June 28 update

On Tuesday we had a long ride from Rawlins to Jeffrey, Wyoming. We started early because we seen that we would have strong headwinds by about 10:00. Sure enough, at 10:00, about 45 miles into a 65 mile day, the wind began to howl. We formed a 3 man paceline with each of us rotating a 10 minute turn at the front. After about 2 hours of this I was excited to see Jeffreys, Wyoming, one of the most God forsaken towns in the country. But, even the pitts has its perks.

We stopped at the Split Rock Bar and Grill, a place opened in the fifties, and not swept since. We ordered a couple of dusty Coors from Bill, our somewhat slow or intoxicated bar keep, and washed away the trail dust.

After quenching our thirst, we rode over to the church hostel. It is a good sized place that is rough by Concord standards, but it had a kitchen, showers, and separate rooms with mattresses on the floors. The walls were covered with notes from bikers who had stayed there, there were literally thousands of comments.

After we got established in in our quarters and took a brief nap, we headed back to the Split Rock for dinner. The cast of characters in the bar by this time was reminiscent of the bar scene from Star Wars. One fellow who's hair looked like he had had electroshock treatment walked in dragging his new puppy on a piece of rope. He called him Come on Dammit. I went outside to take a picture just as a family drove up with grandpa. They got out of the car and two of the men tried to help grandpa inside. Before they got to the door, he collapsed to the ground and they struggled to get him back to his feet. I thought something was seriously wrong with him, but it turned out he was just drunk. They got him propped up on a barstool (fortunately one with a backrest) and went about their business, two of them off to shoot pool, and the rest, including grandma set down at a table.

We had a pretty good dinner there, but fortunately, I couldn't see the kitchen from my seat. It took Bill a good bit of time to get our bill together as he was well into his cups by then. They made us a sandwich to go because we did not have any place to eat on our next ride

This morning, we got up at 4:00 and began our ride at 5:30, again to beat the wind. The temperature was in the low forties, and my hands were cold for the first hour or so, but the ride was spectacular with a beautiful sunrise and some amazing vistas. At one point we arrived atop a high plateau which overlooked a distant valley and the snow covered Wind River range off on the horizon. From the top of the plateau we had a six mile descent at a 6% grade. Our bike speed was never under 30mph on the ride down. The rest of the trip traveled through impressive rock formations and red rock hills. Sure enough, about 10:00 the wind came up and we were back to drafting again, but by then we were close to Landers.

Landers is nice old western town with lots of shops and bars, and an excellent library where I'm sitting now. Tonight we are staying at a warm showers host house, which is a reciprocal housing arrangement for bike travelers. This will be my first try at one of these, I understand the host has a teepee and a tree house to stay in. I'll take pictures and give an account.

Red rock formation

Sunrise over Wyoming

Plateau

  A wall inside the church

Casting a long Wyoming shadow

The plateau overlooking the Wind River range

I did not get a picture of grandpa, I thought that would be gouch!

June 26 update

After leaving Silverthorne, Pat and I had a good 60 mile ride to Brandby, Co. Where we split a Motel room for the night. The motel was old but clean. We had a little trouble reserving the room because the owner was fishing when he took out call. On the way, we passed through a canyon that is on one of the Amtrak routes. After going through Hot Sulfur Springs we followed the headwaters of the Colorado river up to Branby.

The next morning we rode up a beautiful valley with lush pastures that have way to wooded mountain sides along Willow Creek. We had a 22 mile climb up to the pass over to the Eastern side of the continental device where the landscape changed dramatically. The eastern side is much drier and much more open. The total mileage for the day was 58 and there was not a single open store or a place to get water.

We rolled into Walden, Co around 1:00 in the afternoon. It was a big weekend in Walden, they were having a rodeo and a street festival, so all of the motels were booked. We camped in the city park where we ran into Charlie, a fellow traveler  we met in Breckenridge two days before. We also met three German motorcyclists who were camping in the park. The six of us drank a few beers and then walked up town to have dinner together. We really had a great time talking to them about there impressions of America, and our cultural differences.

