Yesterday we left off in La Place, LA and prepared for the final push into New Orleans. Our route was planned perfectly, as all our prior routes have been, and everything went according to plan. No, really it did. Perfect finish to the trip. You are going to read the "facts" below with respect to mileage, speed, etc. from our navigator, David. Our route into New Orleans took us on the levee bike way overlooking the "big" Mississippi River at its' majestic best. Lots of BIG ships, full of lots of industrial materials. Commerce does flow through the Mississippi, both in the 1800's, 1900's, and today. We came through Audubon Park, down St. Charles into the heart of New Orleans. After a quick shower we took in the sights of the City including David's favorite place, Cafe Du Monde, which is famous for???????????????????????? We had a great dinner at the The Bourbon, where we all sampled a little bit of what makes food great in New Orleans.
But, I know what you all have been waiting for, and if had not been for the detour that Rex made us take down Bourbon Street after dinner to take in the night life, the results of voting by the Academy would have been posted. So without further chit chat...........the results are as follows:
Iron Man - The voting was not even close in this category between the two (2) nominees. The Iron Man award for the MRT goes to David Spencer for his leadership throughout the trip. Each and every day for the 25 days of riding David was the "point man." Every morning he led the team out of the homestead and braving the headwinds, the potholes, the missed direction signs, and having to make the decisions on speed. He succeeded in bringing the group home safely every day. The true "iron man" of the MRT trip is much deserved by David.
Rookie of the Year - This year there was only one rookie bike and that was the newly built "Surly - Long Haul Trucker." This bike preformed without fail the entire trip. It took its' rider over 1,620 miles without fail. Not one problem. A perfect bike and it only has 1,625 miles on it in total. Wow, what a performance!
Best Hotel - Not even a close call in this category.............Hampton Inn in Vicksburg. The free beer and wine, along with the accommodating staff, made this the hands down winner. Great rooms with perfect maintenance made this spot a most perfect stay on our journey. A sub category was the "condo" we stayed in at Lake Chatord. The scenery at the lake after dinner as the sun was setting was absolutely perfect and was Mississippi at it's best.
Worst Hotel - Several entrants in this category, and after deep consideration by the Academy, the decision came down to the amount of mold found in the shower area, and general lack of upkeep at the facility. The Quality Inn in Red Wing, Iowa. Even though the bowling alley next door served good cold beer, even Rex was not to be persuaded that this hotel was one poor choice.
Best Beer Spot - This was a real close race. In fact, the Academy had to recount votes (or drink another beer to make the decision) several times to find this year's winner. The runner up was Walmart. It turns out Walmart was the only place Rex could find Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the trip and so the competition was tough. But in the end, the ........in Memphis, TN was our winner. Any place that has over 100 beers on tab was a winner in Rex's mind (tells you where his mind is at) and with a sister location in Roseville, you can be sure the quality of the establishment is well tested.
Best Day of Riding - Several nominees in this category. From the miles upon miles of levee riding to the flat stretches in Mississippi. But in the end, the riding from Clarksville, Mississippi, with a 20 MPH wind behind our backs, was the winner. A really super day with great weather.
Fiddle Fart Award - And finally, the granddaddy of all the awards....................At first the clear run away winner of this prestigious award..........granted to the person who can take the most time taking care of the minor essentials of life...............looked like it was going to be David, but as the trip went one, it turned out the David began to quicken his pace in the morning, and Rex started to slow down a little and fiddle fart around so that it was David and Bill waiting for Rex to get ready to ride in the morning. The change in David may have been the result of him ridding himself into shape, after disposing of 10 pounds of high energy powder, the 4 pounds of tuna saved for that emergency he was certain was to come, or the last can of Vienna sausage left in the flooded out Lake Chatord general store, that he procured as he was certain that we might run out of provisions during the next leg of the trip. But in the end, David still won out due to his dogged determination that every aspect of his personal wardrobe was to be perfect. You can only change shirts so many times during the course of a daily bike ride, but David brought these daily wardrobe changes to a new high.
Congratulations to all the winners this year.
We are headed back to Sacramento on Monday AM and we are all looking forward to seeing our families. For this writer, the trip has been a life time experience, and I sincerely appreciate David and Rex for letting me be part of the journey. Have learned a lot, rode a lot, had certain parts of my body hurt a lot, but in the end, the journey has been worth it all. Many thanks.
And now to close out our trip, the facts, and just the facts.............here's David.
Todays distance: 46 miles
Avg. mph: 11.7
Trip Total miles: 1,622
Daily avg: 65 miles
Shortest day: 18
Longest day: 88
And now for a gotcha: These two guys kept on and on about my stash of tuna. So on day 8, in Muscatine, Iowa, I quietly left the tuna in our room. I kept my mouth shut for a thousand miles while these two carried on about that damn tuna. It provided a lot of entertainment for them. Finally after no comments from me they came to the conclusion I had dumped it. GOTCHA. The canned Vienna sausages are another story.
This has been an adventure.
See everyone down the road.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Mission Accomplished!
Bill & David entering the final destination... Louisiana!
Where the Mississippi meets New Orleans, looking good Rex and David!
David on the "long bridge"
After a month on a bicycle, the boys finally find some time to relax and enjoy their accomplishments! In New Orleans at the Cafe Du Monde!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
THE BIG PUSH
A little trivia.............from what epic film if tonight's blog title taken from.............an "epic"
For our followers...........a little quiz.............name the 9 states we have visited as of this post...........and for extra credit, can you figure out the one state we skipped when our original plan was to touch10 states......
Natchez, Miss. - McComb, Miss. Friday, 9/9
We left Natchez bright and early on Friday as we knew we had tough ride ahead of us. Some of you may recall that David and Rex traveled in this area last year on a short journey so they knew what was ahead........although they did neglect to let Bill know. The ride on Friday consisted of two (2) parts.............first part.........tough riding on a busy 4 lane, with little interesting views............mostly trees.........the second part consisted of tough riding on a country road with traffic and lots of trees. This part of Mississippi does not have the same type of crops we have seen to date. Today, no cotton, corn, or soy beans. It appears that timber, mostly pine, is the prominent ag industry, with some cattle ranching. We did see signs indicating a nuclear power plant, which was interesting in a weird sort of way. We made good time and pulled into McComb, Miss to our favorite hotel.........ha.........and enjoyed a wonderful dinner Ruby Tuesday. Wonderful is of course relative to the experience and locale you are in. As we have gotten closer our pace has picked up and our conversations have been shorter. "Less Talk and More Rock" as the younger generation might say.
McComb, Miss - La Place, LA - Saturday, 9/10
We got off on a really early start, i.e. 6:50 AM as the excitement is building for The Big Push............on towards New Orleans. We had a good route today with a nice variety of scenery. You will see some of our spots today when the pictures are posted. We went through a couple of smaller towns and went through a larger community, Hammond, which is home to Southeastern Louisiana State, "home of the dragons..........." David and I wanted to see the football game tonight, but Rex was adamant about the big push and had us on a schedule to get to La Place this evening. We entered the bayou country and saw some interesting water areas..............not sure I would eat any fish caught in these areas, but sure a lot of people fishing. We also went over a really really long bridge that was elevated over Lake Pontchartrain via Highway 51. A cool experience.
