Today we traveled from Manhattan Kansas, to Effingham Illinois. We covered about 475 miles in 9 hours, including stops.
The weather today was pretty nice for riding, although still a little warm. The highs were in the low 90s. I told Lennie, that all of the sitting/riding on the bike has not been an issue, but I am getting tired of having my head crammed in that helmet for so many hours each day (especially in some of the heat we have encountered on this trip).
When we left this morning, we still had a bit of Kansas to cover. After Kansas, we traveled across the entire state of Missouri, and ended up hitting St. Louis at the beginning of rush hour. The roads were pretty busy, but manageable. Lennie was a little disappointed, as our travel route did not take us past the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial‎ :( After Missouri, we traveled about 2/3 of the way across southern Illinois. As I type this, we are at our hotel in Effingham Illinois.
Tomorrow, we tackle the last 500 miles, and hope to be home by around 8 PM. The main issue looks like thunderstorms. There are storms in the forecast for Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus, and home. Some of the storms are supposed to be severe, with hail and high winds. Hopefully we can dodge the worst of them and make it home. Worst case, we have to spend one more night in a hotel somewhere between Effingham IL and home.
Once home, I will make a final post with interesting (and some, perhaps not so interesting) statistics about the trip.
Wish us dry weather for tomorrow !!!