Day 34 - Quincy to Springfield - 106 miles

Some days it's easier to get going and excited than other days. This particular morning, July 3rd, I decided to take a picture showing that I was excited about another century ride even though I might not have been quite so excited as I pretended. ;)

And off we went. Another day of slight overcast and moderate temps. We've been very fortunate with that on this trip.

Lots of green in Illinois as well!

This guy is Dave. He's been with us since San Francisco but this was his last day. :( He took a spill outside Dodge City and has been riding off and on but something is up with his shoulder so he's taking off to get it looked at. He might be back but maybe not. He's a great guy and I'm glad I got to know him and ride with him. Hope he heals up quickly!

Lots of corn and soybeans in Illinois

Not quite so hilly as the last state though - at least right here.

A behind the back shot of Veronica. She doesn't like chattiness on the bike. One of her favorite phrases as we approach: "Begone with you!"

Look! It's corn! and Fiona.

and a nice farm.

We made it to Springfield and snapped some shots outside the state capitol.

Me with Patty

Then Fiona and I left the bike route to see a few Lincoln sites and find some ice cream.

Classic selfie shot taken without realizing it

The old state capitol building

We found our way down to Lincoln's tomb shortly before it closed for the day. It was cool to walk through and see sculptures of him at different points in his life and read some quotes. 

They told us that soldiers leaving for active duty during WW II started the tradition of rubbing Lincoln's nose for good luck.

The crazy Brit also tried picking his nose

I was just stretching to reach it, no intention of picking!

By this time it was about 5:00 and it had been a long day of cycling. We headed for the motel and reached it about 5:30 so about a 10 hour day. Hard work! With the extra mileage to Lincoln's tomb we were over 110 miles for the day. Time for some rest!

Day 33 - Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL - 91 miles

Slight chance of rain in the forecast, an overcast sky, cooler temps - we were all pretty happy with that! I started off cycling with Fiona - we were probably the last to leave the motel that day. That seems to be our normal mode and why not? As long as we make it to the next motel by 6 pm, all is good! We are both strong enough riders that the staff members are not very concerned about us. So we take off at our convenience and then generally ride pretty hard so we can take breaks when we want. Long lunch breaks or ice cream breaks. :) I was excited today to be riding my bike across the Mississippi River! I don't know why but I was looking forward to seeing it and crossing over into Illinois.

As we rode past Patty she captured these couple of shots.

In the mornings I've been eating a pretty good sized breakfast - trying to fuel for the day. Downside is that I feel like puking when we hit the hills because I feel too full. So when we hit the first sag stop, we hit the cafe next door - me for a Pepsi, Fiona for a cup of coffee.

We had no idea it was her birthday! Later we realized it was probably for Bob's birthday. Bob is my boss, the great guy that is letting me take 8 weeks off of work to have this amazing adventure. :) I also decided to stop eating less for breakfast and then try snacking more during the first couple of hours on the bike until my body and appetite wake up.

Waiting for the train to finish so we could leave the sag stop.

Missouri is still green and pretty and hilly with lots of crops - predominantly corn and soybeans. We had decided that it was enough with the hills. I could have a hope in my heart every time we came to the top of a hill that there would be some flat - or at least flatter - land waiting ahead. My heart was broken every time! ;) Even when the horizon appeared to be at the same level we were, there would be several small hills in between. Until at last, there wasn't! And we came down out of the hills and it was flat. Weird! And then we got to cross the Mississippi River! I thought it was pretty cool. Not as wide as further downstream of course but still a pretty impressive river! We were coming over the bridge with traffic and no shoulder so we couldn't stop and take pictures which was a bit disappointing. Another disappointment awaited us as we approached the welcome to Illinois sign. There was virtually no way to take a shot with it.

It's on the other side.

We tried this

and this

and then Barry took pity on us and rode down by the river to get this shot for us. Then he had to ride back up a 15% grade hill. Nice guy, huh? Thanks Barry! (That was Texas Barry, not Cincinatti Barry) We got to cycle through a really cool residential area with amazingly beautiful old homes. I would have been happy with any of them. I did not take any photos though. It's almost as though when you're within 5 miles of the motel, nothing matters but getting there and getting done!

Once we'd cleaned up a bit, this was the destination!

And this was the decision - Oreo

and mint Oreo. The verdict? Excellent taste and a great value, especially during happy hour - half price!

Chinese buffet for dinner that night. Buffets don't always have the best food but with a big group, it's nice to be able to walk in and get food quickly and everyone can get what they like. It was good food and hit the spot. I liked my fortune - Don't underestimate yourself. Your social skills are needed by others at this time. Interesting... ;)

Day 32 - Chillicothe to Kirksville - 82 miles

First full day of cycling in Missouri! Thunderstorms forecast so I threw in my rain jacket. Missouri was green and pretty and slightly hilly. The green and pretty stayed much the same, the hills increased.

