Pontiac, Illinois to Rensselaer, Indiana

Start:  Comfort Inn, Pontiac, Illinois
End:  Holiday Inn Express, Rensselaer, Indiana

Mileage:  100+
Weather:  Pleasant, not too hot or humid but reasonably strong 10 mph headwind for the majority of the ride.  Lots of drafting to conserve energy.

States Conquered:  Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois
States Being Conquered:  Indiana
States to be Conquered:  Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine

Particulars:  Someone forgot to tell some of the home/land owners in Rensselaer that this is corn and soybean country.  We drove past some wheat fields, one of which was being harvested with a combine.

Rensselaer is an interesting town with a population of around 5,000.  There is a beautiful college campus on one end of town with a WalMart close by and the hotels and fast food restaurants are on the other side of town next to the Interstate.  There are also large beautiful churches, a grand government complex and the standard grain elevator in the center of town.

A report from Joe Thompson:  We rode 100+ miles from Pontiac IL to Rensaller IN. Though the temperature was about perfect, the wind was adverse and about 20 MPH steady. We took turns leading and finished our day at about 4:30 having started at 8;00 this AM. Very hard day today.

A report from Kelly Thompson:  The corn is high in Indiana.  Mike and Joe measure it up!  95 miles from Pontiac Illinois to Renssalear Indiana. 70 miles of moderate headwind and bright sun. The corn is much higher here than we have seen before.   Joe, Lowell and Mike crossing from Illinois into Indiana. The backroads are quiet and mostly flat. The weather was warm with a head wind out of the East.

Interesting People Along the Way: Was every employee at the KFC in Rensselaer new? Seems like each one told us or showed us that that was the case.