The Lou

After 287 miles, I would have made it to St. Louis, from Waukegan, IL on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at around 4:30 pm. I'm sure I would be in love with this city, the Gateway to the West. From all I have read, this place reeks of Route 66, the road itself, the accomodations, the diners, eateries. This city has given the world a most amazing collection of personalities, artists and geniuses: Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Charles Lindberg, Tennesee Williams, Scott Joplin, Tina Turner AND Betty Grable (great legs, the two of them), Vincent Price and Josephine Baker, to name just a few. Of course I would have visited the Gateway Arch. See my photo, with my daughter Lucy's good friend, the lovely Tamar, a talented art student. I think I would be very comfortable and at home in St. Louis. I will return.

Next, I aim for Joplin, Missouri, as the song says.

Mount Olive

As of yesterday, I've got 38 miles to go before I reach St. Louis. I'm currently in the vicinity of Mt. Olive, noted for the Union Miners Cemetary where Mary "Mother" Jones, the "Grandmother of Agitators" is buried. Other fun facts about Mt. Olive: It's popultion of around 2200 people is 98 percent white, there are only 3 sex offenders recorded as living here, but, they make up for it by having a higher than average (for the state of Illinois) tornado rate.

More people I would like to send to the moon: Donnie and Marie, Dr. Phil, and, Valerie Bertinelli.

To the Moon

I made it another 15 miles on the road from Springfield to St. Louis today. I would be right around Raymond, IL. St. Louis is 56 miles from here. My mind has been fertile with all kinds of crazy stuff these last two days, and I would love to share some of it. For whatever reason, I came up with this concept of starting a human colony on the moon. Who should be in the first wave of people to go out there and give it a go? My list, which follows, includes people in three categories: 1. Those who are an embarrassment to humanity, 2. Those who are just bloody annoying, and, 3. Those who just need to leave the planet and never come back. They are listed here, in no particular order. I would love to know who you would add to the list. Some of these spellings are wrong, but you know who I mean.
1. Lindsay Lohan
2. Nancy Grace
3. O.J.
4. Ronald McDonald
5. Pat Robertson
6. Mel Gibson
7. Dick Cheney
8. Bob Saggat
9. Howard Stern
10. Jeb Bush
11. Melanie Griffith
12. Prince Charles
13. Paris Hilton
14. Rob Blagoyovich
15. Britney Spears
16. Kate Plus Eight

I hope to get more to stuff in this spacecraft before I send it to the moon. Waiting to hear from you.

St. Louis or bust

I left Springfield today. What a relief. Okay, Lincoln is buried here, and that is cool. Was his real daddy a black man, a slave, or not? If so, Barack is not the first African American. But who cares? I don't care if you are as blue as an Avatar, if you can fix this mess.
I bit off 18 of the 86 miles to go to St. Looey.

Made it to Springfield

Today was a significant day. I made it to Springfield, IL, capital of Illinois. I biked 16 miles yesterday, Tuesday, and 16 miles today. I think I drove over a big hank of Rob Blago's hair on the last leg into town. What a strange place Springfield is. The legacy of graft and corruption, for which Illinois is noted, is not surprising, once you see this place. It is somewhat dismal. How can this be the place from which Abe Lincoln rose to greatness? (Abe, who, by the way, was tortured by depression, got kicked in the head by a mule when he was a teenager, has no surviving heir, and stored stuff in his stovepipe hat.) And we can't forget that this is the seat of government for the state which produced our current pres., Barack, whose first year in office officially ends today. I may take tomorrow off from the road to check out Springfield. There has to be some magic here, not apparant to the naked eye. I certainly hope I don't run into our current governor, Quinn, who looks too damn much like Dick Cheney. Don't you agree?
I am pleased that my progress on Route 66 now shows up on a map of the U.S. The next major goal on my quest is St. Louis.

Dr. King

I did 18 easy miles today, bringing me within 32 miles of Springfield, IL. It happens to be Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's day of recognition, so I had the day off. So did my 25 third graders, who, I happen to know, spent their day celebrating their right to play video games, watch Jerry Springer, and eat hot cheetos. I don't think Dr. King would approve. What do you think?

Unhealthy obsessions

I completed 18 more miles today, leaving 50 to cover to reach Springfield. I thought I would have a rough ride today - drank a bit too much red wine last night - but the miles flew by with little suffering on my part. The Flogging Molly tracks my daughter just put on my Ipod are upbeat, funny, and, mostly about drinking. I highly recommend them.