We are scheduled to be in New Orleans early on Sunday and will be dinning downtown in the evening with a special breakfast treat I understand on Monday.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Academy is in the final stages of voting on the annual end of the trip awards. You will recall the awards are as follows:
Iron Man
Rookie of the Year
Best Hotel
Worst Hotel
Best Beer Spot
Best Day of Riding
Fiddle Fart Award
The members of the academy are making their final selections and the results will be posted with the final blog on Sunday evening during prime time.
For the facts................we are of course are pleased to have David provide the details:
Friday, day 26, 23 days riding.
Distance 67 miles.
Avg mph: 11.4
Total miles: 1490
Daily avg.: 64.7
Saturday, day 27,24 days riding.
Distance: 86 miles.
Avg mph: 11.9
Total miles: 1576
Daily avg: 65.6
Some might ask what we eat during 7.8.9 hours riding:
Usually start at 0600 with a continental breakfast., that includes: fruit, cereal, biscuits, pastry, bacon or sausage, juice, coffee. We take from this some extras like pastries, apples, oranges, bananas to sustain us through the day. The banana get gooey in the heat. We stop at gas station stores for me: chocolate milk, Rex: coffee, Bill: health food and drinks. We usually stop again in p.m. for coke, ice tea, lemonade, etc. Dinner is usually welcome and depends on local delicacies such as Shonneys, Wendys, Ruby Tuesday, etc.
How much do we drink on hot, long, humid days? Today I drank 70 oz of cold then warm water I carried with me. Supplemented that with a McDonald's shake, very refreshing, a coke, sometimes chocolate milk, sweet tea, lemonade. etc. All I can carry and drink to keep from dehydration. And of course try to maintain a good attitude in the face of adversity.
For our followers...........a little quiz.............name the 9 states we have visited as of this post...........and for extra credit, can you figure out the one state we skipped when our original plan was to touch10 states......
Natchez, Miss. - McComb, Miss. Friday, 9/9
We left Natchez bright and early on Friday as we knew we had tough ride ahead of us. Some of you may recall that David and Rex traveled in this area last year on a short journey so they knew what was ahead........although they did neglect to let Bill know. The ride on Friday consisted of two (2) parts.............first part.........tough riding on a busy 4 lane, with little interesting views............mostly trees.........the second part consisted of tough riding on a country road with traffic and lots of trees. This part of Mississippi does not have the same type of crops we have seen to date. Today, no cotton, corn, or soy beans. It appears that timber, mostly pine, is the prominent ag industry, with some cattle ranching. We did see signs indicating a nuclear power plant, which was interesting in a weird sort of way. We made good time and pulled into McComb, Miss to our favorite hotel.........ha.........and enjoyed a wonderful dinner Ruby Tuesday. Wonderful is of course relative to the experience and locale you are in. As we have gotten closer our pace has picked up and our conversations have been shorter. "Less Talk and More Rock" as the younger generation might say.
McComb, Miss - La Place, LA - Saturday, 9/10
We got off on a really early start, i.e. 6:50 AM as the excitement is building for The Big Push............on towards New Orleans. We had a good route today with a nice variety of scenery. You will see some of our spots today when the pictures are posted. We went through a couple of smaller towns and went through a larger community, Hammond, which is home to Southeastern Louisiana State, "home of the dragons..........." David and I wanted to see the football game tonight, but Rex was adamant about the big push and had us on a schedule to get to La Place this evening. We entered the bayou country and saw some interesting water areas..............not sure I would eat any fish caught in these areas, but sure a lot of people fishing. We also went over a really really long bridge that was elevated over Lake Pontchartrain via Highway 51. A cool experience.
We are scheduled to be in New Orleans early on Sunday and will be dinning downtown in the evening with a special breakfast treat I understand on Monday.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: The Academy is in the final stages of voting on the annual end of the trip awards. You will recall the awards are as follows:
Iron Man
Rookie of the Year
Best Hotel
Worst Hotel
Best Beer Spot
Best Day of Riding
Fiddle Fart Award
The members of the academy are making their final selections and the results will be posted with the final blog on Sunday evening during prime time.
For the facts................we are of course are pleased to have David provide the details:
Friday, day 26, 23 days riding.
Distance 67 miles.
Avg mph: 11.4
Total miles: 1490
Daily avg.: 64.7
Saturday, day 27,24 days riding.
Distance: 86 miles.
Avg mph: 11.9
Total miles: 1576
Daily avg: 65.6
Some might ask what we eat during 7.8.9 hours riding:
Usually start at 0600 with a continental breakfast., that includes: fruit, cereal, biscuits, pastry, bacon or sausage, juice, coffee. We take from this some extras like pastries, apples, oranges, bananas to sustain us through the day. The banana get gooey in the heat. We stop at gas station stores for me: chocolate milk, Rex: coffee, Bill: health food and drinks. We usually stop again in p.m. for coke, ice tea, lemonade, etc. Dinner is usually welcome and depends on local delicacies such as Shonneys, Wendys, Ruby Tuesday, etc.
How much do we drink on hot, long, humid days? Today I drank 70 oz of cold then warm water I carried with me. Supplemented that with a McDonald's shake, very refreshing, a coke, sometimes chocolate milk, sweet tea, lemonade. etc. All I can carry and drink to keep from dehydration. And of course try to maintain a good attitude in the face of adversity.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Natchez Trace Parkway
Vicksburg, Miss. - Natchez, Miss
Yesterday, we finished up a great day in Vicksburg with a wonderful stay at a Hampton Inn. We enjoyed "happy hour" which meant Rex found some beer that he liked....and it was on the house, along with some wonderful chips and dip. We had such a nice time we decided to order in and had a Domino pizza. Yippee. We had a great route all planned out for getting onto the Natchez Trace, which has been from the start one of the primary goals of the trip, i.e. to ride the Natchez Trace. You should do a little searching to understand the significance of this trail. Anyway, we got off with a 7:00 AM sharp departure and made good time heading out of town, although the traffic was a little heavy with lots of cars/people heading to work. As we made our way out of town we came upon our first obstacle of the day, which was similar to several other obstacles we have encountered to date............."Detour - local traffic only"........but would we learn from our past mistakes.......................no, of course not..............we all agreed to proceed down the road and figured we could find a way around the problem. As luck would have it after about 2 miles down the road we came upon a gas station lady, who in her best southern charm......Ha........told us the bridge was out.....no way around except to go back and follow the detour signs........"dumb guys from California." Anyway we went back and it was not as bad a return trip as we thought it was going to be and we were back on schedule in no time. We followed State Highway 61 down to Port Gibson without any problem. For some reason when we got to Port Gibson, David went into "let's stop and take a picture every 50 yards......first a motel,.........then a Sonic............he said he was nostalgic from his prior trip to Port Gibson.........It was early in the day and he was not delirious.....must be a story someplace that needs to be explained. Anyway, we got on the Natchez Trace and for the next 40+ miles we had thoroughly enjoyable journey. The Trace is a National Park and as such no commercial vehicles are allowed and it was basically 40 miles of smooth riding. Lots of moss on the trees, with a good portion of the road covered with a tree canopy. Truly amazing and the highlight from a riding standpoint of our trip. Can't figure out why we had to ride 1,400 miles to get to this point. Next time I figure we fly into Nashville, TN and start there and take the Trace down. We are in Natchez, Miss staying at a another Hampton Inn. Just finished dinner at an exclusive little restaurant withing walking distance of the hotel.....called Jugheads. Advertising Fish and More. Including alligator. Got to luv these southern upscale restaurants.
