Belleville, KS to Springfield, IL - 444 miles

 Very difficult day. Windy, lots of trucks, and riding into the sun in the AM. Once I got into Missouri, the road switched from 2-lane to 4-lane and things got better. However, the wind remained until the last 1.5 hours of the ride. I had to stop at one point and take an exit to a deserted area and lay down for a half hour because I was so tired. 

I finally stopped in Springfield, IL - the place where I (first) qualified for Ironman in 1994. The day of the race it was “90/90” - 90 degrees hot (actually it ended up about 93 by middle of the day), 90% humidity. Pavement was melting, highest drop-out rate for the race ever. I still have my shoes from the race, the are covered with tar!

I have not done the mileage / hours to ride calculation yet to see if I can get home tomorrow (Friday). I know my friend and I drove back from Springfield in one day after the race, but it all depends upon how I feel, wind, traffic, etc.

No pictures, I took a few of the sunrise this morning, but all of them are blurry.

Coming up on 6000 miles for the trip...