Drinking wine is the only decent vice I have left. In it's defense: 1. Jesus did it, 2. It tastes good, 3. It energizes me and relaxes me at the same time, 4. I think it makes me more interesting/funny 5. It definately makes other people more interesting. I really can't add that it is good for you, because I know I consume more than the recommended "heart healthy" ration which is something like two ounces a day.

I welcome your own rationalizations for imbibing the grape (or whatever spirits you fancy.)

Until tomorrow, Nan

Why Does Illinois exist?

I've covered 56 more miles since my last post, pushing my way through to Springfield. While this section of Route 66 is not pretty, it does boast some cool roadside landmarks like the giant retro spaceman outside the Launching Pad Drive In in Wilmington. If I get my technology shit together, I will add a photo of my biking past this behemoth. Illinois has a whole lotta corn. People who are hungry should live here. In fact, I predict that when the Earth finally swallows up all of the people in other places with floods, hurricanes, tsunami's, volcanos, mud slides, earthquakes, wildfires, and the like, when the last polar bear falls off the last hunk of ice, people will find their way to Illinois. None of that stuff happens here, and, 20 percent of the planet's fresh water is right up the road in the Great Lakes. Gotta run. Can't wait to rub Lincoln's nose in Springfield!!

Things that piss me off

I did not bike yesterday. I got all the way to the gym, then realized that I had forgotton my sneakers. Today, I did 18 miles, 3 of which were in a "spin" class, which nearly killed me, the rest on my old trusty stationary bike. I am now through Morris IL, on Route 66, (don't know much about Morris, but it is an exciting town, in my book, being on old Route 66.) I am now heading towards Springfield, IL, with 193 to go. I've biked 104 miles all together, so far. I forgot to recharge my Ipod, so I had to amuse myself by making a list, alphabetical, of things I have not time for/that piss me off/that are stupid/ or/ that I would not make time for. I would love to know what pisses you off.
A: Administrators
B: Boredom
C: Costume Jewelry
D: Dusting
E: Embarrassment
F: Foam on Food
G: Glue Sticks
H: Humorless Assholes
I: Illiterate Morons
J: Jay Leno
K: Killing Spiders
L: Lardass Lawyers
M: Malingerers (sp?)
N: Nail Polish
O: Ovulation
P: Pennies
Q: Quitters
R: Rachel Ray
S: Spitting
T: TV Commercials
U: Uncomfortable Shoes
V: Video Traffic Survelliance
W: Wobbly Tables
BoX Wine
Y: Yellow Teeth
Z: Zealots

I plan on putting in 72 more miles this week, which will bring me 121 miles from Springfield. How will I pass the time? Check back in to find out.

Today ends my first week of virtual travel, by stationary bike, on Route 66. I completed 86 miles this weeks, which puts me about 9 miles on the other side of Joliet. I'm using a variety of maps to chart my course. Because there have been so many changes to Route 66 over the past 60 years, I am following the best approximation of the original road as I possibly can.

I took yesterday off, but on Friday, since it was Elvis's 75th birthday, I set my Ipod on Elvis for the whole of my 15 miles. Watched a lot of crap on the telly about Elvis and what he would be doing if he were alive. Priscilla thinks he would be singing Gospel. Really. But, we do deify those who exceed all records. It's a phenomenon. Did Elvis' followers not know that he was Tiger Woods-ing it all over the world? But then, what about Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, JFK, MLK, and so many other idols. Wouldn't it be refreshing to find out that some gals, say, Betsy Ross, Helen Keller, Mother Theresa, had lovers in every city. Today, I rode 18 miles. I hope to complete 90 miles this coming week.

I hope to do at least 90 miles this week.

Explored Chicago, Hit the highways and byways

Yesterday was a day off from the bike. If I was in Chicago, I would have visited the stuffed animal exhibit at the Field Museum, Joseph Cornell's crazy, multi-media boxes at the Art Institute, my lovely South American, Paolo, at my favorite restaurant, Fogo, and Uncle Fun's, near Belmont. I'd have picked up a few magazines for the road at Borders on Michigan Ave., and spent the night at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

Bright and early this morning I would have headed for the Lake Shore Drive and Jackson, and climbed aboard the Mother Road, headed West. I only rode 15 miles today, so, I would have made it somewhere between Cicero and Joliet. On the road out of Chicago, I would have (and actually did) listen to Reginald Robinson on my Ipod. Reginald is a Chicago treasure, known to few, but superior to most young musicians of his ilk. He peforms his own original ragtime pieces with flair and panache. On some tunes, you'd think he had 6 hands.

