Day 30: Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL

Today's Ride

https://give.michaeljfox.org/barbarasbigride

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123563702

The Stats

77 miles (including a short detour for lunch)

2,493 ft. climbing

Milestones:

• 2,000 mile mark!
  
• Crossed the Mississippi River (which I've never done except in the air)!
• Entered 8th state of 15!

Challenges: Heat and humidity continue (though slightly less so than yesterday), but hills were actually rolling today, and headwinds didn't kick in until last 15 miles or so.

Miles Completed: 2,042

Miles to Go: 1,354

States Visited: 8 of 15

Total Climbed: 71,556 ft.

Thanks to Jill for her daring photography
from mid-roadway!

The sign was not strategically placed for photos!

The Ride

Overall this was a day I was mostly happy to be on the bike. The scenery was a bit "groundhoggish" but it was green, smelled good, the birds were chirping, and the horses and cows continued to respond when neighed or mooed at! We went through several towns of fewer than 1,000 people each, though every one had a sign welcoming visitors and announcing the multiple churches from which to choose. 

And then there was the fertile smell of freshly tilled fields, wreaking of the promise of the crops to come. And the ever-familiar crickets, strikingly similar to the whir of bike gears coasting as someone is rapidly approaching from behind!

Interesting signs today. Several said "We the People Are Pissed Off." Others urged that to protect your second amendment rights, you should vote Republican. After seeing those, I guess when I heard what sounded like gun shots I shouldn't have been surprised that they were in fact gun shots, as there were several gun clubs along the route. But I thought the sign urging people to "Store Guns Safely. Save Lives." had a promising, rather sensible, and less politicized message about guns:

Seems like a sensible message.

Many counties we entered in the last couple days touted their designation as a "Purple Heart County," such as Adair, DeKalb, Daviees, and Linn Counties. The designation means that the county government and the federal Veterans Services Division recognizes the community members who gave their lives or were wounded in combat defending our country.

I also saw signs for many towns and villages deluding me into thinking we might be closer to home than I was, such as Philadelphia and Newark. Seems like naming towns in Missouri after other places is a thing, as there's an entire map dedicated to Missouri Places Named After Other Places.

I similarly remain perplexed why there are so many "bad animals" out there, given that we left the desert ages ago. For better or worse, whatever I saw today was not moving.

A highlight of the day was seeing an actual horse and buggy traveling down a gravel road, likely driven by the Mennonites, some of who don't drive cars and reject other modern technology. Thanks to Jill and Lisa for being far enough ahead of me to snap proper photos before they turned off the main road! All I got was the sign asking cars to share the road with them!

There were ornate buildings in the Town of Edina (population discrepancy, as the Google machine reports just over 1,000 and the sign with town size (which I didn't photograph!) reports way less than that. Interestingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, each of these towns with fewer than 1,000 people had a senior living facility, which is likely telling of the towns' demographics. As Spencer pointed out, our group increased the population by more than 25% by just passing through, and likely brought down the average age just by stopping there for SAG!

Given that it was a Sunday, the ornately architectured downtown more resembled a Hollywood lot between films than an actual town. Not sure it would've been much different on any other day. 

Either way, the Knoxville County SAG marked the 2,000 mark (mas o menos!) 

Some other notable signs.

Unlikely related to the winery, but hey, you never know!

Apart from entering a new state, crossing the Mississippi and views of the old and new bridges were very cool!

Another life-risking photo complements of Jill!

Mississippi River crossing

Enjoyed a quick lunch and a few beers with Spencer and Chad at Chicks on the River. Wise choice, especially since our rooms wouldn't be ready for quite some time.

Another view of the Mississippi

It's a long, century-plus day tomorrow, so will have to do with a photo dump of some other sights along the way today. Each in itself is not necessarily remarkable, but rather intended to be generally emblematic of land we traversed. 

Day 29: Chillicothe to Kirksville, MO

Today’s Ride

https://give.michaeljfox.org/barbarasbigride

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123420160

The Stats

76 miles

4,688 ft. climbing (much more than the 3,142 the RidewithGPS pre-loaded route promised)

Challenges: More heat, more humidity, and more hills (with a few headwinds thrown in between!)

Miles Completed: 1,965

Miles to Go: 1,431

States Visited: 7 of 15

Total Climbed: 69,061 ft.

Milestones: Hottest temp so far (102 degrees!) -- with two more milestones tomorrow!

