My fueling strategy is being adapted. At the Duquoin stop, I have often (usually?) bought a container of Fig Bars as a snack. Today it is a necessity. In fact, I inhaled the first package and went in to buy a second one. I have had to carry my Perpetuem flasks inside my jacket to keep them thawed (the first one on the bike froze in less than 15 minutes). But I can't unzip with gloved hands, and removing my gloves while riding is not going to happen. I've been reduced to reaching for them only at the stops. I'm going to need fuel that doesn't freeze so easily. (I gave Mike a package of his own, and they became his new favorite cold weather fuel, too!)

This log cabin house in Thompsonville is a reminder that our ancestors lived much more difficult lives than we do today. We have the "luxury" of getting outside to ride on a very cold day for the fun of it. They, without heated vehicles, had to travel all winter in an outdoor fashion. In fact, their indoors were probably uncomfortable most of the winter. And don't even think about needing to go to the potty in the middle of the night in winter. Brrr.

Another "action shot". Mike asked me to take his picture. He complained that all the pictures will be pictures of me when I post this.

The Creal Springs Mini Mart. Mike is inside looking for Fig Bars, his new favorite snack. Now we will have to fight the wind once more as we head west and north back into Marion.

I can never get enough pictures of myself, especially the "mountain man" look with ice in my beard. (In fact, when I asked Facebook to run my postings looking for the most used words, the number one word was "miles". I'm not sure if that's because I post things about "Miles" or "miles". Either way, my wife wasn't surprised. She said she has long known how self-involved I was.)

Finally back at the Marion Police Station. (Notice how many words have "ice" in them? Hmmm.) Anyway, we are two tired, cold but very satisfied cyclists. As we came into town, Mike fell back to alert me that he was going to sprint the last little bit to train for sprinting after a 100+ mile ride. He asked me if I was going to sprint. I replied, "I am sprinting." True to his word, he sprinted up the bricks on Market all the way to the top. He's a true cycling machine!

It may not seem very warm to you, but it was a definite improvement over the start. The only time I felt like quitting was before and just after DuQuoin. I figure that my sleepiness was due to a dropping core temperature. And after we rode out of DuQuoin, I couldn't get warm. Despite pedaling the biggest gear I had I continued to shiver. It took me several miles to warm sufficiently for the shivering to stop and my confidence to return. Now that we've got the first one in for the new year, the rest of the year will rock! In fact, this is the start of a new decade. I guess the rest of the decade will rock, too!!