On the Road Again
Alas, the first glitch of the trip is behind us. It turns out that Bo's 1Stop in Pittsburg, KS actually went out of business since we reserved the truck back in April. As problems go, that's a minor one; it turns out we were able to return the truck in Nevada, MO which is where we expected to end our first day of the trip. So at the end, we will be able to say that we crossed the country except for that 45 miles between Pittsburg and Nevada. We dropped the truck on Sunday night, and so far the drive has been the most grueling part. Since we arrived in Nevada by 4:30 or so on Sunday, we decided to pack up and ride the bike the 19 miles back to El Dorado Spring, MO - one of the most optimistically named towns ever. We spent the night there and set out this morning to reach Clinton, MO which we did by noon. IT IS HOT!!! (See photo, above; if it looks like we're about to ride into the center of the sun, we are. -- Bob)
The Katy Trail begins in Clinton, and we will ride it nearly to the other end. We will turn NW and head toward Hannibal, MO along the Mississipi unless we decide to shorten our route overall and cut diagonally across Illinois. Considering that we are ahead of where we thought we'd be by now, however, it's likely we'll take the scenic route.
The heat is unbelievable already. It's been in the high 90's since we passed through St. Louis. We're hoping to get early starts for the next few days to ride before the heat really sets in. And we're consoling ourselves with the thought that Chris, Roger and Rick survived this and they are older than we are! (Sorry, guys.) We had a great lunch today at the Ben Franklin Coffee House in Clinton, where we met Diane and Donna. They are the wives of two men on the Katy Trail Ride, a group of about 300 who will be a day ahead of us on the trail. We are hoping they leave us some Gatorade to buy and some clean sheets to sleep on. So far, the people of Missouri have been friendly and helpful, except for the guy here in Clinton who is convinced that the cyclists passing through are really DEA agents in disguise. We are looking forward to a cool motel room tonight and a good Mexican dinner. Tomorrow's destination is Pilot Grove, about 62 miles from here.
posted by Maggie and Bob @ 12:17 PM
3 Comments:
nice to run into you both in clinton! have a safe trip up to pennslyvania, and let's hope this heat takes a break. i think you'll like the katy trail -- it's flat, much of it is shaded, and there's trailheads with water every 10 or 12 miles. good luck!
scott
( http://adventures.sccottt.com/transamerica )
Life is rarely completely straightforward is it? Really pleased this first glitch was easily solved. How I remember the heat. Sun beating down overhead and tarmac reflecting it up from the road. No trees. No shade. But you're right we did survive - in part due to the helmets with sun visors you kindly donated to the cause when you left us in Pueblo. It is so great being able to share your journey - keep the entries going!
loads of love, Chris (and Roger)
My wife, Dianne, told me that she met you two. It's neat to see the postings about your ride, even if we didn't meet last month on the Katy trail.
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