And now without further ado, here's David with the facts......and just the facts...
Fact nr 1. This is the fourth time we have encountered washed out bridges in Miss. The floods did them in this spring.
Miles today: 82.
Avg. mph today: 11
Total miles: 1423
Daily Avg. miles: 65
But we got to the Natchez Trace: 300 yrs of history up and down this road from Natchez to Nashville. The Mississippian Indian Tribes, the more modern Choctaw, the Spanish, American settlers and travelers, Gen. Jacksons Army and others. It is a very close place and the history is still there.
Tomorrow over to McComb, Miss. Will be lots of long hills like this a.m. Once there we can turn South and find New Orleans in a couple of days. McComb is West of here. We go up Hwy 84 about 30miles, turn onto Hwy 98 then 570 at Smithdale and into Summit then McComb for those who like to follow step by step. We load up on lots of water and snacks in the a.m. because there are often no stores when we need them. Wish us luck...........
Yesterday, we finished up a great day in Vicksburg with a wonderful stay at a Hampton Inn. We enjoyed "happy hour" which meant Rex found some beer that he liked....and it was on the house, along with some wonderful chips and dip. We had such a nice time we decided to order in and had a Domino pizza. Yippee. We had a great route all planned out for getting onto the Natchez Trace, which has been from the start one of the primary goals of the trip, i.e. to ride the Natchez Trace. You should do a little searching to understand the significance of this trail. Anyway, we got off with a 7:00 AM sharp departure and made good time heading out of town, although the traffic was a little heavy with lots of cars/people heading to work. As we made our way out of town we came upon our first obstacle of the day, which was similar to several other obstacles we have encountered to date............."Detour - local traffic only"........but would we learn from our past mistakes.......................no, of course not..............we all agreed to proceed down the road and figured we could find a way around the problem. As luck would have it after about 2 miles down the road we came upon a gas station lady, who in her best southern charm......Ha........told us the bridge was out.....no way around except to go back and follow the detour signs........"dumb guys from California." Anyway we went back and it was not as bad a return trip as we thought it was going to be and we were back on schedule in no time. We followed State Highway 61 down to Port Gibson without any problem. For some reason when we got to Port Gibson, David went into "let's stop and take a picture every 50 yards......first a motel,.........then a Sonic............he said he was nostalgic from his prior trip to Port Gibson.........It was early in the day and he was not delirious.....must be a story someplace that needs to be explained. Anyway, we got on the Natchez Trace and for the next 40+ miles we had thoroughly enjoyable journey. The Trace is a National Park and as such no commercial vehicles are allowed and it was basically 40 miles of smooth riding. Lots of moss on the trees, with a good portion of the road covered with a tree canopy. Truly amazing and the highlight from a riding standpoint of our trip. Can't figure out why we had to ride 1,400 miles to get to this point. Next time I figure we fly into Nashville, TN and start there and take the Trace down. We are in Natchez, Miss staying at a another Hampton Inn. Just finished dinner at an exclusive little restaurant withing walking distance of the hotel.....called Jugheads. Advertising Fish and More. Including alligator. Got to luv these southern upscale restaurants.
And now without further ado, here's David with the facts......and just the facts...
Fact nr 1. This is the fourth time we have encountered washed out bridges in Miss. The floods did them in this spring.
Miles today: 82.
Avg. mph today: 11
Total miles: 1423
Daily Avg. miles: 65
But we got to the Natchez Trace: 300 yrs of history up and down this road from Natchez to Nashville. The Mississippian Indian Tribes, the more modern Choctaw, the Spanish, American settlers and travelers, Gen. Jacksons Army and others. It is a very close place and the history is still there.
Tomorrow over to McComb, Miss. Will be lots of long hills like this a.m. Once there we can turn South and find New Orleans in a couple of days. McComb is West of here. We go up Hwy 84 about 30miles, turn onto Hwy 98 then 570 at Smithdale and into Summit then McComb for those who like to follow step by step. We load up on lots of water and snacks in the a.m. because there are often no stores when we need them. Wish us luck...........
A Glimpse of History
Dad- Mom said don't come home until you shave that beard!
Checking for mail in Mississippi
Civil War house in Vicksburg (perhaps David's retirement home?)
David taking a break
Grant at Vicksburg
Lake Chotard
The Lodge at Lake Chotard (it's no Holiday Inn Express)
The Mississippi from Vicksburg
Mount Locust Inn
Rex and David riding the Natchez Trace Pkwy
Is that snow in Mississippi?
Union Ship found in the Mississippi
Vicksburg
The Vicksburg Memorial
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The weather is great and the riding is easy
2 days of updates.
You will recall we left off in Greenville, Miss. and where headed towards Vicksburg, Miss. We knew it was going to be a long ride and had a couple of options for our layover before we headed into Vicksburg, Miss.
Greensville, Miss. - Lake Chotard Lake Resort, Miss.
First, let's all find Lake Chotard on our maps..............Anyway we had a nice ride out of Greenville, supported by a fine dinner at Shoneys the night before. Rex said it was his favorite place to date.........Ha. The ride was very quiet. No traffic and just the Mississippi River Delta farming lands. No real towns, and about the only activity was the county prison we passed, which was a tough looking place, with prisoners in uniforms our of a different time period. Don't want to get in trouble in this part of the county. A couple of pictures will follow to give you a flavor of the the ride. The night before took off we had made contact with Lake Chotard Resort and made an acquaintance with a Ms. Vicky, who handled the reservations, and other stuff at the resort. We did not know what to expect other than it was going to be ok as we most likely would not make Vicksburg in one day. We rode into Lake Chotard Resort after toooooooooooo many miles on a levee road that was only partially paved. It turned out to be a "Shangri-la". We had a "condo" at a fishing and hunting camp, and were treated to dinner by the owner, "Mr. Jerry" of the "resort" who was a retired developer from Jackson, Miss. The resort had been completely underwater this past June from the high waters and they were still in the process of cleaning up. To date, may have been the best dinner (we had stew and corn bread) to date, and were subject to some real "southern hospitality". The scene was out of the book so to speak.
Lake Chotard, Miss. - Vicksburg, Miss.
May have had our most beautiful ride of the trip today. We were in the Mississippi River Delta at its best. Lots of backwater channels, with abundant wildlife. Check out Eagle Lake as a cool place. We made it into Vicksburg, Miss by noon and were able to secure a room at the Hampton Inn across the street from entrance to the Vicksburg National Park. We rented a car as we decided we could cover more ground with this method vs. our normal 12 MPH. We went through the Vicksburg National Park which does a great job of depicting the siege of Vicksburg during the civil war. We learned a lot from David, and our tour today.
