September 10: Eastward through southern Illinois; Edwardsville to Vandalia, 58.8 miles. some elevation gain!

Beautiful rolling hills and farms of southern Illinois

The day began with a crisis 😲.  One of our group left their bras and underwear at last night's airbnb! 🤭.  It was clean thank goodness.  It was not Pete's.. double thank goodness 🙄.  Our sag driver was decided for the day based on whose underwear it belonged to.  She decided to make the drive back to St. Charles to retrieve the goods.  

The flurry of emails began between the host and Pete (I said it was NOT his bra) to try and collect the aforementioned undergarments.  The flurry of text messages began between the sag driver and Pete as to where and when the transfer of goods would take place.  Frustration ensued when the skivvies could not be located then she came!!  Kay to the rescue.  Kay brought the undergarments back to their rightful owner!  Another crisis averted

Kay returning the supposed lost garments

A happy reunion 

The epic adventure continued towards Vandalia Illinois.  After the flurry of communication, the other two proceeded along bike trails and country roads.  The trails were lovely.  The roads were mostly pleasant with minuscule shoulders but light traffic and NO tractor-trailers!  And hills!  Beautiful rolling hills.  No arduous climbs with awesome summit views, but gentle, fun, rolling hills.  The downhill giving enough momentum to make it halfway up the next incline.  The weather is becoming more humid as we travel eastward, but the temperatures are not so hot and the sun is a bit gentler.  The fields still contain corn, and soy.  Life is good.

Nickel Plate Trail Underpass

BTW, while on the trail, one guy admired Pete's noodle and another rider shouted " you've got something sticking out there buddy".   Will interest in Pete's noodle never cease???

The three of us met up in Greenville for lunch at the Corner Cafe.  A fun old diner where we had to pay $1 for an extra plate.  We thought about telling the waitress "no thank you, we'll just eat off the table, it looks clean" but thought better of disrupting a small town.  We also wondered whether we had purchased the plate for $1 or rented it?  hard to say.......

The Corner Cafe in Greenville Illinois

Meanwhile, back in NY, Sue B has arrived home to her dear husband David.  Guess what she did today:

        A.  wrote a novel about her travels                                                                                                                                         

        B.  did 56 cartwheels in a row marking the number of days she was away from home

        C.  went for a 20 mile bike ride

Those look an awful lot like bike clothes to me...... just sayin'

So, back in Greenville Illinois, where we are spending the night...... we decided to try out the local restaurant Joe's Pasta and Pizza.  Lisa doesn't think Joe is Italian based on his pasta recipe.  We decided not to tell the locals, they seem to love Joe's food.  Afterwards we found more live music at "Kahuna's Burgers-N-More".  We drank, we danced, we enjoyed the local night life.  Wonder what epic adventures tomorrow will bring?

The Chapman Brothers play at Kahuna's