The next morning Pat, Charlie and I headed out for Riverside, Wyoming, only about a fifty mile ride. Riverside only has a population of about 50, but it had a very nice campground, two bars and a store. We got there fairly early, and we all got a good rest, dinner, and a belly full of beer.

Here's a little background about Charlie, now a part of our team. Like Pat, he is 64 years old, married with children, and recently retired. He has toured some, but this is his first tour of this magnitude. Charlie is fairly small, at least compared to Pat and me, but he is a strong rider. I am probably the weakest link in the chain, but I can hold my own on all but the toughest climbs.

Today the three of us headed out for Rawlins, Wyoming, about a 60 mile ride. We pacelined  all the way to Rawlins, so I only took one picture. If you state at it for 4 hours, you will get to enjoy the entire ride. We had calm winds and not many bad uphills, so we averaged 16.5 miles per hour, which for loaded touring is very fast. This will probably be the fastest time of our entire trip.

Pat stayed in a Motel tonight, and Charlie and I are sharing a KOA cabin. Charlie and I walked down to the local saloon to have a beer and dinner. The dinner menu only listed four items, so we both opted for the 16 oz ribeye. There are a lot of cows in Wyoming so you get a lot of beef for your buck!

Tomorrow we are facing a 68 mile day into bad headwinds, we may have to cut the ride short of it gets too bad. The Weather Channel has predicted 20 mph with gusts to 30. We will see how it goes.

We've seen hundreds of Antelope, but this is pretty much the land around them

The North Platte River on the way to Rawlins

Pat and Charlie

June 22 update

Pat and I worked our way to Canon City, the prison capitol of America. There is a huge Federal Prison there as well as a State prison. They even have prison museum in town as well as a prisoner made craft shop.  The town itself is very nice, with a wide main street and lots of shops and restaurants. I got a haircut while in town from a lady Barbour who must have been at least 80 years old. She cut it very short, and was not gentle. I'm glad she didn't use a razor to tidy up around my ears and neck.

John's brother, Mike, who lives in Aurora, Co. met us in Canon City and carried our gear for us the next day. This really worked out well for us, because we really hit the mountains after leaving Canon City. The town sits at about 5500 feet in altitude, and we had to climb over a pass at 9400 feet to get to Hartsel, about 60 miles away. Our total climb for the day was 6800 feet, most of it against a stuff headwind. I also struggled with the altitude as we got up over 6000 feet. Over all, it was the toughest day I've had so far.

Today, we crossed the Western Continental Divide by going over Hoosier Pass at 11,400 ft. After yesterday, I was really concerned about the higher altitude, but, although I had to pace myself up the final 4 miles to the top, the climb was not too bad.

I got my reward on the ride down the Western side! There was a 12 mile screaming descent with hairpin turns down to Breckenridge where I was seldom going less than 30 mph. I did not impede traffic!

We stopped in Breckenridge for lunch and then rode  the final 17 miles on a terrific paved bike path to Silverthorne, Co. The path wove along the Blue River, a small stream at Breckenridge, but a raging river at Frisco where it enters the Dillon Reservoir. I must have seen 10,000 bikes today, on the path, in the towns, and atop  of cars.

Here's a few pictures.

Pat and John

We saw lots of these

Canon City

On the way to Hoosier Pass

Me

Hoosier Pass 11,400 ft

Mt. lincoln, I think.

We are quite proud of ourselves at this point

June 19 update

On June the nineteenth, we left Ordway to ride through fairly deserted country to pueblo, Co. Outside of pueblo, riding into Boone, Co, I had a flat, so I decided I was due for a new rear tire. Pat and John and I stopped at the bike shop in Pueblo, left our bikes, and went to lunch. Pat stayed over at a Motel while John and I went on to Lake Pueblo State Park on the Arkansas River.
The park didn't have much shade, but each picnic table had a cover that wrapped around to the ground on the West side to provide shade in the afternoon. I slept on my sleeping pad on the table, and John pitched a tent. The air cooled off quickly, and I got a good night's sleep. The next morning, John took a rest day, so I said goodbye and ride off to meet Pat at the park entrance.