Made it to the City of Big Shoulders

I biked the last 18.7 miles into Chicago today. Virtually, of course. After leaving Winnetka, I tootled down Green Bay Road to Wilmette, taking a detour to see the Bahai Temple, which looms up at your, all white and lotus-blossomy. It's the one and only Bahai Temple on the North American continent. Then, into Evanston, stopping at the Spice House to grab some double-strength vanilla extract and Sunny Paris seasoning mix for the road. I made a trip around the Evanston Hospital, now know as Northshore something or other, in honor of my mom, visiting us from upstate New York this summer, underwent 8 hours of surgery (24 hours, according to her) to remove her gall bladder and some other bits. I continued to listen to Chicago tunes as I rode, the first three albums. I fell in love with this band when I was in 7th grade, back in the early 70s. I began taking trombone lessons because I thought James Pankow was the hottest man on Earth. I met him a couple of years ago, at a concert in Waukegan, at the Genessee Theater, and, frankly, he was a LOT shorter than I expected him to be. Don't get me wrong, I would still do him, but the other horn players, Walt Parazaider and Lee Loughnane, man, they are two tall, hunky drinks of water. So, here I am in Chicago, I'm going to stay at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, because, obviously, money is no object. I'm going to spend tomorrow exploring this town and getting ready to hit the Mother Road on Thursday.

Halfway to Chicago

I guess my first blog entry was not so enticing. No takers. Not one to be easily discouraged, I'll try to spice it up a bit. Today, Jan. 4, was the first day of my virtual trip from Chicago to LA, on Route 66. It was also the first day back to my third grade classroom after 2 weeks of holiday break, living high on the hog. Not actually high, but thinking about it. When my eyes opened this morning, at 7 o'dark thirty, I nearly had a panic attack trying to get my head around the idea of getting up and going into a room with 25 8 and 9 years old. I love these kids to bits, but they suck the life out of you. But, in I went, partially fortified by my plans to start this Route 66 challenge. After school, I headed for the gym. Being married to a Navy retiree, I am able to work out, free, at the gym at Naval Training Center, Great Lakes. I'm a "dependent", which rankles me, somewhat, especially since I put in my own 11 years on active duty in the boat club, but, I always say that the Navy is the gift that keeps on giving, and I'm f'-ing lucky to have yolked myself to a retiree whose benefits I can suck up. Besides, the eye candy at the Navy gym ain't a bad thing for a 51-year-old cougar wannabe. So, today, I googled the mileage from Waukegan, my city of residence, boyhood home of Jack Benny and Ray Bradbury, to Chicago. It's 37.4 miles from here to there, so I made it my goal to get halfway there on my stationary bike. And, damned if I didn't make it. It is my good fortune to have, at the end of my street, the bike path which goes from somewhere up in bum freak Wisconsin to Chicago. If I was actually doing this, I would have hopped on this, and headed for Chicago, pedalling like crazy through the dodgy parts of Waukegan and North Chicago, passing Great Lakes, SA-LOOT, and heading for Lake Forest. It would be here that I would smell the money and watch the trophy wives driving their SUVs, with their golden retrievers slobbering out of the windows. Then, through Highwoood, then past where the Fort Sheridan Army base used to stand, but which is now a high-rent, luxury home development that makes me want to puke. Through Highland Park where they drive like douchebags, onto Wilmette, ending in Winnetka, home of a very, very dear friend, Deb. Amazing that my Deb's city is exactly halfway to Chicago, 18.7 miles. Today's drive was brought to you by Chicago, the band, on my Ipod. "Twenty-Five or Six to Four," "I'm a Man," Does Anybody Really Know What Time it Is?," and all the others, from the first three albums, the most ground-breaking stuff they did, as far as I am concerned. Tomorrow, I will make it to Chicago, and be ready to launch onto Route 66.

Day one

Hello out there. I am beginning this blog, five minutes into the first day of my adventure, Monday, January 4th, 2010. I do love to ride the stationary bike, and, I have wanted to take a trip on Route 66 for many years. Putting these two things together, I came up with a plan, a New Year's Resolution, I suppose, to ride my stationary bike from my home in Waukegan, IL, to the end of Route 66, in Los Angeles, and back again. I'll post something tomorrow, after I have gone the first stretch. My daughter has agreed to help me by adding photos of the places I will "see" and the things I look forward to "doing" along the way. I hope you come back to check on my progress, and, share your own stories, goals, aspirations, etc. Nan