We left our mini-hostel, which we shared with Bill, (free for cyclists and air-conditioned) early to get breakfast at Casey’s in Chester because they open early and the coffee is actually good. 😊
We had a choice to either take the inland route or go down to the Mississippi and follow it for several kilometres before rejoining the main route. We opted for the Mississippi and regret it. We thought we would get to ride alongside the river, but it was hidden by trees the entire route. Going out of Chester on Saturday morning there were too many trucks on the State Road 3 and it is narrow as well as being Belgian style broken.
Once we rejoined the main route things were better and the scenery picked up again as did the rolling hills we thought were reserved for Missouri. 😅
It got hot quickly today, 24C when we left, 30C by 08h00 and over 40C by 11h00 so we suffered a bit in the heat despite having some shade from the trees in the afternoon.
Into Carbondale which home the Southern Illinois University for lunch. Of course the town was pretty much deserted as school is out but the university seems to be really big
The afternoon was beautiful and we passed a couple of wonderful lakes with very little tourism
The day ended at our pre-booked motel, the Lake Tree Motel, which is drab on the outside but fine inside and the AC is not too noisy either