June 18 update

This morning We slept late, didn't get up till 5:30 and went to breakfast at 6:30 at the restaurant next door. Although it is Sunday, the lady who owns the restaurant opened up just for the cyclists in town. There were about ten of us, some racers and some like us going west.

We pulled out of Eads around 7:30 with a light breeze behind us and temperature so cool I wore a jacket. We spent most of the morning rolling up and down long easy hills with either a tail wind or a cross wind. The land really had a western feel to it. In sixty miles we only saw a few houses and passed through two small communities where nothing was open. The sky was a pure light blue with some gray cloud banks early which turned into high fluffy clouds later in the morning. About 25 miles into the ride we spotted Pikes Peak barely visible in the distance. As we got closer to Ordway it loomed larger and you could see snow on the peaks. The peak must have been at least 100 miles away when we first saw it. The terrain between Eads and Ordwayis mostly grassland with small sunflowers, primrose, and some kind of squash plant in bloom, and large sunflower plants not yet in bloom. We ride alongside a railroad track almost the entire way, with low telephone poles with the glass insulators, but no wire beside the track. About 30 miles into the ride we saw a section about 100 feet long where the tracks had been washed out. It was only then that we realised that the tracks had been abandoned for years.

We got into Orway about 1:00 and checked into the Ordway Hotel and then went to lunch at the Sand and Spurs Restaurant. A little later, Pat and I checked out the local pulse at the Columbine Bar. I took a few pictures today. I hope I can get them posted below.

 City park across from Hotel. The white flag just below the American flag proclaims Ordway to be a "Tree City"!

Lobby of Ordway Hotel

Bits and Spurs Restaurant

Columbine Saloon 

Pikes Peak in background

Bikes at breakfast

Downtown Ordway

Morning sky outside Eads 

June 17 Update

John and Pat and I have found ourselves to be compatible riding partners. Pat and I seem about equally fit although Pat has a 40 pound weight advantage over me. He is about an inch taller than me but 40 pounds lighter than me. He started in New Jersey and wound around Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Ohio before joining the Trans-Am trail. He started around May fifth.
John started outside of St Louis and worked his way down the Katy Trail to join the Trans-Am. He is going into Colorado, but his destination is undetermined. John started later than us and does not quite have his legs under him yet, although he is doing quite well. I think Pat and I are working him pretty hard but he is hanging in. John is a vegetarian and doesn't drink so he does not join Pat and I for our afternoon beer and glutinous amounts of food.
Yesterday we rode into Ness City, Kansas where Pat had booked a room at the "Elite Suites" B and B, so John and I booked the "Kansas Suite" and the owner out in a tool out bed for me. The place was rustic to say the least, but clean enough. I ended up sleeping on the sofa because the rollout bed in the kitchenette was too warm. Pat and I walked up to the Cozy Corner Bar for some refreshments and to put our fingers on the pulse of the community. It was a working man's place, with low ceilings, one TV playing Jeopardy, and a collection of loud but very friendly patrons. We had a couple of beers and our second meal in about 3 hours and headed back to the Elite Suites. About six o'clock that afternoon we had a heck of a storm with hail  as big as golf balls and enough rain that we could have canoed down main street.
This morning We got on the road about 6:00, to beat the heat, and had a fairly easy 54 mile ride. The terrain was very flat although we gained almost a thousand feet in altitude during the ride. We rode into the city about noon, ate a good lunch, and John and I went to find the Hostel at a local private athletic club, kind of like the Sports Center in Concord, but not quite. It is a good place to stay with showers, a pool, and a racket ball court to sleep in. They gave us the run of the place, and a code to get in if we go out after the place has closed. I'm sitting here in the office with my feet proped up after everyone else has gone home. I would not want to live here, but there is a lot to be said for small town America.
Tomorrow we are headed for Colorado with a 75 mile ride into Sheridan Lakes State Park, then in about two days we will be in Pueblo, Co, and my journey will be half over. Although the days have flown by, it seems like I've been gone forever. I'm really looking forward to the next month or so, getting to see the Rockies, Yellowstone, and the Pacific Coast. I hope I'm ready for the mountains.
June 17 update.
John and Pat and I got up this morning at 4:00 and began our ride to Sheridan Lake at 5:00. We rode for over an hour in the dark with only our bike lights to guide us. Traffic was very light and it was cool, only about 60 degrees when we started, so we made good time and arrived in Sheridan Lake , Colorado around noon. We had ridden about 75 miles, but we weren't too tired, so after lunch we decided to push on another 25 miles to Eads, Colorado. It became very warm  after lunch and it was about 98 degrees when we reached Eads . A person can really eat when ridding a hundred miles, I ate five times today and drank a couple of gallons of liquid including 3 beers. We continued to see East bound riders in the Tran-Am race today. Every one of them had that zombie without look and the ones we saw off the bike  looked a bit stumble drunk. I admire there perseverance, but I don't envy their task.  Imagine doing over twice the mileage we did today for 18 or so straight days.
We also met a pair of West bound riders, Bob and Rick, who we rode with awhile, took pictures of each other at the Colorado border, and ate one of our dinners with. The  lady who owns the restaurant where we ate dinner told us that she doesn't normally open on  Sunday, but  that she would be there in the morning to serve us breakfast. How nice is that!  We will see Bob and Rick then, and probably start out riding with them. We are headed to Ordway, Co. tomorrow. It's only 65 miles away and it will be very cool and we will have a tailwind. It should be an easy ride, and we will be able to see Piles Peak in the distance.

