Starting mileage 220
End mileage 430
Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln... Illinois prize posession. I woke reasonably early to visit New Salem, a place where Lincoln lived and work in his younger years. Im not one for history, i scored 12% in my school exam but the place was fascinating. Suspended in time, the original buildings still stood and were perfectly preserved. There were characters around the town dressed and acting as though they were still there. I had joined up with a group of German media guys and was shown a tour of the town.
It does seem though that every part of Illinois has some sort of link with Lincoln and they try to squeeze as much out of it as possible. This, in turn, explains the formalness you see in the towns through Illinois.
I jumped back on the bike to Springfield to collect my bag from the hotel and made my way to Cozy Dog drive in. A route 66 classic. They supposedly were the first to invent a battered hotdog on a stick. They didnt invent the hot dog or the stick but they invented the combination. Clever. ! ?
I heard my first English accents as an older group from t'up north came in. Very friendly as you would expect and we had a quick chat. Outside I asked a guy with a decent looking camera if he would take a picture of me on my bike with my camera. Not only did he do this but he gave me two books on route 66 Oklohoma and Tulsa things to see. Apparantly quite a popular writer and photographer it seems.
Onto Cuba, slightly behind schedule, i swept passed St Louis on I55. A very impressive city with a 630 foot gateway arch shining silver as you approach.
Nearing Cuba I stopped at a tourist hotspot of Mermac Caverns. Stunning caverns that stretch for 15+ miles. Artificially lit and completely still pools that reflect the cavernous ceilings creating an optical illusion of a deep chasm below. Pretty cool but im sure you have to be there to feel the same excitement :)
Riding into Cuba again i notice how quite everywhere is and no real signs of shops or bars. I find the Wagon Wheel hotel and ask where I can eat or drink tonight. The owner was not sure! She saw the Harley outside and suggested the Loose Ends bar, "a biker bar". I dumped my gear showered and went to take a look. It was 7:30 ish and from the outside it looked closed. Well not just closed it just looked like a small warehouse with a black window next to the door that you couldnt see through and some Harleys parked outside. Deep breath, open door, step in. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness i quickly realised that there were 2 groups of oversized bikers staring at me. Ha just a little uncomfortable i made my way to the bar and ordered a beer. She wouldnt just get me a beer she had to recite a whole god damn beer directory which just highlighted me more as an out of towner. Dust settled i ordered some food and blended into the background. A shaven headed guy walks in and gets the same hostile look. He sits at the bar and within minutes he starts talking to one of the bikers girlfriends. He is clearly also not from missouri and somehow gets away with it. I overhear he is from LA. I ask the barmaid where else is busy and she suggests I try the Rose about a mile away. They have Karaoke! wild! I leave LA to his fate and walk to the other bar. Its about 9:30 and the other bar is even less busy. In fact just 6 people there all seated at one corner of the bar. I get the same hostile look so i sit at the other end of the bar and order a whiskey. I get chatting to the barmaid and let her see im not any trouble. It became clear that everyone was related or in a relationship.
In walks LA. Doesnt acknowledge me from the other bar and sits right next to the locals and starts up a conversation about how good he is at everything. Within 20 mins i look and one of the guys is squaring up to him. The local then grabs a glass ans smashes him over the head. This is 2 seats from me so I step out of the way. After about a minute of punches and kicks the owner Rose comes screaming out of the back. Asks LA to get the hell out and rewards the local with a beer.
I get talking to Rose and she tells me its normally the Loose End bar that gets rowdy! She gives me a Rose bar tshirt (i think she didnt want bad word to travel) and i left.
Walkimg the half mile home i felt very unsafe. Not many streetlights and the few cars that went past slowed as the went by. One even beeped and a guy laughed out the window as he went by. I was very glad to get back to my room. I felt very alone and very exposed.
