Missouri

Monday July 24th
Destination: Golden City, Missouri
Today was a fairly short day. After meeting Jani for breakfast in Gerard I rode on to Pittsburg which is a nice size town with a big library where I was able to get on the internet and update the blog. We passed into Missouri just east of Pittsburg and although the road was still straight as an arrow it had some fun hills. The only camping in Garden City is the town park. It was still early in the afternoon, I didn’t feel like riding further, and we didn’t feel like hanging out in the park all day so we drove to Lamar. Harry Truman was born in this town so it must be good enough for us.
The temperature was in the low 90’s today. There’s some talk of rain coming in the next few days but I can handle that as long as it doesn’t get too hot.
Mileage: 58/2771 Transam Riders: 0/43

Tuesday July 25th
Destination: Marshfield, Missouri
If someone had told me Missouri had great riding I would have said “show me”. Today was fabulous and now I’m a true believer. The terrain was hilly, the roads were nicely surfaced, there was very little traffic, and most of the time I had tailwinds. The roads were like a roller coaster; Jani even noticed it while driving the van. The hills didn’t gain more than a couple hundred feet but they kept coming all day long. A lot of them were small enough that I could hammer over them in the big ring; some of them were steep enough that it was hard work just to keep the cranks turning in the lowest gear. This is the terrain where it really pays off to not have to carry my gear. With a heavy load you would lose all momentum at the bottom of each hill and just have to grind it out to the top. I’m sure this country must test out the patience and perseverance of the heavily laden bikers, but I had a blast.
The temperatures have been increasing over the last few days and reached 96 degrees today. I finished by 1:30 which was when it was just starting to feel hot. I’d do well to get an early start in the morning since I hope to get to Eminence which is a little over 100 miles from here.
Mileage: 83/2854 Transam Riders: 0/43


Great Missouri Riding

Wednesday July 26th
Destination: Eminence, Missouri
I started riding just after sunup. There was a strong wind out of the southwest and a few high clouds. The clouds offered shade but it felt like the humidity has increased. I wouldn’t dare mention that to a local because I’m sure they would tell me it’s cool and dry weather for this area. You can only complain about it if it’s your weather.
As with yesterday’s ride there was no end to the hills today. They tended to be longer than yesterday and eventually took their toll. The last 5 miles to Eminence had some really impressive grades down to river crossings then up the other side. I remember talking with a German guy in Dubois, Wyoming who said he had measured grades up to 18% in Missouri. I believe it, and it looks like I’ll have more of the same tomorrow. All I can think of on climbs that steep is how much slower it would be if I was hauling a trailer.
We went through some interesting town names today. One road sign pointed left to Success and right to Houston. Of course we turned away from Success. After Houston was Yukon so we covered a lot of ground today.
The countryside is still very scenic. In places the oak and grass woodlands remind me of California. In other areas there are Pines that look like those along the Pacific Coast. It’s surprised us that everything is so green even this late in the summer. I guess that humidity is good for something.
Mileage: 109/2963 Transam Riders: 0/43


I saw manure but no buggies on the road

Thursday July 27th
Destination: Farmington, Missouri
The weather forecast says we are having “muggy” weather. It seems they’d have as many names for humidity as the Eskimo’s supposedly have for snow. I didn’t really mind riding in the heat yesterday; however I’m not too excited about trying to sleep while drowning in my sweat. By the time it was comfortable for sleeping the alarm went off. I slept in for an extra hour even though I knew it would mean riding an hour later in the heat of the day. My secret weapon was that we decided to get a motel room if things were too difficult.
The route out of Eminence continued yesterday’s theme with many significant climbs. I know it didn’t happen on every hill but it seemed like a truck would come up right when I was near the top of each hill. There weren’t any shoulders so all I could do was ride on the white line while watching my mirror. Fortunately all the trucks were very considerate and waited to pass until they could move over and give me plenty of room.
Jani and I have marveled at the turtles that cross the highways. Jani has seen some walking on the road; I’ve only seen them waiting in their shells. That might be a great evolutionary adaptation for animal predators but seems a little lacking in dealing with automobiles. Although it must work okay because I’ve only seen one flattened shell. One of the locals told Jani that it will ruin your tire if you run over them, so maybe evolution has worked after all.
Today while climbing one of the innumerable hills I saw a round black object in the road. It’s been several weeks since the rattlesnake experience and I’ve calmed down a little. You know what comes next, it was another giant snake. This time instead of lying flat it was tightly coiled and whipped its head around to watch me as I rode by. It looked like it had just been nicked in the tail and couldn’t or wouldn’t move. Now in addition to watching for oncoming traffic I have to continually scan the grassy shoulders.
We might make it into Illinois tomorrow which seems amazing. I went over 3000 miles today and have just over 1000 miles left. I still break out laughing when it sinks in that I’m really out doing this.
Mileage: 92/3055 Transam Riders: 0/43

Jani: I’ve seen so many pieces of black tire that I thought were snakes, so it figures that this time when I saw the perfectly coiled piece of tire that it ends up being a snake. I talked to the campground host last night in Eminence about snakes. He said to watch out for the ones with the triangular heads, which house the fangs.
The flies, and heat were getting to me, so a hotel tonight makes my day.


Turtle on road