Saturday, July 04, 2009

19: Effingham is Effing Amazing

Stoker's Log Day Nineteen

7/4/09

From Greenup, IL

To Effingham, IL

27.4 miles

13.5 avg mph

We planned a very short ride for today so that we would end up in a town big enough to have Fourth of July festivities but be off of the road before they began. Our goal was Effingham, which, along with having an entertaining name, was less than thirty miles away. I thought it would be an effortless and enjoyable ride...until I noticed the forecast for relentless rain.

I don't have much to report from the ride itself, as I mostly remember being cold and wet. We were focused on finishing as quickly as possible, and it's not like we could see much through the sheets of rain anyway. We did pass a sign for the country's strangest high school mascot: the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes. I wonder if their cheerleaders dance to "These Clogs Were Made For Walking" before giving up entirely.

About two hours later we arrived in Effingham very wet and very cold. We pulled into the first place that offered a roof and warm sustenance, which happened to be Joe Sipper's Cafe.

We had no idea how fortuitous this choice would be. I think it took the entire afternoon for me to get anywhere close to warm and dry, but in the meantime we had wonderful company. Frank, one of Effingham's biggest cycling proponents, happened to be having coffee there with his daughter. We talked for a long time about our experiences, his recent bike trip across Europe with his son, his daughter's post-graduation plans, and the crazy pig sacrifice bbq that happened at his cabin last weekend. When Frank heard about our mechanical problems he introduced us to his friend Chad, who used to work on bikes in Colorado. Chad and his friends braved the rain to look at the bike and in a few minutes he managed to fix our shaky headset, the same one that had plagued us through several states and befuddled every bike shop owner who looked at it. It was an Effing miracle.

Frank also called his contact at the local newspaper, who came right down to the coffee shop to interview us and take our photo. I can't believe we might be in another paper!

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Joe Sipper's, very content to blog, drink large amounts of coffee, and people watch. I learned that teenagers in the midwest are just like teenagers anywhere else, except that the girls are more likely to be wearing long jean skirts. I also started reading the shop's copy of Lance Armstrong's first book; hopefully I can find more copies in shops and libraries along the way because I really want to finish it. When the rain finally let up in the late afternoon we were reluctant to leave, until we remembered that my mother had used her reward points to get us a room at the Hampton...A room with a warm shower, a big fluffy bed... We suddenly found the energy to ride again.

Ironically, we missed the fireworks that we had ridden to Effingham to see. We were holed up in the warm hotel room when they started, and by the time we stirred ourselves enough to walk outside the show was over. But we didn't really mind; after all, we've been seeing and celebrating America every day.

Happy Fourth of July everyone.

| posted at: 10:02 | permanent link and comments

You can view more entries using the archive links to your left or by looking at our index!