RichsCyclingPhotos

Homer is a small agricultural town in Champaign County Illinois. Not to be confused with Homer, Alaska, home of Tom Bodette the "We'll leave the light on for ya"  Motel  6 guy This Homer may be best known, if at all, for the Homer Soda Company Claiming 250 flavors -- there are some strange ones for sure! (Kitty Piddle being one) We didn't get to Homer itself, but the Forest Preserve north of town. The Salt Fork of the Vermilion River runs nearby -- so named for salt springs that pioneers used to preserve food -- and leading to the city of Danville, Illinois Perfect day for cycling, temp in the 70' and light winds A 5 star ride -- no question!  Arrival at Kolb Park, St. Joesph, Illinois Headed south out of St. Joseph Turn on to Homer Lake Road First view of Homer Lake    A constructed feature created by damming Conkey Branch of the Salt Fork River. Previously, there was quite a resort along the Salt Fork River -- long gone now' Read about it HERE Entering the

A frustrating drive to the airport through Melbourne's permanently gridlocked traffic. But we arrived in plenty of time for our flight. We caught the tram from passport control to the departure gate.   Then a direct flight to Dubai in a full Airbus A380. They hold up to 880 passengers and I didn't see any spare seats. Sixteen hours, three films, three meals and no sleep later, we arrived cramped and tired in Dubai.   Coming in to land at Dubai. A large network of freeways weaves through the city. It is hard to believe that Dubai got its first paved road as recently as 1970. There are dozens of skyscrapers, including the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa. It was 34C when we landed. Tolerable. But it wasn't yet 5am and it promised to be a hot day. The Dubai Mall claims to be the biggest shopping centre in the world, and also the most visited place on Earth in 2023. Among other things, it has an ice skating rink and a fountain the size of a Melbourne city bloc