donation haircuts!

The rides lately have been great even though they've been really long! I feel like I am turning a corner of some sorts when I can bike 85 miles and have energy left over to explore the town that I have been heading for all day. The ride into Pittsfield, IL was one of those days, I didn't feel dead and drained when I arrived! Our first exciting thing that we did in town was get haircuts. A salon donated cuts to anyone who wanted one and about fifteen of us chopped our locks into various versions of mohawks. I got about 12 inches buzzed off and it feels GREAT when I'm biking and can feel the wind on my head!

We kept the hairdresser busy all evening, here is everyone sporting their new locks!

The second exciting thing we got to do in Pittsfield was our first homestay night. Most times we stay on church floors with our thermarests and sleeping bags, occasionally we camp out at a YMCA but in Pittsfield we were matched up with families to stay in their homes. This would have been more exciting for me if the family I was matched with had shown up, but they had something come up so Heather and I were put in a room at the local inn. It was great to have a shower and bed and jungle themed room for the evening. It was like a mini vacation for the night! Luckily though, Robby and Arthur shared their family with me and we got to go to Pig Fest with them. We drank fresh squeezed lemonade and took a tractor ride tour of the town. Spending time doing real summery things and talking with the family was really special. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the act of moving forward towards San Francisco and the small things get missed all together. The evening we spent there was such a treat for me! And now, here are a couple more pictures to end the post:

Mornings are still rough..


But sometimes we get to take our 12.7 mile stretch break next to/on top of hay bales!