The Ride

Today was Ben's 60th birthday. It was very strange not being together for such a "milestone" day. I almost didn't go on this trip because of it. But I love him more than ever for knowing me well enough to not want me to be with him celebrating his birthday, and wishing, implicitly or explicitly, that I was on this trip. So here I am. We dedicated a Route Rap Rapper rendition of Happy Birthday to him this morning, complete with our guest artist, Dave Hosley, one of our tour mates.

While I was hopeful for an easier day today, both the route rap and the RidewithGPS route lied -- once again, rollers do not top out at 13% grades or average between 8-10%. These were real climbs. 

What goes down around here must come up!

These almost look like real rollers --
trust me, they weren't!

And the temperature did the same (climb, that is!). While the day started at a comfortable 64 degrees or so, within an hour or two it was in the low 90's and my Garmin registered over 102 at the highest point during the last 20 miles of the ride. We once again resorted to ice socks (they really are brilliant, and this time were created in cut-off "stockings" so you didn't even have a full cotton sock stuck in your back once the ice melted). 

The scenery remained scenic, quintessentially midwestern farmland, with almost every house adjacent to a lake, or at least a pond. We weren't chased by any dogs, and I didn't see any live or dead snakes (though various turtles, frogs, birds, and deer had met an unfortunate fate). There were miniature horses and baby cows. The vistas were reminiscent of golf courses that needed a bit of a lawn trimming, without the plaids or golf carts. So generally scenic, but not remarkable in the photographic sense of things. 

I do enjoy glimpsing colorful butterflies and listening to chattering birds. The horses also seem to stare me down, which makes me want to talk to them (think, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course, that is, of course, unless the horse, is the famous Mr. Ed!"). So far, they haven't talked back. 

One of many bucolic lakes or ponds, depending on your perspective.

We had two SAGs today, each about 25 miles apart. The first was at a non-descript convenience store, albeit with suitable toilets. That has become a prime criteria in rating SAGS (compared to those with the Women's Tree and Men's Tree!)

Convenience store collective SAG lean

The second SAG was at a lovely family farm -- sadly the family who agrees to host us on their property was away, but the shade offered a welcome and much needed reprieve.

Family farm SAG lean

The Power of the Soundtrack
(or the Audiobook, as the case may be)

If you haven't gotten the hint by now, today was a challenging day -- all the more so because I hadn't expected it to be. Just goes to show how mental this journey is, in addition to the obvious physical demands. So it seemed apt that as I was pushing through the last 10 miles, I was listening to Jenny Graham recount the last few hundred miles of her 18,000 mile self-supported journey around the world, breaking the women's world record for the feat. On one level, it trivialized my "mere" 3400 mile trek across just one country, with full SAG support and guaranteed hotels each night. But on another level, the mental challenges of such a journey spoke to me, recognizing that there were times you question the mission, times you feel incapable of finishing, and times that you know you must. To date, I've met my goal of E-F-I (every f#@*'in inch), and without wanting to put the cart in front of the horse, somehow I finally feel like the ultimate goal of completing this is within reach. It may have something to do with getting past the halfway point -- as on any ride, once you do that, you're no longer traveling away from someplace, but you're on the way home! I think I'll go with that!

Take a chill pill -- you'll get through this!

Employee(s) of the Day

I realize it has been a few days since I called out anyone special. But I have come to appreciate the pride and dedication of the "breakfast managers" at the various hotels that offer free breakfasts. These are employees who are not directly earning tips for their service, and according to Indeed, the average "Breakfast Manager" at a Comfort Inn in the US earns just over $15.00 per hour (still more than twice the federal minimum wage, but not much for any manager). But in my experience, these managers (predominantly women) take great pride in their work and are willing to go the extra mile to make sure the buffet is stocked with what we need and clear our plates on top of it all. So kudos to all of them -- who somehow know that we bikers, and many other travelers and workers, count on them to start our days the right way!

Yesterday's Comfort Inn in Chillicothe even had REAL SILVERWARE, a rare treat from the typical (and ecologically irresponsible) plastic on offer most places. 

And for the record, bartenders work really hard -- especially the good ones. Whenever I travel alone (and even though I'm with a group on this trip, I still am "alone" in many respects), I opt to sit at the bar -- not only to drink, but to eat, and more importantly to connect and get an insider's perspective on wherever I am. But I am always struck by the focus and diligence of bartenders and the demands on them from so many directions. I'm witnessing the hard work of the Colton Steak House & Grill bartenders in Kirksville, MO (a hoppin' spot on a Saturday night!) as I write (including Lacey, who has been my server). So kudos to them all! 

