Welcome to the west!

Lets just start off by saying how HOT it has been the past week. With temps pushing 100 degrees it certainly makes biking interesting!

-Paola to Lawrence
Got an early start today to beat the heat. I was with the quick group and we were pushing 20mph for the first bit. The day started to drag towards the end but we had an awesome surprise waiting for us. We all got a late lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse! Luckily it was only 3 miles away from the church we were staying at. I managed to get some sunscreen in my eye that afternoon and it bothered me all night. So I didn't have the best night, but did meet someone at Ben and Jerries that was from vermont!

-Lawrence to Frankfort
Long day! But luckily the first 70 miles were pretty flat! Once the rolling hills started we all started to slow down. But with every up hill comes a nice down hill. As we got closer to the town it looked like we were headed right into a thunderstorm. With lightining on the horizon and rain drops falling, we zoomed the last 7 miles into town and managed to get a shower in before the skies opened up!

-Frankfort to Fairbury
My turn to drive! Pretty easy 70 mile day and not to many turns. Had a hard time finding food out in the middle of no where, but we managed. Lunch was served at an old grain elevator where I had to climb the 100 feet up and check out the view! Luckily the heat wasn't to bad and the A/C was even better. Fairbury was a great little town with brick roads and a pretty small population. Dinner was great and managed to get online a little. Micheal Jackson died! Its amazing what news does make it to us...

-Fairbury to Franklin
The skies looked pretty dark this morning, but it was nice to have overcast for a bit. No really rain but it kept the temps down. Today was over 100 miles, but didn't get too too hot. We finally made it in and even had a little time to relax. Lets just say I was happy to pass out pretty early and because the short day ahead we actually got to sleep in a little!