INDIANA!

After our awesome stay in Louisville, we crossed the Ohio one last time to get into Indiana. We were in a big group at this point, so we took the opportunity to try and spell out the name of our next state. Though for some reason, Larry, Carlie and I are taking a break from making our "N." Our next stop was Litman, Indiana. It was such a short day that we took time to enjoy the many corn fields we were passing, and stopping for iced cream. It's a good thing we savored this 45 mile trip, since our next day would be one of the most difficult days yet.

OK, so the next morning we woke at 5am to get started on our 90/90 day nice and early. It was a really warm morning, and totally beautiful. One of our leaders, Kate called me outside, and we watched as hundreds of birds began to emerge from their roosting spots right outside our church. And so began the day that George called "TARrific." Ryan Farr, upon arrival at our host site that night said only three words, "Tar. Gravel. Wind." These three factors combined to make this a super difficult day.

At around mile 60, we got onto some back roads. This would normally be ideal, but it was so hot out that the tar began to melt. We couldn't avoid the tar, and then we would hit these gravel filled roads, and our tires would become coated. So much so, that all of our brakes were locking up ever few miles. Also, with the wind and the sticky tar, our normal pace of 15-17mph, was brought down to something more like 8 or 9mph. It was really tough physically, and mentally but we all pushed on, and motivated each other to pull through maybe our most difficult day.

After our tough and tarry ride, we were happy to have a long and flat ride into Springfield, IL. The trip was 92 miles, so we got into paceline mode right away. Karina, Carlie and I cruised at about 16mph in a pretty decent headwind. In the afternoon, some of the lead riders found an amazing bike path that went on for 15 miles! It was fantastic, and a way to get away from some busy roads. For the last 30 miles of the day, the wind really picked up. They were steady at 20mph! Larry, Carlos and I did a nice job of pacelining, and made sure everyone had fresh legs to finish out this long ride. It felt great riding into Springfield. Two pretty tough days in a row, and though my legs were totally feeling tired, it was great to reflect on some pretty hard rides, and know we made it through together.

We stayed two nights in Springfield. The following day was a build day, and we worked on a house nearly complete in a neighborhood that already had 4 habitat houses. It was so nice to see how great the houses look, and the kids playing in the yard. A big group of us worked on digging out where they will lay down the new sidewalk, while others set up lots of drywall.

Today we had a beautiful ride into Pittsfield, IL. It was 80 miles, and just perfect cycling weather. Tomorrow we cross into Missouri and will stay in Hannibal for the night! And now after a nice dip in the town's swimming pool, it's time for dinner!