the season already so we ended up staying at Michael’s Motel. Pretty blah accommodations, but clean and spacious, no internet, no TV, no breakfast, no nothing other than a clean bed and shower.

Today’s route along with clear skies, bright sunshine, comfortable temperatures, good scenery, and a favorable light breeze made for a very pleasant day of biking across southern Illinois.
Tomorrow,  we’ll cross the Ohio River, and look out Kentucky, here we come!