july 19--moving toward the ohio river

56 mi from chester to carbondale, ill: 2612 total logged miles. We climbed out of the mississippi floodplain and headed due east. I saw miles of corn and soybeans. Hot and muggy day. All three of us had work done on our bikes in carbondale; I added a kickstand and clipless pedals and had a general tuneup done. I stopped at a po and mailed home my sleeping bag. In the last two weeks I've sent home or discarded at least 15 pounds of stuff and, today for the first time I was able to maintain richard's and mike's pace. We enjoyed a good meal at a hunan restaurant in carbondale.
Tomorrow we turn south and will track the ohio river for a day and a half before we cross it on a ferry.