June 13 update

I didn't quite get to finish my Pastor Joe story, so here it is along with what has happened since then.

Pastor Joe continued on with his life story as I sat in a chair opposite of him with one of his dogs asleep on my lap. I was semi-asleep by this time, and had not had a bath, so the dog and I decided to just spend the night in the chair. I explained to Joe that I needed to leave at daylight so that I could get to the Eureka Post Office before they closed at ten o-clock, so he got up about 5:00 and fixed breakfast for me and I was out by six.
I knew in theory I could make the 44 miles in four hours, but that it was going to be very windy and I didn't know what the terrain would be like, so I really pushed hard to get to Eureka. It's good that I did because it was much more hilly than I expected and there was a heck of a cross wind. This is beautiful country side with rolling pastures and an expansive view from every hill top. Unfortunately, I was in too much of a hurry to take pictures. The last 15 miles was on state highway 54, a good two lane road with a wide shoulder, but a 65 MPH speed limit. Cars and trucks really whiz by when I'm going 8 MPH up a hill and they are moving at the speed limit plus. One of the things I've noticed here is that, because the roads are so straight, when a county road intersects with a state road, they build a curve into the county road so that a driver doesn't blow right through the intersection.
I got into Eureka with time to spare, but to no avail, because my package wasn't there, so I'm stuck here until Monday when I can either get my mail or have them forward it on to another town. After I left the library, I'm sitting outside a Sonic Drive in getting ready to check into a motel to wait for my mail when a lady walks up and introduces herself an asks if I have a place to stay. Turns out that Robyn has a spare house that she opens as a hostel for bicyclists. So, I follow her to the house where I'm staying until Monday. It's really nice, with a good shower, comfortable bed, and an very well stocked kitchen. In gratitude, I offered to take her out to dinner, but instead, we bought a couple of steaks and ate here at the house.
There is another rider coming in this afternoon, so she is  cooking lasagna and I have volunteered to make a couple of fruit custard pies. This is only the second test day I've taken off since I started nearly a month ago, and it feels mighty good.

About 1:00 on Sunday, two riders show up within about a half hour of each other. One of them ,John, I met several days before and he had caught up because of my layover day, and the other, Patrick, is a 64 year old Retired attorney from New Jersey. He has been riding since May 5th and he has been down to Maryland, up to Pittsburgh, down the Ohio Valley and now on the Trans-Am to Oregon. John has come down from the St. Louis area and is headed to somewhere in Colorado and then back towards home. He is riding a beautiful 1984 Schwinn Letour touring bike.

