Day 30 (May 12) Mulberry Grove, IL to Newton, Il, 73 bike miles;2138 cumulative miles

The "Jay" phase of the trip has begun, with the assumption of the keys to Tiggy by our third SAG driver, Jay Bowman, and the departure of Martha Easter Wells, our 2nd SAG driver. Martha had been with us since Day 7 of the trip and did a superb job in keeping a careful eye on us, running countless errands, finding places for us to stay, and fetching us when we needed fetching. THANK YOU MARTHA FOR SEEING US SAFELY THROUGH ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, MISSOURI AND PART WAY THROUGH ILLINOIS!

We were soon to discover that Jay needs no introduction in Vandalia, Illinois, which was the next town after leaving Mulberry Grove. Jay's favorite dinosaur was also there to greet us!


Vandalia was also the former Capital of Illinois. The young Abe Lincoln served as a State Legislator in the 1830's.





From Vandalia, it was on to Effington, where we were able to do much needed laundry. Since the day was still young, we decided to continue on... little did we know that a head wind would make the last 25 miles a bit tougher going.


We passed through many small towns, including "Dieterich" which is the name of a friend from High School. I was intrigued by "2000 Ave" in such a remote area!

Later, there appeared a strange person biking towards us... why, it is our esteemed SAG driver, who did not fully realize the significance of biking with a tail wind. Jay would soon find that it was a bit tougher heading back to Newton, where he had spotted a motel for us for the night. Dinner would be Mexican once again!