Beasley of Bloomington

Alright. That's it. I'm tired of this day by daying in the blog. Most days, in my opinion, have nothing going on. We just ride our bikes and eat a lot of food. That's really all that happens. Maybe, sometimes, it'll pour on us or we'll encounter a wild animal, but even those are nothing special to write about unless I was really really trying to make it interesting writing. This is my new proposed plan! Forget all this day # this and day # that crap. It's time for some stories. It's time for stories of the craziness that tends to come about out of the blue while you're on a little tiny journey such as this. I lovd that stuff, I live for that stuff. So the first story I want to start with is about Bloomington, Illinois, and Steve Beasley! Because he is always the most wonderful host.

We have had only one day of tailwind this entire trip so far. One day only. That means that every other day we have had either a cross or a direct headwind and, if you know anything about biking, you know how demoralizing the wind can be. This was that one day. We woke up to the sound of someone unlocking a door to the Hoopeston community center. We were lying there on the huge stage they had inside the building we were staying in when a lady came walking around the corner to find us. She looked at us a little startled, guess she didn't expect to find these two homeless looking fools sleeping on the stage.
"Uhhhh.... Did they tell you we were going to be here?" Stumbles asked. "No". Well.... this is awkward. We do a little quick explaining, gather our things, roll out the back door, and into the cold windy morning for the days ride.

Our stage

Thank goodness the wind was in our favour. This was the first and only time this trip so far the the wind wasn't destroying us. Apparently there is a prevailing wind across America? And no one told us this before we started the trip. If we had known, surely, we would have started on the West coast and rode East. And I would almost bet, almost, that we'd be done already if we'd done it that way. That's how amazing the wind can be, or how infuriating. Needless to say we killed, and I mean killed, those 75 miles into Bloomington. So much so that we were calling it a nearo (near zero miles). It was just after noon when we rolled into the parking lot of Steve's apartment. The first drops of rain were just starting to come down, we made it just in time.

I've written about Steve a lot I know, because it seems I roll through Bloomington atleast every once in a while, but there could never be enough praise for the man. Steve is incredible, the best of guys, and just an incredible entertainer. He welcomed both me and Stumbles into his house, and then Flip and his girlfriend came over too! For some reason Flip was in the area and wanted to come visit me and Stumbles, the old Peru crew together again! So we spent the night hanging out with Steve, Flip, his girlfriend, Steve's roommates (Asa, Alix, and Sean), as well as Asa's brother and his friend. It ended up being a huge get together and untold amounts of fun. Knowing that we were taking our first zero the day after this, we stayed up for a while...

Ah... Finally, finally, finally. Our first zero day has arrived! We'd been going pretty hard until then, all the way in mid-Illinois, and we were feeling the need to take some time off. So, we spent it on the lake, having some amazing home cooked food for dinner, and then going out again. All that can be said is that it was amazing and exactly what we needed for our first zero.

Steve it was amazing to see you again, you are way too generous towards me! It was great to see you again Asa, Alix, and Sean! Can't wait until the next time I roll through! Great to see you again too Flip! We'll be seeing you when we roll through Iowa! First zero day was a complete success!

Be happy y'all,

Beacon