All in all all a great couple of days exploring Mississippi. Headed towards Natches, Miss. in the AM.
And now for the facts................here is David......
Just the facts maam:
Nr of total days: 24. Nr of days on bike: 21 including minimal riding days.
Miles today: 38
Avg. Speed: 11 mph.
Total miles to date: 1,341.
Daily avg: 63.8 miles.
Today as Bill says started as one of the prettiest days. Up early, no breakfast, though I had squirreled away a blueberry muffin from last night and a latte cafe powdered drink I have carried for 1300 miles. It was good. The other guys did without till we got to a road side store a few miles away. We were on the levee before sunrise and watched the light change in the forest and over the bayou. It was very cool, 53 degrees to start. We were into Vicksburg before noon. We crossed a formidable bridge on Hwy. 61 over the Yazoo River where Grant ran into trouble and was forced to go around the City to take it. Bet he would have given his left foot for a bridge. The battlefield tour was all I could expect. I enjoyed all the Civil War History. Bill is good at getting things done and got us into the rental car that made the day so worthwhile. Off to Natchez in a.m. About 80 miles. Most on the Natchez Trace which is a great ride.
To tired to walk to a restaurant. Thin crust Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza for dinner. Plus beer for Rex, a little wine for Bill, and coke of course for David.
More to follow from Natchez.....
You will recall we left off in Greenville, Miss. and where headed towards Vicksburg, Miss. We knew it was going to be a long ride and had a couple of options for our layover before we headed into Vicksburg, Miss.
Greensville, Miss. - Lake Chotard Lake Resort, Miss.
First, let's all find Lake Chotard on our maps..............Anyway we had a nice ride out of Greenville, supported by a fine dinner at Shoneys the night before. Rex said it was his favorite place to date.........Ha. The ride was very quiet. No traffic and just the Mississippi River Delta farming lands. No real towns, and about the only activity was the county prison we passed, which was a tough looking place, with prisoners in uniforms our of a different time period. Don't want to get in trouble in this part of the county. A couple of pictures will follow to give you a flavor of the the ride. The night before took off we had made contact with Lake Chotard Resort and made an acquaintance with a Ms. Vicky, who handled the reservations, and other stuff at the resort. We did not know what to expect other than it was going to be ok as we most likely would not make Vicksburg in one day. We rode into Lake Chotard Resort after toooooooooooo many miles on a levee road that was only partially paved. It turned out to be a "Shangri-la". We had a "condo" at a fishing and hunting camp, and were treated to dinner by the owner, "Mr. Jerry" of the "resort" who was a retired developer from Jackson, Miss. The resort had been completely underwater this past June from the high waters and they were still in the process of cleaning up. To date, may have been the best dinner (we had stew and corn bread) to date, and were subject to some real "southern hospitality". The scene was out of the book so to speak.
Lake Chotard, Miss. - Vicksburg, Miss.
May have had our most beautiful ride of the trip today. We were in the Mississippi River Delta at its best. Lots of backwater channels, with abundant wildlife. Check out Eagle Lake as a cool place. We made it into Vicksburg, Miss by noon and were able to secure a room at the Hampton Inn across the street from entrance to the Vicksburg National Park. We rented a car as we decided we could cover more ground with this method vs. our normal 12 MPH. We went through the Vicksburg National Park which does a great job of depicting the siege of Vicksburg during the civil war. We learned a lot from David, and our tour today.
All in all all a great couple of days exploring Mississippi. Headed towards Natches, Miss. in the AM.
And now for the facts................here is David......
Just the facts maam:
Nr of total days: 24. Nr of days on bike: 21 including minimal riding days.
Miles today: 38
Avg. Speed: 11 mph.
Total miles to date: 1,341.
Daily avg: 63.8 miles.
Today as Bill says started as one of the prettiest days. Up early, no breakfast, though I had squirreled away a blueberry muffin from last night and a latte cafe powdered drink I have carried for 1300 miles. It was good. The other guys did without till we got to a road side store a few miles away. We were on the levee before sunrise and watched the light change in the forest and over the bayou. It was very cool, 53 degrees to start. We were into Vicksburg before noon. We crossed a formidable bridge on Hwy. 61 over the Yazoo River where Grant ran into trouble and was forced to go around the City to take it. Bet he would have given his left foot for a bridge. The battlefield tour was all I could expect. I enjoyed all the Civil War History. Bill is good at getting things done and got us into the rental car that made the day so worthwhile. Off to Natchez in a.m. About 80 miles. Most on the Natchez Trace which is a great ride.
To tired to walk to a restaurant. Thin crust Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza for dinner. Plus beer for Rex, a little wine for Bill, and coke of course for David.
More to follow from Natchez.....
Tropical Storm Lee blew in some pictures.....
Now entering....Tennessee
Harvest time in TN (Dad are those soybeans?)
On the way to Greenville, MS
A teachable moment presented by David "Tire Change 101"
Three Friends - Hickman Ferry
A message from David to Kate
Rex and David at the Indian Mounds
Welcome to Kentucky
Memphis
Looking good guys!
Monday, September 5, 2011
MISSISSIPPI
Sorry we missed posting for a couple of days, but we had a little weather, and we were without Internet access at our layover in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
So, when we last provided an update we had pulled into Memphis on Friday of Labor Day weekend. Boy was that interesting. We stayed at a Holiday Inn in downtown Memphis, across from The Peabody and next to a Starbucks. David and I watched the famous "ducks walk" at The Peabody. Rex did the grand tour of downtown Memphis in the heat of the afternoon, while David and I caught up on some quiet time. We had an interesting evening out on the down and visited the famous Peabody Street. Had some ribs and beer for dinner and planned to turn in for an early get away. Did I mention it was a Friday night in Memphis........... and on top of that it was the start of the Labor Day weekend. Well the Holiday Inn was the happening place. Not sure if it was party central on our floor, but it sure seemed like it. Anyway, we did depart early on Saturday and were headed to Clarksdale, Mississippi.
We left Memphis and made good time heading out of town, but ran into a problem when the shoulder area disappeared a few miles out of town. We found an alternative route which was basically the "old" road which went through several very old towns, which as we have mentioned before time has passed them by. In the case of several of these small towns in Mississippi, the difference is that people of all ages continue to live in them. Not sure how they can survive, but clear to see poverty level is high. Main crops appear to be soy beans and cotton, with a little rice and corn. We made it to Clarksdale in the late afternoon and were able to secure a room at a Comfort Inn. Rough town, but we had our Walmart, and a couple of other establishments to chose from, which was to become important the next day. You may have heard some reports about Tropical Storm Lee hitting New Orleans and heading inland. It made it up to Clarksdale by early Sunday morning and we made a decision to hang around and ride out the storm in the lap of luxury at the Comfort Inn. (Ha) We had a lazy and luxurious breakfast that morning, and went for a little walk down to the Wallmart and purchased a few items for the storm....books....We also visited the Dollar General store for provisions..........necessities.......candy and cookies..........So we settled in for the storm...........David and I read from our new novels, and Rex got up to speed on the upcoming football season with Sports Illustrated............and we enjoyed an all day marathon of Two and One-Half Men............We must have seen at least 15 different episodes, including several that none of us had ever seen. All in all a restful day, filled with snacks, TV, and dinner at the best Mexican restaurant we have run across in a while. Go Figure. The weather forecast called for clearing on Monday and we planned a good ride to Greenville, Mississippi.
