Update #15 - May 04, 2005
Hartford, IL - 4627.2 miles (7627.2 kms.)

The biggest news that I need to post here is that I'm on a brand new recumbent now. I got it over the last weekend. Friday (April 29), I got into Savanna, IL around 3:30 p.m. Because it looked like it might rain, I decided to stop early for the day. I went to the police station to see if I could get connected with one of the local ministers.

I was able to connect with Pastor Wayne of the New Hope Assembly of G-D Church. Pastor Wayne invited me to stay with him and his wife in the parsonage. THe bike and most of my gear was left at the church. Saturday (April 30), Pastor Wayne invited me to the Men's Breakfast at the church. There was a dozen guys there. I was given the chance to give my testimony and tell about my ministry. Afterwards, I got about $100 in "Green-Handshakes".

There is a good bikeshop in town "Arnold's Bike Shop". They sell several kinds of recumbents. Pastor Wayne offered to get me some new grip-shifters for the bike since the old ones were getting really worn out. The recumbent had over 48,500 miles of touring on it.

Once we got to the bikeshop, Pastor Wayne told me that the "Holy Spirit" told him to do some radical for me. The next thing that I knew was that I was switching over to a brand new recumbent. I was given a "EZ-Speedster Sx" 24 speed recumbent made by Sun Bicycles in South Florida. The recumbent is really nice even though it weighs around 42 pounds. It is really fast and has great brakes. I'll post the tech specs later on.

The new recumbent is blue and costs around $1000. Pastor Wayne told me that the church (even though it only had 50 members) was going to put some money into it and he was going to pay the rest. The old recumbent was also traded-in.

I was back on the road a little after noon. So far, I've got around 309 miles (494.4 kms.) on it. The change in riding in really great. I have the seat adjusted so that I can fully extend my legs so I don't have a problem with cramping. The gear ratio is so much better that I'm able to climb up grades in my high gears instead of either struggling in my "Granny gears" or walking up the hills. The brakes are so much stronger that I can't squeeze them too tight or I would fly over the handlebar. The bike has a 20 inch front wheel instead of a 16 inch front wheel so I'm seating a little higher above the ground. Yesterday, I had such a good day that I nearly cycled 100 miles. I made 91 miles in around 8 hours.

I'm on the way to Granite City, IL (across the Mississippi River from St. Louis) to visit with some friends. I'll be there for a couple of days. From there, I'll be crossing the Mississippi River to St. Louis, MO. My plans would be to then go to the Dakotas and then take a northerly route Easterly along the country's northern border.

I'll try and post and update as often as I can if my plans change.