Miles 2138 to 2228, 90 miles, 3350 feet of climb, max speed 37 mph, avg speed 15 mph
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| Farm Rise - Early Morning in Missouri |
Another day where I thought today was better than all the previous! The route was super-scenic, the weather was perfect (to include a nice tail wind!), the roads well maintained and lightly traveled, the bike worked great, and my aches a pains were overshadowed the wonderful people I met and the things I saw. It was a ride of at least a 100 rollers, but none of them super steep. This was the type of day a biker dreams will never end.
I can’t pick a gem of the day! There were too many. This morning started with breakfast with a lady named Pat. She was from Springfield MO and part of a senior citizen bus tour to the Black Hills and the Bad Lands. I asked her some questions about her discoveries, and later I mention to her what I found out from my research. She was so fascinated by the Lakota legends and the story of Anna Gorgon from Deadwood that she couldn’t wait to tell her friends on the bus. The second gem was a mom and her three kids who cheered us on as each rider came into Maysville, MO. Now that I’m firmly in tourist mode, I decided to stop and chat. The kids were so well behaved and smiles that could win anybody’s heart. The most special gem of the day I am having the hardest time remembering the specifics! I remember dentist DDS, because their initials are DS & DS. Donald and his wife, who I will shorten her name to D (‘cause I don’t remember) were out on their morning walk as I rode by. I had to ask them about one of the great mysteries of the universe. Is Highway UU pronounced ‘you-you’ or ‘double you’? Don said both ways are okay. Mystery solved. Don is a row farmer. He plants rows of crops each year, and this year he has rows of corn. Next year it might be rows of beans. D is another story -wow. She is a third grade teacher at the school just up the road. When I asked her about her work her smile lit up the countryside. Obviously teaching is one of her passions and she was excited to talk about this joy of hers. There is a special place in heaven for elementary teachers. When I was growing up I fell in love with my elementary teachers. Lucky Don. He actually got to marry one.
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| Helping to solve the deeper mysteries of MO |
A real treat tonight was that I got to visit with an Amish family over some ice cream; husband, wife, cousin, three girls, and a son. He and his family run a lumber mill on the same highway we rode our bikes down today, Hwy A. They turn trees into pallets. He asked if I was also a biker (he had already talked to one of our Dutch brethren) and I said yes. I didn’t get to ask any questions after that. They wanted to see pictures of the Rockies and all points west. They loved the pictures of Donner Pass and Lake Tahoe, and had no idea that the mountains in Nevada would have snow on them. What a wonderful family. There was nothing shy about the kids either! We had a great time. I showed them the picture of the long-horned steers I took today, and the kids each knew the cows’ names! The Amish are a very tight knit community.
By the way, the biker involved in that pickup truck accident rode well today! It may take a day or two more, but it looks like he will have a full recovery.
Bottom Line: I didn’t want this day to stop. It started fantastic and got better mile after mile.
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