Winter 1998 - San Diego to Cincinnati
Journals - 13 March 1998
Day 44
13 March 1998 (~7 miles E. Salem, Illinois in woods off
farm access; mileage = 75.3) [Friday the 13th] -- X - We slept in a bit and
then got up to much-improved warmer weather. I fixed my flat tire in the
tent before leaving. We rode north to Belleview. We couldn't find a McD's,
so we ate at Jack-in-the-Box. When we got rolling east on 161, the wind was
out of the south with a slight west component. We rode past awful suburbs
and some small towns. We got on a nice section of US 50 (navigation error
actually, since it was premature). There, April had a mystery-metal-sliver
flat. On a double bridge (one is for back up?) not long afterward, the road
was back to overcrowded-no shoulder country highway where super vigilance
for jerks is tiring. We had stopped for snacks a couple of times but were
really hungry by the time we got to Salem. There was a Golden Corral there
and we both ate well. On the way out of town, we had a very sad dog
incident. We'd had one run out onto the busy road earlier in the day, and
we had both been thinking about how lucky he'd been. But tonight, one ran
down the yard; I saw him and waved and pointed for the pick-up driver. He
must have thought that was an integral part of propelling a bike, because
he didn't slow down in time and the foolish dog, Sam, probably didn't make
it. Its owner was there, and we didn't want to get close to that scene, so
we pushed on, trying to solve our own problems in an unfriendly area.
![[Bike]](./only2500b.gif)
