Day 28 May 26th Gibson City Il – Monticello In

  
I hit the road early this morning with a stop @ the McDonalds next door to the hotel. I talked to the locals having their morning coffee, discussing my trip, farming & the weather. I was in a rush to get ahead of a line of thunderstorms coming in from the west. I made it 35 miles to the junction of Rt 24 the route I will ride on pretty much all the way through Ohio. I just made it into a town as the skies opened up. I was on rain delay for 2 1/2 hours. I the. Set out on a course to the east with winds that neither helped nor hurt. My goal was Monticello IN 65 more miles away. I made it to a pull off @ the IN border where I had my lunch of peanut butter & jelly on flat bread, bananas & tuna. I took off & paced my way through the now headwinds, happy for my early departure this morning. The ride was actually nice with small towns lining the route atleast giving me the option for a rest or shelter from the rain. The rain held off & I made it into Monticello @ 5:00. 

Today I reached 2 milestones, getting through another state & now am in the eastern time zone! I found a WalMart & swung in & purchased my badly needed new tires. With storms forcast for the night I decided against camping & in BAD need of a shower I found a hotel & settled in. After some dinner I changed tires & installed a new bike computer ( my other one quit altogether 4 days ago). The comp is really a nice thing to have & I have missed it. 

 This part of the trip is amazing. Riding along some of the most amazing farm land, watching the farmers working the fields with equipment that is second to none. A real treat to a small town guy like me. I should be in Ohio on Sat & when I hit that border will feel like home. The desperation of this trip is behind me & I am now enjoying each leg of each day. Thanks for all the support & messages from back home . It helps more than you will know.

A shoutout now to the Canton High athletes @ shippensburg this week for track states, Randi Jennings & Noah Barnett & coach Morgan! Good luck guys , & enjoy the moment!