Free cholesterol check and a bike ride!

I have to tell someone this. This story is why I decided to try a blog. (Besides I am reading a book called Boomsday and it involves blogging!) We planned a trip to Peoria for a free cholesterol screening and a bike trip along the Illinois River. The night before we packed our bikes on the back of the car so we could get up early and take off. Of course the next morning it was raining and major thunderstorms were passing through the area. Do we go or not? We paced, we talked, we looked out the window. We planned to leave at 7:00. At about 8:15 after a particularly loud, windy storm went through, we decided to go anyway. It rained on us all the way to Peoria. We did find the building where the cholesterol screening was being held quite easily. Find what we4 are looking for- not usually something we do easily on vacations and trips). But when we got inside there was a big line of "old" people and they asked if we had an appointment. Of course not so we waited. My husband has a cholesterol problem which we have been trying to beat with diet. The results were good when we finally got tested. (although mine was just over the limit by 4 - guess I cheated too much). But guess what. It was still raining. I talked him into going to Avanti's for lunch. This was the best deal of the day. Tuesday was all you can eat Spaghetti day, and it was wonderful!!!

After lunch we went in search of the river trail. It was supposed to begin under the McMicahel Bridge. We found it the bridge and a parking lot, saw a booth to pick up a parking ticket but no one manning it. We decided to try the 2 hour free parking (and that really limits you when it takes a half hour to figure out how to put the bikes back on the car!) But we did it anyway. We rode a little way on what we thought was the trail. Then it petered out. I had directions on where to go but nothing matched the road signs we were seeing. We rode around a few blocks then decided to go back to the beginning. This time we went closer to the river, where I had hoped the trail went....it did. There was another paved trail and it went a lot farther. We even saw a few people on it. We followed a jogger a little while. Of course he ran down a dead end at the end of a point. We turned around with him and then went on. It really was nice along the river, the day just wasn't very beautiful! The trail finally turned into the town itself and went into the weirdest cemetary. It is really more like a park with lots of trees and paved roads and little cemetary plots here and there. No rows and rows of markers. Then it began to thunder and lightning. I'm thinking about golf courses and storms and trees so we decided we'd better turn around and get out as quickly as possible. I like to ride, but I'm not that fast. By the time we got back to the river I was pushing pretty hard! We stopped at a public rest facility and started talking to a guy who works there. He said there was a much better trail in East Peoria and gave us directions. By this time we were wet and tired, but we had only ridden about 10 miles. Not nearly enough for this trip! We got back to the car, loaded our bikes and got out at just about the 2 hour limit. Then we headed across the bridge to E. Peoria.

We drove around, went to Lowes, drove around some more, thought we found it, took our bikes off, started the ride and it ended in about a half mile. We must not have been in the right place. Now what? We decided to ride back across the bridge. Have you looked at one of those long bridges? They go uphill to the middle! By the time I was finally at the middle I was going about 4 miles an hour, huffing and puffing, and way behind! But I made it. We went back to where we started the last time and tried again. (By this time, the rain seemed over) We followed the path, got deeper into the cemetary (saw a deer!), but never found the end where the trail comes out to go on farther. So we turned around again. The bridge was looming at us, but somehow it is built unequally as far as the hill is concerned. It was much shorter up this time and an easy ride down! We made it! We packed the bikes up and took off for home.

We thought the rain was over so we didn't cover up the bikes with anything. Then, of course, it started to rain. We pulled over, started to tie on some cover, when an SUV pulls up and a faces says, Don't I know you guys? It was a friend we graduated high schoo with who now lives in the Peoria area!!! We visited a few minutes and then headed on home. We stopped at B's for a sandwich - wonderful tenderloins - though I should have had a grilled chicken instead because of the cholesterol. We both had in mind that we would be home by 2:00 so we could do some other things that day. it turned out to be 7:00 and we were exhausted! Another bike tale to remember! And all for a free cholesterol test!