The corn has really grown and is about seven feet tall now. It kind of creates a forest of a different kind. While riding by a corn field, there is no way to see above the corn to see what is around. Unlike the forests in the east, you can’t look through the stalks to see what else is in the field.

Today was another hot and steamy day, with a heat index near 100. The highway west of Rantoul was pretty busy, so I headed south a mile and took a county road for a while. After yesterday’s storm, the wind has changed direction and I ended up riding directly into for half the day. The wind and the sun really zapped my energy. In Farmer City, I found some shade and took an extended lunch break. I tried to take a bit of a nap, but the shade was in a busy park, so that didn’t really work. I wanted to try to wait until the sun wasn’t directly above.

I continued on at 4:00. The wait didn’t really help, so a few miles down the road I found some more shade and considered stopping at a campground nearby. After about 20 minutes, I noticed the sun was lower in the sky and the shadows were getting longer, so I pushed on. It helped because I got more shade from the trees as I rode along Clinton Lake. Even though it wasn’t much cooler, I felt cooler. I am going to try to get an early start tomorrow and see if I can avoid the hot afternoon sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler anyway, so it may not be necessary.

I left Brooklyn two months ago today. Life on the road is starting to become normal. When I am done with this trip, it may take a while to get used to sedentary life again.