Day 28: St. Joseph to Chillicothe, MO

Today’s Ride

https://give.michaeljfox.org/barbarasbigride

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123275540

The Stats

Lots of murals around town!

87 miles (including a bit of pootling around the "downtown")

4,803 ft.

Challenges: Heat, humidity, and hills!

Miles Completed: 1,889

Chillicothe is the home of sliced bread -- the sign says so!

Miles to Go: 1,507

States Visited: 7 of 15

Total Climbed: 64,373 ft.

The Ride

The ride was more challenging than I had been mentally prepared for, made all the more so by the humidity and rising heat, which topped out at about 96 degrees. What had been billed as "rollers" turned out to be some pretty steep climbs (up to 12% grade), though admitted none was too long. 

To distract myself, I continued with the Jenny Graham audiobook, finding the task she set for herself (break the women's world record for cycling around the world unsupported) totally crazy -- then again, no doubt some think what I'm doing is equally crazy. (Trust me -- she's at another level!) Then there were times I wanted to stop and appreciate the peace and quiet, and listen to the birds and watch the butterflies. Two totally different experiences. 

Appreciating the peace and quiet of farmlands

Ill-placed rumble strips left no proper shoulder

Starting to notice different barn styles!

Our first SAG continued a Crossroads tradition in Maysville. 

Girls sports rule in Maysville--and they're Wolverines!

First we stopped and visited with the elementary school kids who came to greet us and ask us questions about our journey. They were most impressed by the fact that Simon, one of our tour members, builds airplanes! But two girls who liked my purple bike consented to have a selfie with me!

They liked my purple bike!

Maysville Elementary School cheering section

We then proceeded as a group to "downtown" Maysville, where we were treated to SAG goodies hosted by the DeKalb County Historical Society and various volunteers. 

"Downtown" Maysville

I enjoyed chatting with "Farmer John" and they all kindly allowed me to bring my bike into the "museum" for a special lean photo. They seemed to get a kick out of the whole thing.

Farmer John getting into the self action

Notice the Crossroads jersey above as part of the official  DeKalb Historical Society collection!

The museum was a gem of a collection, including many genealogy records -- I even found a thick file on the Harris family (there were several!). I doubt there's any relation, but I did learn that St. Joseph (where we had stayed the night before) was home to a small Jewish community, including two synagogues (though some online research suggests that the community has been dwindling in size). Still doubt there's any relation!

Harris relatives in Maysville, Missouri? I doubt it!

With temps into the 90's and high humidity, we were offered "ice socks" (literally ice in tube socks) in between SAGS -- just shove them wherever to cool things down -- and it worked, at least for a while! Despite the hills and the heat, I felt fairly strong on the ride, though I've concluded that 60-70 miles is my "sweet spot" for distance and at some point anything further becomes at least a little painful. But by the time I get to that point, there's only 5-10-15 miles to go, any of which are "doable" distances at any given time. So I push on and just get there!

Chillicothe (pronounced Chill-i-coth-ee) is a small town of under 10,000, though ironically the name means "big town" in Shawnee. The outskirts were mostly farms, though within the city limits there appeared to be relatively well-to-do suburban-looking neighborhoods. The "downtown" (like the other towns, a few square blocks) seems to be undergoing an attempted revitalization, with hand-painted murals throughout, though little else appeared to be going on. 

After checking into the Comfort Inn a bit out of town (and, shock of shockers, close to an Applebee's!), I showered and took a taxi to Shooter's, a local pub and eatery named for the owner's dog, and one of the only local, non-chain restaurants around. But kudos to the hotel for offering cookies and trail mix on arrival, and having two waters in our room (some of which may have been complements of Crossroads!)

Tomorrow appears to be more of the same, but just a bit less -- lower mileage and a bit less climbing. Ride on!  In the meantime, here are some other random shots from today's ride (can you tell I'm tired and need to go to sleep???)

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Tomorrow, June 3 (or today, given time zone differences) is my husband Ben's 60th birthday. It is very sad that we are not together and in fact I almost didn't go on this trip because of it. But I love him more than ever for recognizing how important this was to me and that I needed to finally do it, even if we'd have to postpone any birthday celebrations. So thank you, I love you, and hope you have the happiest birthday possible -- I promise to make it up to you!

Day 27: Topeka, KS to St. Joseph, MO

 https://give.michaeljfox.org/barbarasbigride

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/123134099

Today's Ride

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!"

