Day #24-Carbondale to Chester, IL 52 miles

This day started anxiously awaiting our appointment with the folks at Bike Surgeon to replace Steve’s rear wheel.  This should be a straightforward process, assuming the wheel actually arrives.  We’re at the local Panera Bread because Steve wants a bagel only there are no bagels.  It’s apparently a Southern Illinois University tradition for faculty to buy bagels for their students at the end of the year. They bought the place out!  Anyway, a guy comes up to us and asks about our trip.  He’s taken similar trips, including The Great River Road along the Mississippi River.  When he hears the story of Steve’s wheel and how we might be stuck in Carbondale for another day, he offers to let us camp in his back yard!  He gives me his phone number and I tell him I’ll call if we’re still here.  Amazing!

The wheel arrived as expected and Ian made quick work of getting it on the bike.  We were on the road at about 12:30.  The TA route offers an alternate route between Murphysboro and Chester that we took.  It was a nice ride paralleling the Mississippi River for about 35 miles.  Except for a moderate climb into Chester, it was mainly flat.  It was good to be back on the road.