We needed to stop at a bike shop to repair some items and were told that Carbondale had 3 bike shops! The journey there was great; beautiful rolling hills, smooth roads, and once again -tailwinds!
While waiting for the bike shops to open we sipped coffee and chatted with a gal who was very familiar with bicycle touring.
Tracy gave us some great suggestions further north in IL. The bike shop had what we needed, but it took about an hour of time. (I suppose it was time well spent.)
We continued on, the terrain got more hilly, the temperatures increased, the humidity seems to intensify, but the scenery was tranquil and beautiful.
The ride to Chester got a little challenging because all the 18 wheelers had to use the same 2 lane road due to their detour. Chester is home to Popeye.
While we were devouring a fast food lunch, a gentleman named Jack saw us come in on our bikes and started conversation with us. He ended up suggesting that he follow us over the bridge, which is a busy 2 lane bridge with no shoulder, with his flashers on, keeping us safe.
Back in Missouri, we came upon more hills, but a lot less traffic. Tim took time to check out the knee-high corn.
The road to Ste. Genevieve seemed endless, we finally pulled into the French Colonial town around 4:30. We got word from the ladies at the visitor center that there was one shop that was doing local wine tasting until 5:00. Even though we got to the shop at a quarter 'til 5:00, Brenda was so friendly and thoughtful. She kept pulling out local wines for us to try.
All those challenging miles were forgotten as we sipped the sweet wines of the region.
Our hotel was a few miles up the road, fortunately there was a restaurant right next door, thank goodness!
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