Fourth Day on the Road

Today was a good day of riding. Temperature in the morning was not as cold as it has been for the past couple of mornings. There was no snow or ice and the bike easily started. First stop this morning was across the street at the first Starbucks I have seen since Nevada. Nothing starts the day right like a quad espresso. I was able to start with the my light weight gloves today. After using my heavy ones for a good part of 3 days, my hands lost strength from fighting the gloves every time I move my hands. The lighter ones make a world of difference. About 2 hours after leaving, I was in Iowa. Stopped at a few roadside gas stations to warm up, gas up, or a bathroom break. One of the places I stopped at was the town of Casey. It had a population of 435 and, I think, was there to support a concrete plant.













After that I continued down I80 stopping at more gas stations until I found a place to have lunch. I ended up at Grandma's Kitchen in Walcott, IA. It was good food...The waitress convinced me to also get a piece of raspberry pie. It was a huge piece! She also gave me a some ice cream to go along with it...I had to be rolled out of there when I was done.













After that, I entered Illinois.






I had to make several stops as I had way too much tea with my lunch. One of the first places I stop was the Mississippi Valley Welcome Center. This is for the state of Illinois just as you enter. I have never felt so welcome as you can see from the photo.





There was another door that was open where the bathrooms were located...which was a relief.

The last place that I stopped for the day was the Great Sauk Trail Rest Area. It is surprising how nice some of these rest spots are.













I ended up at a hotel in Peru, Illinois. It is 7 miles shy if my originally planned location in Ottawa, Illinois but the Starbucks across the street from that hotel made it easy to change my mind. That's it for now. The next 2 days will be relatively short with approximately 470 and 403 miles per day respectively. See ya again next time from the interstate...

Total miles traveled today: 478

Location:N 30th Rd,Peru,United States