On Monday morning both Pay and John left before me because I had to wait on the post office to open, and I had a flat tire. I fixed my tire, got my package at the post office, changed my seat, and finally left Eureka about 8:30.

I caught up with John around lunch and we rode together to a park out side of Newton Kansas where we camped. We got up at 4:00 this morning and started out in the dark to beat the heat. We stopped in the grocery store in Newton and then at the bike shop which would not have been open, but the leaders of the West to East Grand-Am bike race were coming through this morning and the bike shop is an official stop. When we got there they were interviewing the guy in second place and we had to wait until they finished. After we got what we needed we had squandered our early start, so we had to endure the heat and wind. We stopped in Buhler around 10:00 to get something to eat, and there was Pat sitting down to breakfast.

The three of us finished out our days ride together and we are staying at Hedricks Exotic Animal Farm and B&B. I'm going out now to take a few pictures of the place for you.

June 10 Update

Benedict Kansas Store

I rolled into Ash Grove, Mo. on June 7th, after a long but very nice ride. Ash Grove is another tiny town with a two block main street that has seen more prosperous times. I was expecting to camp in the city park, but a lady named Milissa, working at City Hall, invited me in, took my picture, had me sign the Trans-Am lot book, explained to me how to find the park and gave me a key to the hostel in the park.

The hostel was a pleasant surprise. It has a nice shower, cots, towels, kitchen, and air conditioning. I met an east bound rider there, named Jim Bogeyman. We had dinner together and had a good conversation about touring and our mutual distaste for President Trump. We both got up early the next morning, went out for breakfast, and headed off in opposite directions, me looking at easier days ahead and Jim facing the hills of Misery.

On the 8th, I made it into Kansas and spent the night in a Patel Motel. I ate dinner a Applebees across the street and then went next door to the Wal-Mart for supplies (One of those bike seat cushions for my sore butt, Ice Cream, and beer.).

Benedict Kansas

Here's where my ride got a bit interesting. On the 9th, I rode about 75 miles and ended up in a really tiny community named Benedict, Kansas. The map said there was store there and I could camp behind the store or the church. The store was an old country store, probably built in the 20s, filled with all kinds of junk and an odd assortment of supplies. Looking at it from outside, I wasn't , at first, even sure it was in business. I go inside to be greeted by "Pastor Joe" who gave me an Ice Cream bar, something to drink, and started in on his life story. He invited me over to his house for dinner and a place to sleep, and a chance to hear about 150 years of adventures and misadventures crammed into his 76 years of life. This sounded better than sleeping on the ground and eating Beanie-Weinies, so I followed him home to his hovel.

Now, don't get me wrong, he was a really nice person, and I absolutely appreciate the dinner and a place to stay, but it was a strange experience.

The house really was a wreck, the roof leaked and some of the ceiling tiles were falling down. His wife had been dead for a number of years, and housekeeping had suffered. He had two small dogs running in and out, and a big hound tied out back. There were religion books and tracts everywhere.

He did fix a nice supper and we ate off real plates with a tablecloth and cloth napkins. He took a long time to eat because he had to continue his life story and to warn me of the perils we American are facing, all the while punctuating his remarks with Chapter and Verse and biblical names as commonly spoken and in Hebrew. You see, at some point after he found God, he also discovered he had Jewish roots, so he approached things in a sort of Jew for Jesus manner. About half way through dinner, there was a knock on the door, and a younger man named Wayne came in. He was a big guy about 40 years old and a bit high strung as in perhaps dangerously bat shit crazy. But nice enough otherwise.

I learned some things that I was not even remotely aware of, for instance, did you know that the Russians and Chinese have nuclear subs stationed off the East and West coasts and 30000 tanks propositioned in Mexico and 30000 more in Canada, and they are preparing to launch the missiles, destroy the coastal city's and invade the mid west.

I've seen a few unflattering comments about Pastor Joe in other bike rider blogs, but I really appreciate what he does. It seems that he who has the least often gives the most.

I have to stop now, the Library in Eureka, Kansas is about to close, I'll try to edit and finish this post later, but I feel it's important to go ahead and get this message out.