And the state of the roads - well. The roads are the worst we have cycled on so far. Lots of pothole dodging or just enduring a really bumpy ride. It's like a free massage all day long.

First sag stop we stopped in at the convenience store for some "fizzy pop" as Fiona puts it. She says that is not an English thing, it's just her. So she grabbed a Coke, I grabbed a Pepsi. I've pretty much given up the diet soda and gone full bore. Sugar, caffeine, whatever it takes! ;)

Seems like most properties have a small or sometimes not so small pond or lake on them.

View at the second sag stop. They warned us about ticks. I didn't go walking in the grass. Michelle said when she got to the sag stop it was raining buckets. By the time we got there it was fine. Grabbed some food, enjoyed a break, headed onward.

Did I mention that Missouri is green and pretty and hilly?

And then it started raining so some of us took shelter under the awning of a deserted store. Some just rode on. Honestly I was so drippy from humidity that the rain didn't make a whole lot of difference. I did want to get my phone put in something waterproof though. Didn't really want to wear a rain jacket.

 

I know you can't see it but it was raining. Once it slowed up significantly, I headed out again. I rode on my own and eventually caught up to and passed some of the other riders. As I was coming up behind Patty, two black dogs ran out to chase her. When I came by they just sat and watched. I guess she wore them out or I just didn't look as exciting. Fiona hadn't stopped for the rain so by the time I got to the motel, she had checked in and was researching our lunch options via Google. She located a gyro stop less than two miles away which sounded great. After putting on dry socks and a dry jersey, we hopped on our bikes and took off again. It was located just off campus of Truman University and we got to ride through campus to get there. They had a nice bike lane and it was a fun ride.

Baklava rolls. I didn't know you could get it in rolls! We had dessert first.

The Mediterranean chicken pita was very tasty and worth a short bike ride.

And those days when I let Fiona ride in front of me? I don't follow, I PURSUE! ;)

We had dinner at Colton's which is a steak house. Food was pretty good although the room temperature was pretty chilly. A first - Fiona had sweet potato fries and they came with marshmallow sauce for dipping. Bleh. The fries were good enough but marshmallow?? They had a sheet of paper with a modified menu for our group at each place. Mine quickly became an airplane and spent a little time flying from table to table. After dinner we played some tic-tac-toe and hangman on the back of someone else's while waiting for things to finish up. Not a bad dinner. Good food and good conversation. :)

I was noticing as I was finishing up the ride today that sometimes those last five miles are the toughest. Somehow mentally, it seems like I think "I only have five miles to go!" Which is true but there is no reason those five miles should be any easier than any five miles of the whole day. They could be hillier, they could be hotter, they could be windier but somehow in my head because it's only five miles, it should fly by. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. Oh well, they went, I arrived, I got fed, life is good! :)

One of the local attractions is Thousand Hill State Park. We decided we'd had enough hills for one day! The challenge is to go downhill hard enough that you can crest over the next hill without too much effort. Sometimes I hit them pretty good and it was fun but it was still hard work. My quads were telling me they'd done enough for one day.

Day 31 - St. Joseph to Chillicothe - 90 miles

First day after a rest day - raring to go! :) We ended up riding into the first sag stop with the big boys. We started off before them and joined in when they came past. It's fun and challenging to ride at the faster pace but you have to pay attention to where everyone is and what's happening because things can go wrong in a hurry. After a bit I thought "I'm just not having any fun here!" So I waved people on by me, then hopped on at the end again, thinking that way I could just drop off if I felt like it. Ended up finishing up the 30 miles with them, then we decided to back it off and go our own pace - meaning me and Fiona.

Leaving St Joe's with a hazy sky

Missouri continues to be green and treat us to lots of hills!

Our second sag stop of the day was in Jamesport which appears to be a community with a high concentration of Amish and Mennonite families. We stopped at a small restaurant there for some lunch. One guy asked the waitress what the difference was between the Amish and the Mennonites and she said basically the Mennonites drive cars and the Amish don't. I didn't sample the pie but it looked fabulous!

The main intersection in town.

After leaving Jamesport, we were cycling along and came up with Vern. Vern is from Oklahoma and kind of likes to be left alone while he cycles. Not very chatty. So I took it upon myself to see how much chat I could get out of him. :) Not too much before he indicated that he was not interested in chatting with me! He called us magpies and plead with Texas Barry to run us off. Texas Barry can actually talk us both under the table but I guess he doesn't talk that much around Vern. Anyway, I was highly amused by the interchange.

As we were coming into Chillicothe, we came across this!

Fiona had to come to America to find out how famous she is. :) She says there are crocodiles in her river.

Chillicothe's claim to fame is "The home of sliced bread"

They have a lot of cool murals.

One of the best parts of the day was meeting up with Marilyn Lofgreen from Morgan Utah! Currently serving as an LDS missionary in Chillicothe, MO. She and her companion, Sister Knudsen, picked us up at the motel and we went to Washington Street Food Company for a great dinner and a fun visit.

Very fun!!

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! :)