9. Jul, 2016

08.07.16 Mattoon, Illinois to Annawan, Illinois

A moving on day only, starting off under grey clouds and humidity, and riding into blue skies and drier heat.

Today was spent mainly passing through the fields and fields of corn, and soya plants growing in this vast flat state, once again superbly green.  These last few days have been a little tougher for us because there is a monotony to them, and no clear sight of when we get to the next wow thing.

When we stopped for a chat today, we decided that this is the meat and bones of our travelling.  It’s easy on the days when you get up full of excitement and adrenaline to get going, and be out there in rain or shine, but it requires more stickability when the day promises not a lot more than relentless heat and the same scenery over and over again. When setting out to achieve the East to West ride across the USA, we knew there would be challenging days for different reasons.

We are spending between 5-8 hours approximately travelling each day, and then several hours are spent researching the next areas to visit, for lodgings, and places to visit, also keeping the diary blog.  These are enjoyable hours spent, just as enjoyable as the travelling on.