June,6 update

I'm in the library in Hartsville Mo. I just rolled into town about 10 minutes ago.There's not much here, a small main street with half the stores vacant, no cafe open a night, and a choice between camping on the courthouse lawn or going down to a park, about 2 miles away and sleeping next to the lake. I choose the lake and bought some convenience store food for the night.

So, I'm in the library in Hartsville, and this guy walks in and strikes up a conversation with me. He asks the usual questions, where to, how long, where from, etc., then asks me if I'm carrying a gun. I replied that I'm harmless and hope to be unharmed. He then launched himself into a diatribe warning me that Obama was letting Muslim terrorists into the country and it was not safe to travel about unarmed. I had, so far, not run into any terrorists, and frankly, that eventuality had not until then entered my mind. He, in fact was the scariest thing I encountered on my entire trip. While this conversation was going on, the librarian, sitting behind this patriotic American, repeatedly rolled her eyes, and after he left, she apologized profusely  for his behavior.

Free lunch

Downtown Ellington

Add caption

Ellington Hostel

River at Allen Springs

Roadside Artist

Sunday I rode from Farmington to Ellington Mo., A hilly but unremarkable ride with one exception. Along about lunch, I rode into a little community that had a very small restaurant. I ordered a couple of cheeseburgers, a coke, and fries, and while waiting, struck up a conversation with a couple of locals either coming or going fishing. Again they asked me the usual questions, but apparently had not heard about the terrorist threat in rural Missouri. My food came and I ate in a booth across the room. They got up waved goodbye and left. When I got up to pay, I discovered they had bought my lunch.

 The Ellington hostel was rustic but it had a shower and cots. I was tired and fell asleep early, about 9:00. I set the alarm for five intending to get an early start, but it was raining at five so I went back to sleep and didn't wake up till 8:00. Eleven hours sleep is quite a lot for me, I must have been tired.

Anyway the late start caused me a lot of pain. It got hot quickly and I had the most brutal day of riding of my entire trip. I dropped down a steep 2 mile hill to  Allen Springs ( about 30 miles of riding) around one o'clock. I hit 45 miles an hour on the hill and never pedaled a bit. Looking forward to the climb up the opposite side of the river,  I was so hot and tired I laid down on a bench at a canoe rental place and slept for two hours. Fortunately when I woke up the sun was lower and after the one more bad hill, the terrain eased up for the last 20 miles.

I spent the night in a small community center motel in Summerville, Mo. and dreaded getting back on the bike today.

My ride today was simply glorious. Beautiful scenery, rolling hills, cool and low humidity. I ate lunch in a small country store in Ben Davis, Mo. Talked to the owner, a very sweet girl named Rebecca, married with 5 children. I could have stayed there and talked to her all day, but I had to hit the road for the last 20 miles.

I think I'm out of the worst of the hills now, and I'll soon be in Kansas. You will need to keep clicking the start button to see a view I had today outside of Ben Davis.

June 3rd update

I left Carbondale on Friday morning after having some repairs to my bike on Thursday. I'm riding alone now that Malcolm and Ian went on ahead in Carbondale. I will miss them, but it's nice to ride at my on pace.

Soon after going through Murphysboro, I entered the Mississippi levee area. The terrain was flat and flooded with no services from Murphysboro to Chester except for a post office. The fields were slowly drying out after the spring floods, but a lot of them looked like calm shallow lakes with corn growing right down to the waterline and houses sitting on little islands with driveways barely above water connecting them to the road. I actually had to ride through one section of road that was flooded but only about four inches deep.

Part of the ride was atop the levees where I had a really good view of the land between the levers and the bluffs way off in the distance. At one point there was a gigantic coal loading operation where they unloaded freight cars and conveyed the coal over to the river to be loaded on barges. I could see a long distance from the levee but the line of coal cars stretched completely out of sight. All the cars were connected and there was a locomotive on a separate short track that would work back and forth grabbing the next car from the side and pulling the entire train of cars forward one car lengthy at a time.  Then a big machine would grab the car and rotate it sideways 180 degrees to dump the coal. The coal was then conveyed to coal mountain where a huge machine on a long arm with rotating buckets dig the coal and load it on to a conveyor to the barges. I know this is a long boring explanation, but I was really fascinated by the whole operation. On down the road, just outside Chester, there was an operation where they were loading coal from barges to trucks. Fear, not fascination, was the operative word here. A huge coal truck passed by me every minute for the last five miles of my ride. Nothing makes my butt pucker up like a tractor trailer roaring past me when I'm doing 5 mph and it is doing sixty.

