day 18: hannibal to keokuk, iowa 61 miles

a short day made long by the same very strong headwinds as yesterday.  today, they were blowing in our faces for most of the 61 miles.  many of us only averaged 12+ miles per hour.  once again, we all tried forming echelons to slice through the wind.  sometimes it worked; sometimes there was just no way of getting around the wind.

gray, overcast and cold as we left missouri this morning

early morning temperatures were in the 40's so everyone was wearing extra layers.  some wore leggings or sleeves, others like me wore windbreakers.  by the end of the day, it warmed up to the high 60's and the sun came out.

we spend most of the day in illinois farmlands only to end the trip crossing over the mississippi once again to get into keokuk, iowa.

bob took this shot of me taking a picture of the mississippi river sign on the bridge to keokuk

welcome to keokuk, iowa

not much else to tell today.  the winds beat the crap out of all of us.

early evening on main street in smalltown, usa

below is a shot i forgot to include from two days ago.  during our 100+ mile day, a bunch of us stopped off at a small deli in the town of brussels.  we were sitting across the street from the deli in front of st. mary's church.  it had recently burned down.  bob took a picture of us all just hanging out in some much needed shade.

lunch break in brussels, missouri

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

day 16: st. louis to louisiana, missouri 107 miles

it was a long day, made longer by a morning rain and by a record number of flat tires among most of the riders (at least three riders having multiple flats today).  all told, the various stoppages caused most of the riders to arrive a good two hours later than on any other day.  a tiring day.

bill (in blue) helping rollie with his flat tire.  

but it was also an auspicious day.  we passed the 1000-mile mark sometime in the early morning hours of our ride today.  that's the longest i've ever ridden!

although we left the hotel in a morning drizzle, it was actually a nice day.  the temperatures were much lower, only getting into the mid-80's.  the morning was spent riding on the bike paths along the confluence of the missouri and mississippi rivers.

there is some great history in this area.  centuries ago, lewis and clark and their corps of discovery were headquartered around this area, awaiting word from president jefferson as to whether or not the louisiana purchase had been confirmed before they would be permitted to depart on their historic journey in search of a northwest passage to the pacific.  also, the famed highway of yesteryear, route 66, came through this area.  below is the "old chain of rocks" bridge that was used by cars on the road from los angeles to chicago.  now, it's used only as a bicycle bridge to connect missouri with illinois.

the old chain of rocks route 66 bridge

crossing into illinois on the bridge

after crossing into illinois, we spent most of the day riding along the mississippi and then through the farmlands of the southern part of the state.  we battled short but steep hills and fierce headwinds most of the last 25 miles.  how fierce?  everyone's (even the fossils) average speeds were down at least five miles per hour as we fought our way through the winds.

we actually crossed three rivers today:  the missouri, the mississippi and the illinois. bridges across the missouri and mississippi (twice) and a ferry (below) across the illinois.

getting ferried across the illinois river on the way back to the mississippi

as the day's route neared the end, we had one last climb, another bridge across the mississippi.  the shots below are from our motel; one of the final bridge crossing, the other as the sun was setting on the river.

a treacherous climb across a very busy highway bridge

evening on the mississippi

day 15: rest day/laundry, repairs, reflections

you'd think that with a day off, i might actually sleep late.  nah.  woke up at 5:00 again this morning.  i'm programmed now.

spent the morning walking around, doing errands, doing laundry, patching tires and inner tubes and taking a couple of pictures.

passing through the huge anheuser-busch (budweiser) plant as we came in from the south side of the city

i took this last picture once i discovered it's significance.  many of you may be familiar with the famous dred scott decision by the supreme court.  scott, a slave who sued the u.s. for his freedom, was unsuccessful in his efforts.  the supreme court decision, however, wasn't his first attempt at freedom.  having lived in missouri, then a non-slave state, scott sued for his freedom here and was briefly granted it in 1850.  the court house across the street from my hotel room is the very courthouse where that case was heard.

the courthouse where the dred scott case was tried

the famous st. louis arch...the gateway to the west

and it's those upcoming ten straight days on the bike that have me thinking the most.  i'm caught between that sense of "oh god, i still have ten days to go!" and "i wonder what's next?"  i'm tired and i think that sense of weariness is creeping into my overall sense of this ride.  the more i ride, the more i'm amazed at the guys, all older than i am, who've not only done this before, but have done this multiple times, including crossing the country and riding for over 50 days at a stretch.  i can safely predict now that i will not be going on a cross-country ride any time soon.  most likely, never.

