Day 23: Greenville, Illinois: "All Things Go"

Apologies for making you guys wait a few days for a new entry but 1) internet has been extremely scarce for the last few days and 2) interesting things have been even more scarce.

We reluctantly left Bloomington and rolled into Terre Haute, home of no less than 4 colleges, so there were a few things to do, but the team pretty much only had the energy to surf the internet at a coffee shop down the block. We patronized them thrice inside of 18 hours.

I will say our shower situation there was hilarious. Showers weren't on site, which usually means we ridein the van to wherever we need to bathe, or we walk if it's close. We decided to walk to our showers, but, as it turns out, the distance was horrendously undercalculated. Without really even trying, I practically streaked Indiana State University's campus with Joe and Mark. Imagine, if you will, three grown men in nothing but spandex bike shorts meandering around a college campus asking where the showers were. At one point we got so lost we legitimately considered bathing in the fountain, but, after weighing the legal consequences, decided to soldier on. 20 minutes later we found the rec center and enjoyed a BNBer's dream shower: one with sufficient heat, pressure, and privacy. Such a shower is rare on the road.

After bathing and eating dinner, the team screened "Stepbrothers" and, as much as that movie cracks me up, I decided to duck out with a few folks to enjoy some wifi and tea. At the shop Jen showed me a program that actually might surpass Bike & Build in its insanity: BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School.

The idea of BOSS is pretty simple. You go out into the American outback of Utah for 28 days with nothing but a knife, a poncho, and the clothes on your back and, as you travel with a small group, you learn how to survive in the most extreme of conditions, with little food, water, or shelter. Jen said she could see me doing it, which is flattering, buuuuuuuuuuut I'm gonna just focus on finishing up *this* life-changing adventure first.

From Terre Haute we crossed the state line into Illinois, and celebrated our first ride into a new time zone. The group I biked with was great, and we stopped for many pictures, and adorned ourselves with flowers in our helmets for celebration.

Once we hit Illinois it was obvious that we were in the Heartland. The route was flat, fieldy, windy, and pretty bare save for corn and tractors. We cranked out the first half because really there was nothing better to do, and then after lunch basically the two big highlights were me saving a turtle that was trying to cross the highway, and the group playing travel games, including "Would You Rather". My personal favorite: would you rather your arms be an extra pair of legs, or your legs be an extra pair of arms.

We rolled into Effingham, Illinois last night, which, according to Bike & Build's page on the CUS route, is "effing awesome". It's home to a giant metal cross, and thaaaaaat's basically it. The team was really beginning to miss Indiana. We went from the coolest state we've rolled through to basically one giant farm. It was frustrating.

As such, we started on a fantastic idea.

Inspired by Jesse Young's pair of wings, which he fashioned from his jacket and a stick to serve as a wind-breaker for the girls riding behind him, we decided we would all dress up and adorn ourselves with ridiculous accessories, to become the most interesting thing in a 250 mile radius.

Thus "El Dia de los Locos" was established, and today's ride featured the team blazing across the Heartland in some seriously fierce costumes. A few folks wore all their gear backwards. Joe and Will Green dressed up like Turkish horsemen. Many of the girls wore their hair through their helmets. Kristen Dyke had a huge biker mustache, which is hilarious considering she's the tiniest, sweetest girl on the trip. And as for myself? I left my undershirt in my duffel, left my jersey zipped open to expose my manly physique, rolled up the sleeves of my bike-shorts to speedo-level height, and covered my body in sharpie tattoos and glitter glue. The best was when we stopped for lunch. I was bent over my bike, adjusting my water bottle cage and singing "come on feel the Illinoise" while a trucker, driving by, stared at me with mouth agape as he rolled past at about 5 miles an hour.

And now we're here in Greenville! It's pretty much a carbon copy of Effingham, so I'm not anticipating a lot of craziness. Tomorrow, however, we're rolling into St. Louis!

And this is where the fact that I'm on Bike & Build is really starting to sink in. I'm now legitimately out West past my home. Beyond that, I biked here, and I have what's apparently an exceptionally awesome team t enjoy this adventure with, as evidenced today.

Even when the scenery doesn't step up its game, every day is a great day with Bike & Build and these locos.