Today was touted to be a short easy day (144 miles)from St Louis to Effingham IL. We started out at 6:00am to get through the city ahead of the traffic. It was to be picture day as well. We set out as a group at a leisurely pace and stopped down by the river with the arch in the background for a group shot. Then we got on the Riverfront trail and rode over to the bridge crossing the Mississippi for our individual photos that will be mounted on a plaque at the end of the tour. Jon had a streak of flats enroute to the bridge so I waited for him so he wouldn't have to ride alone. Everyone was a good 10 - 15 min ahead of us once we started back on the course. Then the trouble began. We missed an unmarked turn and rode an extra 4 miles to get back on course. We made it to the rest stop, but everyone was gone except for Mike from Ohio. He too had missed a turn. The three of us ventured off once our water bottles were refilled. As we rode on we realized we should have passed Fruit Rd which was our turn. We missed it and had to retrace our path 7 miles. By this point we knew we couldn't catch the group and now it was just a question of making it to the next rest stop before they closed and more importantly lunch. Mike backed off as he had decided to take the century a day option after the first few days of the tour and would be sagging in at the lunch stop. Jon and I pushed on, stressed we wouldn't make it to lunch for fuel. We made it to lunch with 10 minutes to spare. John Newton another rider was taking it easy and still at lunch when we arrived. He rode with us the last 42 miles to the hotel. It was a long day that wasn't expected to be. Bonus miles for Jon and I today. No prize for that. Tomorrow we ride to Indiana. I'll be back on eastern time. Yippee!
Getting very tired of fast food for dinner. Getting very tired of eating.
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