Day 30, Tuesday, July 29.
Kankakee, IL to Rochester, IN
Daily Mileage: 102.23 miles
Total Mileage: 2,817.6 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 7:39 hours
Average Speed: 13.3 mph
Maximum Speed: 23.3 mph
We awoke this morning behind the Fire Station. When we went inside to wash up and brush our teeth they told us that they had a run in the middle of the night, and we didn't hear a thing. After we packed our bikes and took a couple photos with the guys and their truck, we rolled down the street to the Blues Café—quite possibly the best breakfast spot of the entire trip.
The Blues Café was a true 50's diner. It was bustling with the morning crowd, conversation, and clanking dishes. Our waitress came over to take our order and was amazed at the amount of food we wanted. For the past two weeks, we've eaten the same thing for breakfast every morning: two eggs scrambled (David's are over easy), three pancakes, an order of hash browns (west of the Mississippi) or homefries (east of the Mississippi), toast and a Coke. Every morning when we walk into the diners of America we order the same exact thing. It’s a great way to judge the quality and cost of things as you cross the country. Well, on this particular morning, our server cut David off in the middle of his order thinking that he was done with only eggs and homefries—come on. She was even more amazed to discover at the end of the meal that we had finished every bit of our meal. One of the interesting things we heard across the country was that, “Our pancakes are plate-size.” Now, I know actual plate size can vary, but more often than not these people need to take a look at the size of the pancake and realize how much of the plate is showing around it. At the Blues Café the pancakes were plate size and you couldn't see the plate!
Once we finished our hearty breakfast and started to roll out of town, the excitement began to build as we approached our next day off. We were going to be stopping in Ft. Wayne, IN to stay with my parents for a day. One nice thing about Illinois and Indiana is that they're rather skinny states—only a couple hundred miles wide. I was getting even more excited as we made our way to the Indiana border because it’s my home state. The border eluded us since we were on country backroads, and there wasn’t a state sign greeting us as we rolled from one state to the next. Eventually, we saw a state highway sign that said Indiana and then we knew we had made it. Our destination today was Rochester, IN, approximately sixty miles from home.
When we arrived in Rochester we stopped for dinner at Taco Bell. By this point David and I weren’t eating meat, especially in Taco Bell. We went in and ordered a feast of tacos and burritos totaling $11.00, and that was without drinks! After feasting on our bountiful meal, I made a couple of calls trying to track down some place to stay for the night. I found out there was a church nearby that might work. The church was in the middle of town and when we arrived we circled it trying to find any signs of life inside. The ladies association was just finishing up their weekly meeting and invited us in for some dessert. They served us some delicious ice-cream cake and punch. Once they cleared it with the pastor, we were allowed to stay the night in the fellowship hall that was carpeted and air-conditioned, and we each had our own private bathroom (of course, one of them said “Ladies” on the door).
(Photo: Tim excited to see that it wasn’t too much further to Ft. Wayne.)
Daily Mileage: 102.23 miles
Total Mileage: 2,817.6 miles
Daily Time on Bike: 7:39 hours
Average Speed: 13.3 mph
Maximum Speed: 23.3 mph
We awoke this morning behind the Fire Station. When we went inside to wash up and brush our teeth they told us that they had a run in the middle of the night, and we didn't hear a thing. After we packed our bikes and took a couple photos with the guys and their truck, we rolled down the street to the Blues Café—quite possibly the best breakfast spot of the entire trip.
The Blues Café was a true 50's diner. It was bustling with the morning crowd, conversation, and clanking dishes. Our waitress came over to take our order and was amazed at the amount of food we wanted. For the past two weeks, we've eaten the same thing for breakfast every morning: two eggs scrambled (David's are over easy), three pancakes, an order of hash browns (west of the Mississippi) or homefries (east of the Mississippi), toast and a Coke. Every morning when we walk into the diners of America we order the same exact thing. It’s a great way to judge the quality and cost of things as you cross the country. Well, on this particular morning, our server cut David off in the middle of his order thinking that he was done with only eggs and homefries—come on. She was even more amazed to discover at the end of the meal that we had finished every bit of our meal. One of the interesting things we heard across the country was that, “Our pancakes are plate-size.” Now, I know actual plate size can vary, but more often than not these people need to take a look at the size of the pancake and realize how much of the plate is showing around it. At the Blues Café the pancakes were plate size and you couldn't see the plate!
Once we finished our hearty breakfast and started to roll out of town, the excitement began to build as we approached our next day off. We were going to be stopping in Ft. Wayne, IN to stay with my parents for a day. One nice thing about Illinois and Indiana is that they're rather skinny states—only a couple hundred miles wide. I was getting even more excited as we made our way to the Indiana border because it’s my home state. The border eluded us since we were on country backroads, and there wasn’t a state sign greeting us as we rolled from one state to the next. Eventually, we saw a state highway sign that said Indiana and then we knew we had made it. Our destination today was Rochester, IN, approximately sixty miles from home.
When we arrived in Rochester we stopped for dinner at Taco Bell. By this point David and I weren’t eating meat, especially in Taco Bell. We went in and ordered a feast of tacos and burritos totaling $11.00, and that was without drinks! After feasting on our bountiful meal, I made a couple of calls trying to track down some place to stay for the night. I found out there was a church nearby that might work. The church was in the middle of town and when we arrived we circled it trying to find any signs of life inside. The ladies association was just finishing up their weekly meeting and invited us in for some dessert. They served us some delicious ice-cream cake and punch. Once they cleared it with the pastor, we were allowed to stay the night in the fellowship hall that was carpeted and air-conditioned, and we each had our own private bathroom (of course, one of them said “Ladies” on the door).
(Photo: Tim excited to see that it wasn’t too much further to Ft. Wayne.)
