Began training for the Eastern section of the 2017 cross country ride.  40 miles of hills in Southern Illinois followed by a 55 miler to Leroy and yesterday a 100 miler to Champaign.  Getting used to the new bike and it looks like I will need to buy a new saddle.  The old one on the new bike looks like crap! But, it's broken in and feels comfortable.  Really looking forward to renewing old acquaintances and meeting new bikers in June.  I will continue using this blog to post when the ride begins.