Day 29 - Topeka KS to St. Joseph MO - 89 miles

Last day of riding before a rest day! Last day in Kansas! Last day before Ann finished her leg of the tour and went back to Colorado. It was a big day!

We started out the day under a hazy sky which we later learned was caused by wildfires in California and Canada. Crazy.

I rode with Team Norway into the first sag stop along with Fiona and Texas Barry. Per Christian (PC) and his wife Ingun are our Scandinavian representatives. It was a fun and fairly fast ride. Cooler temps and not much wind.

I like this shot even though it's not quite level because it shows the chicory.

We angled northeast from Topeka to cross into Missouri at Atchison. On our way into town I spotted this street sign and we had to grab a shot! Before crossing the river and the state line, we grabbed a sandwich at Subway knowing we'd be a ways into Missouri before we had another opportunity for food. Nice break and there were a few other riders there.

The Missouri River!

Ann on the bridge

I guess we're not in Kansas any more! But we weren't sure where we were for about a mile until we saw this sign:

Not surprisingly, not too much changed between Kansas and Missouri. Eastern Kansas that is. It was vastly different than SW Kansas! Rolling hills, a lot more trees, a lot more vegetation and a lot less irrigation!

As we rode through Rushville, MO, I saw a street sign for "NINETH ST" and I wondered could they possibly mean 9th? Or is it some odd surname? Since the next street was "TENTH ST".... It was just a couple of blocks before we came to the school. I almost doubled back to get a photo. We continued to ride through a lot of rolling hills. Up and down and up and down and up and down. We climbed yet another hill up to the second sag stop and I promptly consumed all the orange slices they put out. We were hungry and hot and tired. They might have had some watermelon too. If they did, I ate some of that. The fruit is what always looks the best to me at the stops. After a break and a lot of liquid, we continued on. Ann wasn't feeling great although she isn't one to complain so I was happy when we finally were cycling into St. Joe. I wanted her to finish her trip feeling good and not completely wiped out.

Snapped this one on the outskirts of town for my mom. Her name is Betty. :)

About 10 miles from the motel, we stopped at a convenience store for some popsicles and some cool air. Gave us just the lift we needed. We continued on a winding parkway with lots of green and minimal traffic. Our route is generally really good at navigating us through town without having us use the really busy roads. So we made our way through town and into the motel - good job Ann! Fun to have you along for a leg of the journey.

REST DAY! :)