I stayed at the Eagles lodge in Chester last night. I guess that's the equivalent of a Moose lodge or a VFW. They have a hostel there for riders with shower and bunks, or you can pitch a tent. I opted to pitch a tent in the volleyball pavilion. It was covered so I just pitched it without the rainfly. Fortunately it was not volleyball league night.

At the Eagles lodge a had several good conversations with the locals, but my best encounter was with the lady Barbour who had her shop in a converted railway car that she and here husband had made to look like a caboose. It was very well done, inside and out, with one antique Barbour's chair and no customers while I was there. I spent about an hour and a half talking to her. I think I got most of her life story. Her name was Sandy, she'd been a Barbour there for about 25 years, slightly younger than me and on her second marriage. I got the impression that she was slightly suspicious of strangers, but she sure opened up to me. Who knew I could be so charming.

Today I left Chester at daylight and crossed the Mississippi on the old steel bridge below the city. I had been dreading Missouri, because of the hills and poverty (I guess I should not have watched Winters Bone)  a few nights ago. ). The hills were rough once I got out of the flood plain, but the terrain was really beautiful. I guess I should vary my superlatives a little more, but I can't think of a better one to describe the landscape. The land was dotted with Upland farms and pastures with low mountains off in the distance. After every climb I was rewarded with an amazing Vista for my effort.

Here's a video of me going down a big hill in Missiouri, filming with one hand on the I-phone. Listen carefully and you will hear me grunt when I hit a big bump near the bottom.

I rode into Farmington around Eleven o'clock this morning and I'm staying at Al's hostel which is an old jail converted into a bike hostel. It is super nice with bunks, shower, tv, internet, linens, and ac. By biking standards it is a palace. It's supposed to be the best volunteer lodging on the entire trip. The ACA supported group is staying here as well, and they have invited me to dinner.Life is good. There was a big "farming days" festival going on in Farmington that afternoon. I caught up on my beer, junk food, and country music.

Flooded fields

 Farm surrounded by water

Barbour shop in Chester

About to cross the Mississippi

My only companion

Lunch on a Missouri hillside

Chester, home of Popeye

June, 1 update Carbondale

It's a bit of a sad day for me, I had to let Malcolm and Ian go on without me. They wanted to do 90 miles today, and continue to do 70 or so each day, and it's just too much for me. They are both on a tight schedule and need to finish before August 1. They are both very nice guys and I will miss their company, but I also look forward to setting my on pace.

So, today I arrived in Carbondale about 9:00 am and waited in a coffee shop for the bike shop to open at ten. Unfortunately, I sat there until about 10:15 and when I got into the shop there were about 6 guys from the ACA supported tour ahead of me for repairs. The owner said he would call me when my bike was ready, so I went back to the coffee shop and say down with three of the supported riders to talk shop about our trip.

As is often the case with me, it didn't take long to get into a political discussion with one of the fellows. He described himself as conservative libertarian leaning, but I found him to be very reasonable and knowledgeable. I spent a very pleasant hour or so talking to him, and hope to see all of these guys again in the ride.
If I get my bike back in time, I'm going on to Murphysboro tonight and on to Chester tomorrow and perhaps across the Mississippi. Carbondale is the largest city I've been through since Lexington, Va., It has a population of about 26000 with a thriving uptown. Mainly, it's a nice place to take a break.

I spent the night in a motel, and walked to a fairly close by restaurant where I had a good dinner and a few beers. Talked to Kendall Balsitis, the cute bar keep there, a cool girl about 50 years younger than me. We became Facebook friends so that she could keep up with my trip. We still keep up with each other.