Clarksdale, Miss - Greenville, Miss
The wind was a blowing out of the north at about 20 MPH. Wow. Looked like it was going to rain, but we had a bail out plan in case of the rain so we took off with the wind at our backs. We took Highway 1, "the old road" again, heading south. A quiet road with little traffic. All big farms, with soy beans and cotton being the main crops. Loni, you will be glad to know I have found your souvenir...........I know how you like cotton, and at one of our rest stops I was able to pick some fresh cotton for you. Karen, I think David may have also done a little shoppin for you also.
We made absolutely great time today. The wind was at our back most of the day and both David and Rex said they had never had such an easy and fast ride. No hills and basically all flat highway with little cracks/joints. In a couple of spots we were in the 24 MPH rate for 20 minutes +/-. We were hauling! Temperature was great and the sun was basically behind the clouds the entire day. We pulled into the town of Greenville late this afternoon and we are at a nice place in the main part of town. We are working on logistics to get to Vicksburg, and also watching the weather.
And now for the facts, and some extra tidbits of tantalizing information.............here's David...........
Miles today: 82
Avg mph: 13.7 a record.
Total miles to date: 1228
Daily avg: 64.63 does not include down day in Clarksdale.
Most interesting stop: The Winterville Indian Mounds just north of Greenville. These mounds are found all down the Mississippi River Valley. They represent a pre European native culture that thrived a thousand years before being discovered by DeSoto and devastated by European disease. The remnants then became the more recent tribes we know.
To reiterate Bills description of the ride. This was the best days ride of any of our trips. Overcast, cool in the 70's, the wind at our back, flat or downhill all day, minimal traffic. We got up to 24-25 miles per hour at times. A good day.
So, when we last provided an update we had pulled into Memphis on Friday of Labor Day weekend. Boy was that interesting. We stayed at a Holiday Inn in downtown Memphis, across from The Peabody and next to a Starbucks. David and I watched the famous "ducks walk" at The Peabody. Rex did the grand tour of downtown Memphis in the heat of the afternoon, while David and I caught up on some quiet time. We had an interesting evening out on the down and visited the famous Peabody Street. Had some ribs and beer for dinner and planned to turn in for an early get away. Did I mention it was a Friday night in Memphis........... and on top of that it was the start of the Labor Day weekend. Well the Holiday Inn was the happening place. Not sure if it was party central on our floor, but it sure seemed like it. Anyway, we did depart early on Saturday and were headed to Clarksdale, Mississippi.
We left Memphis and made good time heading out of town, but ran into a problem when the shoulder area disappeared a few miles out of town. We found an alternative route which was basically the "old" road which went through several very old towns, which as we have mentioned before time has passed them by. In the case of several of these small towns in Mississippi, the difference is that people of all ages continue to live in them. Not sure how they can survive, but clear to see poverty level is high. Main crops appear to be soy beans and cotton, with a little rice and corn. We made it to Clarksdale in the late afternoon and were able to secure a room at a Comfort Inn. Rough town, but we had our Walmart, and a couple of other establishments to chose from, which was to become important the next day. You may have heard some reports about Tropical Storm Lee hitting New Orleans and heading inland. It made it up to Clarksdale by early Sunday morning and we made a decision to hang around and ride out the storm in the lap of luxury at the Comfort Inn. (Ha) We had a lazy and luxurious breakfast that morning, and went for a little walk down to the Wallmart and purchased a few items for the storm....books....We also visited the Dollar General store for provisions..........necessities.......candy and cookies..........So we settled in for the storm...........David and I read from our new novels, and Rex got up to speed on the upcoming football season with Sports Illustrated............and we enjoyed an all day marathon of Two and One-Half Men............We must have seen at least 15 different episodes, including several that none of us had ever seen. All in all a restful day, filled with snacks, TV, and dinner at the best Mexican restaurant we have run across in a while. Go Figure. The weather forecast called for clearing on Monday and we planned a good ride to Greenville, Mississippi.
Clarksdale, Miss - Greenville, Miss
The wind was a blowing out of the north at about 20 MPH. Wow. Looked like it was going to rain, but we had a bail out plan in case of the rain so we took off with the wind at our backs. We took Highway 1, "the old road" again, heading south. A quiet road with little traffic. All big farms, with soy beans and cotton being the main crops. Loni, you will be glad to know I have found your souvenir...........I know how you like cotton, and at one of our rest stops I was able to pick some fresh cotton for you. Karen, I think David may have also done a little shoppin for you also.
We made absolutely great time today. The wind was at our back most of the day and both David and Rex said they had never had such an easy and fast ride. No hills and basically all flat highway with little cracks/joints. In a couple of spots we were in the 24 MPH rate for 20 minutes +/-. We were hauling! Temperature was great and the sun was basically behind the clouds the entire day. We pulled into the town of Greenville late this afternoon and we are at a nice place in the main part of town. We are working on logistics to get to Vicksburg, and also watching the weather.
And now for the facts, and some extra tidbits of tantalizing information.............here's David...........
Miles today: 82
Avg mph: 13.7 a record.
Total miles to date: 1228
Daily avg: 64.63 does not include down day in Clarksdale.
Most interesting stop: The Winterville Indian Mounds just north of Greenville. These mounds are found all down the Mississippi River Valley. They represent a pre European native culture that thrived a thousand years before being discovered by DeSoto and devastated by European disease. The remnants then became the more recent tribes we know.
To reiterate Bills description of the ride. This was the best days ride of any of our trips. Overcast, cool in the 70's, the wind at our back, flat or downhill all day, minimal traffic. We got up to 24-25 miles per hour at times. A good day.
Friday, September 2, 2011
He started out as a rebel and ended up the King.................
Well, we made it to Memphis..........this will be a 2 day update
Dyersburg, TN - Millington, TN
You will recall from our most recent post that we were headed to Memphis. We started out with great intentions, but due to the weather.........it was hot.......and hotter..........and really hot and humid..........cooler heads prevailed in the name of David and we stopped in Millington, TN to recharge our batteries and then head into Memphis the next day. We have been making good time over the last 2 days. Mostly flat land with only some minor hills. I had been complaining to David and Rex that I was tired of seeing all the farm land and wanted to see some city/industrial areas. Well after our last 1 and 1/2 days, I am cured and am ready to get back into the farm lands. We have been on a nice state highway that has been a straight shot down the state. Saw lots of down and dirty industrial areas. Tough area to make a living. I did catch a nice picture of some harvesting of corn and it should be posted. Looks like the fall is coming as harvest season seems to have started in this part of the country. We had a nice stay in Millington at our favorite place, i.e. Holiday Inn Express, and of course Rex found the beer again............at Walmart.........tells you something about the region. Rex did get carded and was asked to take his CA drivers license out..........made him very happy as he thought they were asking him because he did not look 21.........turns out they ask everyone....We also met up with a friend of Rex's and David's, Mike Brooks, who worked with them in Sacramento and who recently took a job as a community college instructor at Dyersburg CC. We had a great chat and learned a lot about the history of the area from Mike. He gave us some tips on Memphis, and we may meet him tonight for some Blues, ribs, and beer. We took a little walk around Memphis and dodged the rain and heat. Had nice lunch at a little dive bar across the street from our hotel. Memphis has a lot of old history. Rain is forecast for the next couple of days so we are in the process of figuring out our options, and nearest spots to stay dry. We are looking for routes that will get us to Vicksburg, which will be our next way station and where we will take a day off to look at the battlefields. We are working on the logistics for the next leg of the trip, which will be from Memphis to Clarksdale, Miss.
