Hartford, IL to Rocheport, MO

Fun fact about typing a blog on an iPad- if you switch apps, it will delete everything you've spent the last half hour typing. Anyways, it turns out that the only public place in Missouri to offer wifi seems to be Mcdonalds, so I decided to indulge in a cheeseburger in order to let you people know that I'm still alive. The weather has been more or less cooperative, and the people are friendly once you learn to get past the accent, a feat much harder than expected.

I started this journey Saturday morning at the Lewis and Clark Memorial Park right outside Hartford, where I perused the adjacent museum for a while taking in the exhibits and information. I easily could have spent a few hours learning more and appreciating the original expedition out west, but it was already getting late and in order to meet my daily mileage I needed to get going. The first 25 miles seemed to fly by, perhaps because I still had a fresh pair of legs, but it also could've been the company I had from my Mom. We stopped in the picturesque village of Elsah in hopes of getting lunch, but the owner of the only diner in town was out in order to celebrate her daughter's graduation. The lovely people at the bed and breakfast informed us of a few restaurants a couple miles down the road, so we took their word and enjoyed lunch near the river. Soon enough it was time to say goodbye, and we parted ways.

Mom's too cool for gears

Shortly after we seperated, I picket up the Katy trail. This 250 mile crushed limestone surface used to be the route of the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad, and historical markers are dotted alongside for a majority of it. I would ride a total of 150 miles on the trail, enjoying the flat surface but slowly getting frustrated at the lack of traction my wheels got, slowing my pace down. Around dinner time, I stopped at a trailhead and contemplating setting up camp, but the proximity of a nearby road and clear "open/close" sign was enough to push me down the trail to find a better spot. 6 miles later, I found a nice peaceful spot, though quite buggy, it had a port-a-potty nearby which is a fantastic amenity when you're on the road.

Some of the Katy trail

Later that night, I awoke to some a crazy lightning storm. Thinking of protocol for camping with lightning, I was going over everything I had learned over and over in my head, but kept drawing up blanks. This was a serious storm. No thunder, just constant lightning illuminating the night as if it were day. Luckily I managed to sleep on and off for a better part of the night.

That morning, the sun was out and it was as if nothing had happened the night before. After a quick breakfast and managing to burn a layer of eggs on my pan, I packed up and started my first full day by myself. 15 minutes in, a downpour dropped out of nowhere, but luckily left as quickly as it came. I would be on the Katy trail for another 60+ miles for the day, and quickly grew to hate gravel surfaces. I ran into another long-distance cyclist, traveling from Texas to St. Louis to catch a ball game. We were going different directions, so we didn't chat much. For lunch, I stopped in Mckittrick (population 64) and found an open supermarket. It was close to 90 degrees, and at this point, even snow started to sound alright. As a munched on some fruit and orange juice, I caught a few people staring at me. It's become obvious by my lack of an accent that I'm clearly not from around here. 

Missing the Midwest. Which is spelt more accurately?

I stayed the night at a campsite off the trail, and was the only person. Instead of an office, there was an envelope and the instructions to drop money in a little slot, based entirely on the honor system. After seeing that it had a shower stall, I took up the opportunity and enjoyed an early night reading and cleaning a couple days worth of sweat from my body.

Monday started off hot. I mean really hot. Sweating just rolling my sleeping bag up hot. Remember, this is at 6 in the morning. Making sure I stocked up on water, I headed back to the trail for another full day of gravel riding, busting a sweat just to stay above 10 mph. Not far into my ride, I caught up to a guy who has been riding from Florida, through New Hampshire, with a final destination out west. Where? He didn't know. His setup was a little more ragged, and I could tell he was really roughing it.

His cross country setup

We jogged back and forth, and finally seperated ways just outside Jefferson City. As lunchtime approached, I made countless attempts to find a diner or anywhere just to get some food, but every place seemed to be closed both Monday and Tuesday. Losing patience, I followed a sign three miles further wheee I found a tiny little house offering cold drinks and snacks as well as Indian memorabilia. I bought a Gatorade and a snickers bar and walked around, trying desperately to cool off. A voice accompanied with the smell of tobacco invited me to sit on the porch in the shade, which I gratefully accepted. Robert, the owner was in his 70's with a long blonde ponytail and seemed to be extremely well spoken, at least compared to the other locals that I had met. We spoke for the better part of an hour about everything from politics, to technology to nature. He spoke a little of his past- a navy and marine veteran, retired architect and MD and member of the Osage tribe. I asked to take his picture, and upon seeing his hesitancy, quickly added that I didn't mind if he declined and completely understand. He replied with"normally I would say no, but for you I'll make an exception".

Before I left, he cut some onions from his garden (where he grows all of the food he eats) and handed me some salad, wishing me a safe journey. This experience was truly y what I was searching for, and with a little more energy, figured I could put in some extra miles.

I made it into the city of Rocheport where I stretched and took a little break, and looked to the west where some angry looking clouds we're coming from. Seeing my concern, one of the locals walked up to me and chuckled, "going west? You ain't gonna make it". I sat under a restaurant overhang as a bulk of the storm passed, but decided to call it early and take refuge under a shelter in order to avoid the downpour that was supposed to happen the rest of the night

So much else to write about, but I need to keep moving. Hopefully I'll find some more access down the road within the next few days, but for now, westward ho!