Day 7: 6/26/2022: Chester to Goreville IL

 Lucky me!!!  I had the hostel all to myself last night for the 2nd time this trip.  I woke up about 6 a.m.  I looked out of the window and it looked like it could rain.  I checked AccuWeather and it looked to be about a 40-50% chance of rain most of the morning with clearing in the afternoon.  It rained on me almost the entire way to Goreville, and I arrived there about 3:00 p.m.  

A thunderstorm with torrential rain hit me at Ava, IL, and I pulled under a pavilion for a short time and called Lisa.  I wanted her to pull up the weather radar so she could "live the experience" with me:) This is what she texted me.

I'm the little gray dot.  I told her I had to take off, and she told me I wasn't going to out run that.  She was right.

Even though I stayed wet all day and my fingers and toes looked like wrinkled prunes, the rain greatly lowered the temp today and was a relief from the stifling heat in which I have been riding.

I had to keep my phone in plastic most of the day to keep it dry, but I was able to take a couple of pics below.

Pic below is Salvatore from Italy.  He is participating in a race across America on USBR 76.  He started in Astoria, OR 22 days ago and hopes to finish at Yorktown VA in 6 more days.  I met him at a grocery store in Goreville and he was quickly eating cheese and crackers as we talked.  Even though there was somewhat a language barrier between us, I told him I'm from Alabama and he smiled and said "Yes, Alabama, Forrest Gump."  I smiled back and confirmed that yes, in the movie Forrest was from Alabama.

I'm staying at the Goreville First United Methodist Church tonight, which opens it's doors to cross country cyclists.  I laid all my stuff out to dry at the church.

Pic below is Tony and Carrie from Yuma AZ.  They are husband and wife cycling from Denver to Yorktown VA.  About 30 years ago they cycled from Astoria OR to Denver, so they're finally finishing their cross country trip this year.  They have quite a bit of touring experience.  They are both teachers, so they have the summer off.  They are also staying at the church tonight.

I was in water so much today that I traded this hat...

For this one...

Just call me skipper.  I actually found this cap on the side of the road today.  (I washed it before I put it on.) I think Carrie was a little envious of my find:) She thought the cap was appropriate given I started the day in Chester, the land of Popeye.

Total miles today: 78.3