Now for the stats and an editorial comment or two........here is David:
Thursday, day 16.
Today: 60 miles.
Avg: 10.8 mph
Total miles: 1040
Daily avg: 65 miles
We stopped 18 miles short of Memphis due to 100+heat and high humidity. A good choice. Mike caught up with us here. He only lived 6 miles away. We went right by his house earlier. His wife passed us toiling down the road.
Friday, day 17, Memphis.
Today: 18 miles
Avg: 11.2 mph
Total miles: 1058
Daily avg: 62.
Got a late start. Not quite as hot. A few uphills but mostly long down hills all the way into Memphis. Had an exciting crossing of a two lane bridge with traffic, past the St. Judes Childrens Hospital into town and Union St.
Our prior experience tells us that Mississippi from now on will be flat. It will be hot of course. Off to Clarksdale, Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez.
Dyersburg, TN - Millington, TN
You will recall from our most recent post that we were headed to Memphis. We started out with great intentions, but due to the weather.........it was hot.......and hotter..........and really hot and humid..........cooler heads prevailed in the name of David and we stopped in Millington, TN to recharge our batteries and then head into Memphis the next day. We have been making good time over the last 2 days. Mostly flat land with only some minor hills. I had been complaining to David and Rex that I was tired of seeing all the farm land and wanted to see some city/industrial areas. Well after our last 1 and 1/2 days, I am cured and am ready to get back into the farm lands. We have been on a nice state highway that has been a straight shot down the state. Saw lots of down and dirty industrial areas. Tough area to make a living. I did catch a nice picture of some harvesting of corn and it should be posted. Looks like the fall is coming as harvest season seems to have started in this part of the country. We had a nice stay in Millington at our favorite place, i.e. Holiday Inn Express, and of course Rex found the beer again............at Walmart.........tells you something about the region. Rex did get carded and was asked to take his CA drivers license out..........made him very happy as he thought they were asking him because he did not look 21.........turns out they ask everyone....We also met up with a friend of Rex's and David's, Mike Brooks, who worked with them in Sacramento and who recently took a job as a community college instructor at Dyersburg CC. We had a great chat and learned a lot about the history of the area from Mike. He gave us some tips on Memphis, and we may meet him tonight for some Blues, ribs, and beer. We took a little walk around Memphis and dodged the rain and heat. Had nice lunch at a little dive bar across the street from our hotel. Memphis has a lot of old history. Rain is forecast for the next couple of days so we are in the process of figuring out our options, and nearest spots to stay dry. We are looking for routes that will get us to Vicksburg, which will be our next way station and where we will take a day off to look at the battlefields. We are working on the logistics for the next leg of the trip, which will be from Memphis to Clarksdale, Miss.
Now for the stats and an editorial comment or two........here is David:
Thursday, day 16.
Today: 60 miles.
Avg: 10.8 mph
Total miles: 1040
Daily avg: 65 miles
We stopped 18 miles short of Memphis due to 100+heat and high humidity. A good choice. Mike caught up with us here. He only lived 6 miles away. We went right by his house earlier. His wife passed us toiling down the road.
Friday, day 17, Memphis.
Today: 18 miles
Avg: 11.2 mph
Total miles: 1058
Daily avg: 62.
Got a late start. Not quite as hot. A few uphills but mostly long down hills all the way into Memphis. Had an exciting crossing of a two lane bridge with traffic, past the St. Judes Childrens Hospital into town and Union St.
Our prior experience tells us that Mississippi from now on will be flat. It will be hot of course. Off to Clarksdale, Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez.
So Who Started out as a Rebel and ended up as the King
A report on our last two (2) days:
Dyersburg, TN - Millington, TN
Dyersburg, TN - Millington, TN
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
3 States In One Day
Quiz for the day................What three states did we visit today? For extra points quiz, which state did we spend the least amount of time in?
Charleston - Dyersburg (no hints form me on the states)
I originally was going to title this update..............."no hills and the riding is easy".........but having learned from prior experience it is best to wait until the day is done. We spent the majority of the day on flat ground, but we did encounter a few hills towards the end of the day and as such the title changed. We also found a new crop................can you guess.................. The morning found us getting out of town with minimum traffic and we may have had our nicest early morning ride. There was some nice clouds and David and Rex debated (weather) it was going to rain or not. (it didn't) We had flat riding and did not see as much corn as we have seen during the trip to date. It turned out the reason was that the ground was not ready for planting this spring. It turns out that a portion of the area we went through was subject to the flooding you all may recall happened the spring. The area we were in was were they broke the levee to prevent more flooding from impacting the state of .............(not going to tell you). We had a great crossing of the Mississippi River today. We crossed at Dorena, which is in the state of (?) and arrived in the Hickman, which is in the state of (?). The crossing was accomplished by a ferry, which was very cool. We also had our 3rd flat tire of the trip. Now everyone has had a flat. David's flat happened in a nice quiet place and the fixing went well. During the stop to fix the flat, we talked with some USF&G wardens who gave me the lowdown on ducks, etc. We continued to make good time but ran into some route problems as we had decided to depart slightly from the MRT. We lucked out again and made it into Dyersburg without any problems and found our favorite place to stay........Holiday Inn Express. Just finished dinner at a very interesting dive bar, which Rex finally found a beer to his liking. All in all a good day. We are headed into Memphis tomorrow and will be working on our route tonight.
PS - Pictures........looks like we are back in business...........would like to tell you that I figured out the problem on why I could not send them, but somehow the problem has worked itself out. Anyway, enjoy the pictures...........I hope.
As usual, the facts, and just the facts..........come from David...............
Today's miles: 78
Avg. MPH: 10.9
Total miles: 980.3
Daily avg: 65.3
Technical difficulties: As Bill said, a flat tire. A very slow leak. I kept falling behind and had to work hard to keep up. I thought I was tired. Then realized I only had half full tire. It was a small but hard thorn that just touched the tube. Hot work on a dry hot road. 980miles, three flats. Not bad as these things go.