the arch from laclede's landing, site of the orignal settlement in 1784

but as tired as i'm feeling, i can also point to many times during this ride when my spirits have been lifted.  when a smile or a wave or a word of encouragement from a total stranger was all i needed to revive and reset my energies.  the sign on the lawn yesterday during that horrendous climb was just one example.

another one happened yesterday as we were heading into st. louis.  dan, rollie and i were riding by ourselves, stopping to smell the honeysuckle or to take pictures as we approached the city.  by 2:00, we were also drained of energy and feeling quite hungry.  so we stopped at a mcdonald's just off the interstate to grab a bite and something cold to drink.

while we were there, we were getting the most curious stares from both the patrons in line as well as the folks behind the counter.  on days into major cities, we all wear our bike america jerseys, so the three of us looked like we were all on the same team.  a couple of people asked who we were and where we had ridden.  the best of all was a little five-year old girl who was so interested in where we were going and where we'd been.  she insisted on letting her mother allow her to sit with us while we ate, so she could ask us questions about what states we had visited and what we saw along the saw.  and she was so proud of her own cycling prowess.  "i can ride without training wheels now!" she beamed.  her mom was all smiles.  so were we.

so i'm off for a massage, a light dinner and, hopefully, an early night so i can get some sleep.  tomorrow it's another century up to louisiana, missouri.  ooh rah!

day 14: st. genevieve to st. louis, missouri 85 miles

hills!  lot's of hills.  long, steep hills.

but i'll get to that in a moment.

it dawned on me that all the while i've been talking about where i stay and what and where i eat, i never took pictures of any of those places.  so below are examples of our evening stays and our morning breakfasts.  actually, of all the places we've stayed at, the microtel was actually pretty good.  as for the huddle house, hey, it's pancakes and eggs.  not a lot you can do to screw that up.

another night on the highway

it's cheap, but it's good fuel for a day's worth of cycling

i've also mentioned sag stops.  by the way, "sag"  stands for "support and gear."  the shot below is an example of one of our stops.  nothing fancy.  just sliced oranges or watermelon, bananas, granola bars, trail mix, and fresh, cold water.  gatorade mix optional.

mid-morning fuel replenishment

okay, back to those hills.  yesterday was a tough day with over 4000 feet of total climbs.  even though it was only 70+ miles, it was a bear.  so today's 85 miles, with the heat and the hills, weren't something any of us were looking forward to.

the day started off as a series of long, slow climbs.  no one realized how humid it was until we stopped for this great sign at one of our turnings.  once we stopped pedaling, the sweat just started pouring off us all.  and what amazed me was rollie starting to sing the chorus to the ac/dc song, "highway to hell" as i pointed out the sign to him.  remember, rollie is a corn-fed, died-in-the-wool 65 year-old, straight arrow, ex-military iowan.  no way i would have taken him for a rocker.  but there he was, singing away.  just goes to show you can't be too quick judging character.

for all you ac/dc fans, i'm on a highway to zell 

but of all the climbs today, the killer climb of the day came around mile 51.  take a look at the shot of today's route map.  that's a 1.5-mile, 10%-12% climb.  it seemed to go on forever.  in total, we had over 5300 feet of climbs today.

a lot of short, steep climbs, but that 1.5-mile climb at mile 51 was the killer of the day

and, the best part (yes, there was a best part!) was about a third of the way up the hill.  i truly wasn't sure i was going to make it all the way up, that's how steep and long it was.  but about half a mile up the climb, there was a sign on the right side of the road, on the lawn of a house with the names of, i'm guessing, the occupants of the house.  i'm not sure if that's what the sign was for, but i distinctly read the second line on the sign, "jess and samantha hall."  reading those words, and seeing that as a different kind of sign, that being the names of my three kids, jesse, samantha and halle, gave me the inspiration to get up the last mile of the hill.  yes, i was thinking about my kids all the while i was huffing and puffing my way up that sucker.  and, no, i didn't stop to take a picture (as halle asked me earlier this evening).

