day 17: louisiana to hannibal, missouri 38 miles

i knew we were in trouble the minute the young guy from the pizza hut in the farmland town of louisiana, missouri used a classic yiddish phrase to describe our ride route today.

louisiana, a classic example of small-town america

we were all having dinner when the young guy, who was constantly replenishing our supply of pizzas and drinks, started asking us about our adventures.  impressed that we'd ridden all the way from new orleans, he then asked where we were next headed.  we told him about heading to hannibal.

and there it was.  "oy!" he said, with a commiserating tone.  "you know how many hills there are between here and there?" he added.  but he couldn't stop himself.  "and, isn't it supposed to rain tomorrow?"

it was like an e.f. hutton moment.  you could see some of the riders around the table with slices of pizza hanging in their mouths as if in suspended animation.  everything stopped.  hills?  did he say hills?

after such a long day yesterday, a short ride this morning was just what i needed.  having gotten in very late yesterday afternoon, i had just enough time to grab a shower before heading to dinner.  i didn't have time to get into my normal post-ride stretching routine.  and i don't think i ever really fully recovered from yesterday.  i did pass out early last night and actually got more sleep than normal, but i still woke up this morning both sore and drained of energy.

with two storm cells in the area between louisiana and hannibal, the support staff decided that we should all take off later in the morning with the idea that the ominous weather would have already blown through by then.  so, in street clothes, we all packed off for the local bistro for breakfast in downtown louisiana.  we then came back to the motel, got dressed and packed up to head off for the hills.

downtown louisiana before the morning rains.  that's pam in front of the sag van

twenty minutes into the second of many short, steep climbs of the day, the rains started.  while we avoided the major thunderstorms, we wound up riding through everything from light mists to serious downpours.  and while i don't have a picture of it, trust me when i tell you that we looked like a comedy routine all huddled under the one awning in the quaint little town square of new london, our only sag stop of the day.  freezing from temperatures in the low 50's and strong winds to match and soaking wet from the rains, we were a shivering mass all crammed into a twenty-five foot section of storefront across the street from the county court house.

strong winds blowing in from the northeast; right where we were headed

seven reasons not to ride a bike during a cold, rainy morning:

1.  you lose the feelings in your fingertips
2.  your ass is soaking wet from the rooster tails thrown up from your back tire
3.  your bike shoes are catching all the water off your front tire
4.  so your feet are squishing in your wet shoes throughout the ride
5.  the rain fogs up your glasses and limits your visibility
6.  the roads, baked from ten days of high 90's temperatures, were oily and slick
7.  so steep descents can be treacherous