Charleston - Dyersburg (no hints form me on the states)
I originally was going to title this update..............."no hills and the riding is easy".........but having learned from prior experience it is best to wait until the day is done. We spent the majority of the day on flat ground, but we did encounter a few hills towards the end of the day and as such the title changed. We also found a new crop................can you guess.................. The morning found us getting out of town with minimum traffic and we may have had our nicest early morning ride. There was some nice clouds and David and Rex debated (weather) it was going to rain or not. (it didn't) We had flat riding and did not see as much corn as we have seen during the trip to date. It turned out the reason was that the ground was not ready for planting this spring. It turns out that a portion of the area we went through was subject to the flooding you all may recall happened the spring. The area we were in was were they broke the levee to prevent more flooding from impacting the state of .............(not going to tell you). We had a great crossing of the Mississippi River today. We crossed at Dorena, which is in the state of (?) and arrived in the Hickman, which is in the state of (?). The crossing was accomplished by a ferry, which was very cool. We also had our 3rd flat tire of the trip. Now everyone has had a flat. David's flat happened in a nice quiet place and the fixing went well. During the stop to fix the flat, we talked with some USF&G wardens who gave me the lowdown on ducks, etc. We continued to make good time but ran into some route problems as we had decided to depart slightly from the MRT. We lucked out again and made it into Dyersburg without any problems and found our favorite place to stay........Holiday Inn Express. Just finished dinner at a very interesting dive bar, which Rex finally found a beer to his liking. All in all a good day. We are headed into Memphis tomorrow and will be working on our route tonight.
PS - Pictures........looks like we are back in business...........would like to tell you that I figured out the problem on why I could not send them, but somehow the problem has worked itself out. Anyway, enjoy the pictures...........I hope.
As usual, the facts, and just the facts..........come from David...............
Today's miles: 78
Avg. MPH: 10.9
Total miles: 980.3
Daily avg: 65.3
Technical difficulties: As Bill said, a flat tire. A very slow leak. I kept falling behind and had to work hard to keep up. I thought I was tired. Then realized I only had half full tire. It was a small but hard thorn that just touched the tube. Hot work on a dry hot road. 980miles, three flats. Not bad as these things go.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
And.....More
Home of the "Pickers" (the TV show I guess)
Looking good guys!
In front of the "The Pickers"
David & Rex in Lansing, IA
Bill, Lansing IA (fear the beard)
Another road closure! (Lansing, IA)
and....More Pix
The guys' new friend Alex from Sacramento (perhaps Kate's potential bf?)
Uh Oh! Which way?
Rex in front of the Temple in Nauvoo, Il
Rex and Bill in front of the Joseph Hiriam Smith Statue- Il
Lunch stop in Oakville, IA (is it just me or does it seem like my Dad sports the same outfit in every picture?)
More Pix....Sam to the Rescue!
Hi Everyone, Bill's better third here. Got some new pictures in, since supposedly there has been "no internet." My guess is the boys are simply having too much fun and enjoying too many refreshments (seems to be a lot of talk about that).
On the road again (I like the looks of that town Oak Ridge)
David & Rex on the Chain of Rocks Bridge
Mississippi River - Missouri
Bill and David at the Arch (David was probably hoping it was his favorite "Golden Arches")
Great view of St. Louis from the Arch
David & Rex at Busch Stadium (Go Giants!)
Concert in Hannibal, MO (Dad chose this concert over the Sugarland Concert my mom and I went to)
David in front of his "retirement home" aka Mark Twain's House (Speaking of Mark Twain, David you will be glad to know Kate has started school and studying hard!)
Stuff Happens
2 Day update as we had Internet problems last night.
Ste. Genevieve - Cape Girardeau
So you wonder what each day starts like before we put in the miles on the road.........well glad you wanted to know......our normal riding day starts with David getting up a 1/2 hour earlier than Rex and I. Rex calls it David's "fiddle farting time" but from my view it seems like he just needs little more time to make sure his hair is fixed up, and his lotion goes on just right, eye shadow in place.......reminds me of Loni getting ready in the morning. Anyway, we finally get to breakfast, which may be the best meal of the day. Each place we have stayed has a "breakfast" with a nice selection of fruit, toast, cereal, eggs, coffee, pastries, etc. All in all we are in good shape for the first couple of hours of the trip. Our ride was to take us to Cape Girardeau, which is a place that David had demanded we visit as it was where his idol Rush was born and raised. Due to reasons beyond our control, and which are reviewed below, we did not get by the old homestead. David indicated he and Karen will return in the future. The day started out great and we made good time leaving Ste. Genevieve. Riding was fine with the weather cooperating. Not too warm and the humidity not too high. In fact everything was going great for most of the day. Hills not too long, and the downhills nice and long. Shaping up to be the best ride of the trip................so as we have to head down one stretch of road ..........awful lot of trucks..........more trucks........more trucks........turns out there is a Proctor and Gambol Distribution Center out in the middle of no where.........go figure.......so we make it off the truck route and head towards the last 11 miles into Cape Girardeau. Some nice downhills with David taking the lead, and me close on his tail. We pull up for a second and no Rex.........we wait........we wait........we say he can't have missed the turn.........we wait.......finally some guys in a truck yell ...."your friend has a flat.......well David and I decide that he should continue on towards town so he can get cleaned up early and get over to Rush's........or get to the bike shop and have his gear switching looked at as it has been acting up on the hill climbing........which is a problem when you are going up as many hills as we have been going up. I head back to Rex and we start to fix the flat...in the 90 + degree heat......turns out the day has gotten hotter.........nothing more fun than changing a tire at 3:30 PM in the afternoon. Funny how the flats happen in the hotter part of the day. Anyway, takes us a little more time than we had hoped, but we did get if fixed and we were off to catch up with David. We caught up with David at the bike shop where they had fixed his gear switching, and David had struck up a conversation with the shop and we had a route figured out for the next day. Stuff happens, you deal with it, and good things come about. That night we stayed at another Holiday Inn Express and found the best shower head of the trip to date. No water shortage in this down. A great place. Figured out they sensor the Internet, hence we could not get on the net last night. Something to do with being a politically correct town. Ha.
Cape Girardeu - Charleston
In planning ahead we knew today would be a relatively short leg. Our limits are about 60 - 70 miles and we have tried to date to not go much more than that. We saw a problem coming up and needed to make sure we did not leave ourselves with too long a trip to get to beer.......oh, I mean a hotel. The trip out of town included the usual early morning traffic of trucks and people going to work. The bike shop people had been right on and we got out of town without incident. Seemed like it would be a good ride. Basically flat at the beginning, with lots of corn and beans. We also saw the first of the corn being harvested. Wow those John Deere machines do a lot of work in a short period. Up and down, up and down the hills for most of the morning. As we headed into the early afternoon, we came upon the flat lands and made great time. The farm land appears very fertile and we saw many large acreages planted in ..........of course corn and soy beans. Saw some rice for the first time which was interesting. We arrived in Charleston, Mo. on the early side so Rex and I took a little walk to scout out a dinner place, and of course to find the beer. Our little walk in the sun turned into a long walk in the sun as the first market we went to was dry. Rex warned me this might start to happen as we proceeded into the south a bit more. Life is tough when you have to walk a mile for a beer. Anyway..........David was overjoyed with our dinning choice this evening.......Big M's Steakhouse.........we had a window seat and the menu was outstanding. David had his normal.
Anyway we are in a deep session of planning our next leg and are headed towards the ferry to Kentucky.
And now for the facts covering the last two (2) days.............here is David..........
Monday day 13:
Miles this day: 70.5
Avg. mph 10.4
Total miles: 855.7
Daily avg: 65.8
Many hills, one after the other. Shifting was a problem for me. Need bike work.