after that, the rest of the ride was a breeze.  about 15 miles from the end, we rode out of the remnants of rural missouri and into suburban st. louis.  if the houses and strip malls didn't give it away, the smells did.  instead of the smells from farms, we began smelling honeysuckle and lilies.

about nine miles from the finish, we reached the crest of a hill in crystal city and saw the famous st. louis arch and the rest of the downtown skyline in the distance.  three miles from the end, we passed by the anheuser-busch brewery.

another rest day couldn't come soon enough.  the past three days of climbing and the heat really has taken it out of me, so i'm looking forward to recharging my batteries.

day 13: cape girardeau to st. genevieve, missouri 71 miles

it ended as another hot, hard day, but it started out as a great sunday morning ride with an early departure and a cool breeze out of cape girardeau.  

we spent much of the morning riding through the rolling hills of some of the most beautiful croplands and pastures in this part of southeastern missouri.  spectacular views.  along the way, we were surprised to see buffalo and emu on one of the farms.

a beautiful morning in fruitland, mo.  loved this barn; apparently an old style no longer used in this region

junior, did you remember to put the tractor in the shed?

as the day wore on, many of us (me included) starting feeling the effects of the past couple of days of hill climbing.  while dan noted that he thought i was getting stronger as the days progressed, i told him that, today, my legs felt like jelly.  just nothing there.  

climbing up one hill, into the tiny town of pocohontas (yes, named after her -- there was even a statue commemorating the 100th anniversary of her visit to the town), i saw this great pie shop.  unfortunately, being early sunday morning, it was closed for business.  most of the folks in the series of small towns we rode through this morning were in one of the many baptist or lutheran churches that dotted the countryside.  no cars in many of the driveways we passed, but a whole lot of cars in front of the churches.  this is, after all, part of the bible belt.

could have used a nice slice of pie by the time i rode past this place

we were able to take a longer than normal break at the sag stop in brazeau, at the hemman winery (not open on sundays).  i was bummed because i was really curious to see one of the wineries in this state as it has some of the oldest in the country.  i'm told that, before prohibition, missouri had the most acres of vineyards of any state, even surpassing california.  while we are relaxing a bit in town, some of the local boys were just coming back from a morning of fishing.  and they were proudly showing off their haul of catfish.

which wine goes best with gatorade? 

after leaving brazeau, the sag stop and the comfort of a chair on the front porch of the winery, we were back to hill climbing until we descended on the valley floor for about 20 miles.  there, we were greeted with the same strong southwesterly winds we'd been battling the past couple of days.  and today was no different.  i'm not sure which i prefer; the climbing of the hills or dealing with headwinds on the flats.  in the case of the former, at least you can relax a bit during the descents.  with the headwinds on the flats, it's a constant struggle.

around the 51 mile mark, we crossed over the halfway mark for this trip.  unfortunately, the picture i thought i took didn't come out.  it wasn't that elaborate a chalk sign on the road surface.

as we approached st. genevieve, which was settled in the 1700's, we all assumed that this was the french town, established in the wake of marquette, joliet, la salle and all the other french explorers who came down the mississippi.  however, what confused us was the belgian influence in many of the river and town names as we got closer to our final destination for today.  it's a mystery that none of us had the energy to pursue, so even when the question came up again during dinner, no one had a good answer.  something to be resolved at a later date.

tomorrow, another long, hot day.  we'll finish in st. louis and get a much needed day off to recover and repair.

day 12: union city to cape girardeau, missouri 91 miles

hot, humid, windy and very long.  oh yeah, and a ferry crossing.

knowing that we had to make a ferry crossing early in the morning, we were all out on the road before our usual 7:00 or 7:30 am.  dan, rollie, bill and i, along with a couple of the other "slower" riders, left breakfast by 6:20 am.  the fossils decided to hold back until 6:45 before getting on the road.  our collective goal was to make the ferry crossing at hickman, kentucky, by 8:00 am.  to get there, we had to cover just shy of 19 miles of rolling hills.  dan, rollie, bill and i did that averaging 14.9 miles per hour (which included having to double back due to a wrong turn around the eight mile mark).  the fossils covered that same distance averaging 19 miles per hour.