 

The Stats

85 miles

2,608 ft. climbed

Amelia Earhart Bridge between
 Atchison, KS and Winthrop, MO

Thanks, Jill, for the great photo!

Challenges: Last night's beer/martini/white wine/red wine followed by today's heat and humidity.

Milestones: Crossed two rivers (Kansas and Missouri Rivers), and (finally!) left Kansas into 7th state (Missouri)!

Miles Completed: 1,802

Miles to Go: 1,594

States Visited: 7 of 15

Total Climbed: 59,570

The Ride

Definitely was feeling sluggish this morning! Not sure if it was the beverages with our "fake French" dinner at Chez Yasu (as Peter has dubbed it) were responsible, or if it was just lack of sleep, but it was tough to get going. It didn't help that the first part of the ride was on a busier highway with a choppy shoulder, followed by a section with a narrow shoulder with a rumble strip occupying most of it, all of which required greater than usual concentration. But eventually the traffic eased a bit, the rumble strip disappeared, and we were cruising through more rolling hills. Got into a decent rhythm. 

During the rumble strip section I was greeted by Pastor Brian from one of the many local churches on his bike asking if I, too, was from Scotland. Apparently he had also chatted with Jill and learned about our group’s journey. (One word out of my mouth and the answer would have been obvious.) He apologized for the rumble strips (this is his regular riding route), and promised it would be better down the road, but warned us about the roads in Missouri. He wished us safe travels and went along on his usual ride. 

I also was motivated listening to an audio book by Jenny Graham (Coffee First, Then the World), about her round-the-world, self-supported bike journey to break the female Guinness World Record. While she's an endurance athlete of another order, and brings new meaning to "bad ass," there are commonalities to our respective journeys and challenges (saddle sores not the least among them!). So thanks, Steph, for recommending it -- I'm enjoying sharing the whole journey with you and Jenny!

As for other notables today: 

• We cruised by the Topeka capitol and Kansas St. downtown area on the way out of town, as well as an "arts" area self-described as NOTO (north of Topeka) -- not sure if that's really a "thing" or it's like Gretchen Wiener on Mean Girls trying to make "fetch" a thing -- and failing.  
• We crossed two rivers: the Kansas and the Missouri. I also think we crossed the Delaware, but was surprised that there's "another" Delaware River so I don't really count it.
• We FINALLY exited Kansas and crossed into Missouri. It's reported that the roads there are worse than we've seen so far, but the section we were on today wasn't too bad.
• We rode on the first tree-lined street that I can recall in the whole trip (at least deciduous trees -- I don't count the palm trees in Palm Springs). We travelled through areas that seemed like oddly familiar "suburbs," and probably could've been Teaneck, NJ, but for the absence of synagogues.
• I saw my first Blue Jay (bird, not sports star), a distinctly eastern and apparently midwestern bird. Makes me feel like we're making progress and getting closer to home. 
• I had an amateur, knuckle-headed "fall" in the parking lot of the first SAG. Just lost my balance. A bit of blood, and mostly will be bruised tomorrow. If that's my sacrifice to the fall/accident gods, I'll take it. May there be no others!
• Second SAG was at a much needed, air-conditioned Dairy Queen, as it was heating up and getting very sticky. The strawberry shake was a treat!
• A few got rained on, but my slower pace allowed me to miss all but some wet roads for a while.
• The last few miles were hilly but through a nice "parkway" in a quiet residential neighborhood. 

I didn't take too many pics today. Part was attributed to riding with Peter for a while (I was actually pulling him!), but I did note an interesting ad asking "Is your wife hot?" (advertising a heating and cooling company), saw a few more anti-abortion ads, and stopped for a photo of the St. Joseph Woodworker Shrine, a steeple relocated to the site that is now a functioning church. 

Parting shots from Topeka as we passed through on this morning's ride

Alternate view of the state capitol

Our Drury Inn hotel treated us to "free" happy hour (up to 3 drinks) and enough "snacks" to qualify as dinner. It was at least as good as any Applebees!

Soundtrack of the Day

The Route Rap Rappers did a brief, modified rendition of Country Roads, as follows:

Country roads, take me home, 

to the shores, of Bos-ton,

Out of Kansas, to Missouri, 

Take me home, with Crossroads, 

Take me home, down country roads.

Not bad. Definitely feeling the pressure to come up with something new each day. Thanks to Linda for devising a plan for tomorrow!