just entering kentucky before the ferry ride

as with days in louisiana, cargill grain facilities dot the waterfront landscape

our route this morning took us through more tennessee cornfields before cutting into the tiniest sliver of kentucky's southwestern border, in the town of hickman.  from there, we boarded the riverboat ferry for the ten minute trip over to  missouri.  by the time we boarded the ferry at 8:00 am, the temperature was already at 87 degrees and promising to get much warmer as the day grew on.

our waterway transportation

starting to load up

getting all the riders on board so we could load the support vans

all packed in.  regular car and truck passengers as well

once on the missouri side, we again were riding through corn, alfalfa, wheat and rice fields.  i'm getting pretty good at identifying the various crops in the region and am getting quite an education from rollie, who lived on a farm growing up in iowa, and doug, who owns a couple of farms in oklahoma and texas, as to which crops are nitrogen producing and which are nitrogen depleting and why all that matters.  i'll save you all that lesson for another time (i can hear the cheering in the background).

the first official state sign welcoming us since we started this trip

by 10:30, we were parched, tired and hungry, so about 10 of us popped into a mcdonald's along interstate 55 in charlestown.  inside, we wolfed down some more eggs and biscuits and washed them down with mango/pineapple or strawberry/banana smoothies.  actually, they were quite tasty.  while inside, an enthusiastic woman came up to us and asked if we were training for "the tour."  to a cyclist, "the tour" only means one thing...the tour de france.  however, using whatever wisdom remained in our tired bodies, a couple of us asked the woman which tour she was referring to.  "why, the tour de corn, of course," she replied.  turns out, around the 4th of july there in charlestown, missouri, there's a very popular one-day bike event called, yes, "the tour de corn."  it includes a 25-, 50-, and 100-mile ride through the southeast missouri countryside.  she was so excited to tell us all about it, even when we tried our best to explain that, one, we weren't from around there and, two, we were on our way to minnesota and probably wouldn't be back there anytime soon.  still, she was very kind and wished us all well.

the rest of the day was spent hydrating as often as humanly possible, climbing some inhuman hills, and trying to survive both the heat and the winds.  everyone felt depleted of energy by the time we got into today's stop.  but everyone finished.

for much of the day in missouri after the ferry ride, we were battling strong, westerly and southwesterly winds that were either direct headwinds or cross winds that dramatically slowed our progress.  at our backs, those winds would help us do a comfortable 18-20 mph pace.  in our faces, we were lucky enough to average 12 mph.  from the side, the winds would slow our progress down to 14-15 mph.  for about seven miles, as we battled the strong crosswinds, we tried a maneuver used by professional racing teams.  it's called an echelon.  similar to the formations that geese use when flying together, we rode four across on the relatively deserted county road in a formation with each rider situated at the 4:00 o'clock position of the back wheel of the rider in front of him.  again, as is the case with the single-file pace line, the lead rider takes the brunt of the winds, but all the other riders benefit by not having to fight as hard to pedal.  and, as with the pace line, we each took turns leading.  it made those seven miles go a lot faster than if we would have ridden in single file formation.

once we got into the hills, we lost the winds, but had to deal with sharp, steep rollers.  and, all the while, dealing with the heat.  i don't know if you can make it out, but the shot below, of day's ride elevations, shows a couple of seriously short, steep climbs during the latter portion of the ride.  at this point, we've been beaten up by the winds, and had been dealing with the energy-sapping heat.  while we aren't talking about climbs into the rocky mountains, short, steep rollers can be a nightmare on a long day's ride.  in two cases today, we had a 10% and at 15% grade climb (rollie and steve have garmins, so we know exactly the degree of incline while we're climbing).  they don't get much steeper than that.

that 15% climb was a killer

but the heat was really the final blow for many.  at one point, my bike computer registered a temperature of 106 degrees.  while that's more from the road surface than the ambient air temperature, it was still ridiculously hot.

heat like today had strong effects on many of the riders.  some were broken and reduced to slow climbs up hills that, in previous days, they would have attacked.  others needed multiple stops every five miles or so to catch their breath, to rest or merely to regain composure.

as for tomorrow, it's only supposed to get worse.  today cape girardeau set a record high temperature of 98 degrees.  and tomorrow, they are predicting even higher temperatures. fortunately, it's only a 70 mile ride tomorrow.