Tuesday day 14:
Miles this day: 46.6
Avg. mph: 10.
Total miles: 902.3
Daily avg: 64.45
Some more steep hills. I had to push up a couple.
We had some technical issues on Monday in Cape Girardeau. Rex got a flat approaching town. Bill went back to help. I went on to town to Cycle Werks and got my shifting corrected. Sure did help today.
Ste. Genevieve - Cape Girardeau
So you wonder what each day starts like before we put in the miles on the road.........well glad you wanted to know......our normal riding day starts with David getting up a 1/2 hour earlier than Rex and I. Rex calls it David's "fiddle farting time" but from my view it seems like he just needs little more time to make sure his hair is fixed up, and his lotion goes on just right, eye shadow in place.......reminds me of Loni getting ready in the morning. Anyway, we finally get to breakfast, which may be the best meal of the day. Each place we have stayed has a "breakfast" with a nice selection of fruit, toast, cereal, eggs, coffee, pastries, etc. All in all we are in good shape for the first couple of hours of the trip. Our ride was to take us to Cape Girardeau, which is a place that David had demanded we visit as it was where his idol Rush was born and raised. Due to reasons beyond our control, and which are reviewed below, we did not get by the old homestead. David indicated he and Karen will return in the future. The day started out great and we made good time leaving Ste. Genevieve. Riding was fine with the weather cooperating. Not too warm and the humidity not too high. In fact everything was going great for most of the day. Hills not too long, and the downhills nice and long. Shaping up to be the best ride of the trip................so as we have to head down one stretch of road ..........awful lot of trucks..........more trucks........more trucks........turns out there is a Proctor and Gambol Distribution Center out in the middle of no where.........go figure.......so we make it off the truck route and head towards the last 11 miles into Cape Girardeau. Some nice downhills with David taking the lead, and me close on his tail. We pull up for a second and no Rex.........we wait........we wait........we say he can't have missed the turn.........we wait.......finally some guys in a truck yell ...."your friend has a flat.......well David and I decide that he should continue on towards town so he can get cleaned up early and get over to Rush's........or get to the bike shop and have his gear switching looked at as it has been acting up on the hill climbing........which is a problem when you are going up as many hills as we have been going up. I head back to Rex and we start to fix the flat...in the 90 + degree heat......turns out the day has gotten hotter.........nothing more fun than changing a tire at 3:30 PM in the afternoon. Funny how the flats happen in the hotter part of the day. Anyway, takes us a little more time than we had hoped, but we did get if fixed and we were off to catch up with David. We caught up with David at the bike shop where they had fixed his gear switching, and David had struck up a conversation with the shop and we had a route figured out for the next day. Stuff happens, you deal with it, and good things come about. That night we stayed at another Holiday Inn Express and found the best shower head of the trip to date. No water shortage in this down. A great place. Figured out they sensor the Internet, hence we could not get on the net last night. Something to do with being a politically correct town. Ha.
Cape Girardeu - Charleston
In planning ahead we knew today would be a relatively short leg. Our limits are about 60 - 70 miles and we have tried to date to not go much more than that. We saw a problem coming up and needed to make sure we did not leave ourselves with too long a trip to get to beer.......oh, I mean a hotel. The trip out of town included the usual early morning traffic of trucks and people going to work. The bike shop people had been right on and we got out of town without incident. Seemed like it would be a good ride. Basically flat at the beginning, with lots of corn and beans. We also saw the first of the corn being harvested. Wow those John Deere machines do a lot of work in a short period. Up and down, up and down the hills for most of the morning. As we headed into the early afternoon, we came upon the flat lands and made great time. The farm land appears very fertile and we saw many large acreages planted in ..........of course corn and soy beans. Saw some rice for the first time which was interesting. We arrived in Charleston, Mo. on the early side so Rex and I took a little walk to scout out a dinner place, and of course to find the beer. Our little walk in the sun turned into a long walk in the sun as the first market we went to was dry. Rex warned me this might start to happen as we proceeded into the south a bit more. Life is tough when you have to walk a mile for a beer. Anyway..........David was overjoyed with our dinning choice this evening.......Big M's Steakhouse.........we had a window seat and the menu was outstanding. David had his normal.
Anyway we are in a deep session of planning our next leg and are headed towards the ferry to Kentucky.
And now for the facts covering the last two (2) days.............here is David..........
Monday day 13:
Miles this day: 70.5
Avg. mph 10.4
Total miles: 855.7
Daily avg: 65.8
Many hills, one after the other. Shifting was a problem for me. Need bike work.
Tuesday day 14:
Miles this day: 46.6
Avg. mph: 10.
Total miles: 902.3
Daily avg: 64.45
Some more steep hills. I had to push up a couple.
We had some technical issues on Monday in Cape Girardeau. Rex got a flat approaching town. Bill went back to help. I went on to town to Cycle Werks and got my shifting corrected. Sure did help today.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Another Fine Day
St. Louis, Mo - Ste. Genevieve, Mo
I wrote a little early yesterday before having a chance to explore/appreciate the sights and attributes of St. Louis. We stayed in downtown St. Louis within two blocks of Bush Baseball Stadium and the Arch. The Cardinals played on Saturday afternoon and St. Louis was filled with fans, including many families looking to have a great time. Our hotel, The Drury, was the center of the action. We tried to go to the game, but Rex kept holding us back and delaying us. Turns out he is a Cardinal fan, but he is not happy with their current status so he was withholding his support. We strolled down the the stadium in the early evening after the game was over and looked at a stadium that appears to rival the new Giants facility in SF. Rex had his picture taken in front of several statues, including his boyhood hero Stan the Man Musial. We also took a walk down toward the river and went to the Arch. We went on the tour and went to the top. Over 600' up. The Arch was finished and opened in 1965 and is truly a marvel. Had a little bit of the Disney ride feature, and the view from the top was awesome. I have pictures and if I can figure out a way to get them transferred to the system, you will be able to see what I mean. Hopefully we will solve this problem soon. This is a iconic structure that is standing the test of time. St. Louis, for all its problems, seems like a city doing well inspite of the economy. Something our Sacramento region could learn from. We turned in early and enjoyed a good nights sleep.
We had a nice breakfast and headed out of town with concern...... as we had an understanding certain parts of St. Louis can be bit tough. Anyway, we picked the perfect day and time to leave...........Sunday AM. No traffic of any kind for the first 15 miles. The first 5 miles got out us out of St. Louis, and the trip was great. The designated bike route worked extremely well. Not sure I would want to leave on a Monday AM. We made great time going out of town since a good portion of the first 15 miles seemed to be downhill. The area outside of St. Louis seemed to feel a bit more prosperous than other areas we have seen to date. The economy "looks" to be better based on the housing stock we can see from the edge of the road. We of course are only sampling a "slice" of life but overall all this part of Missouri seemed to be doing ok.
The afternoon was a bit more difficult. We should have known that downhill in the AM will lead to uphill in the afternoon and that is basically what we had. We had several long uphill climbs but all in all they were manageable. The heat was about 90, and the humidity was not too bad. We continue to drink loads of water and take frequent rest stops. David in particular is on the lookout for our health and welfare. He carries extra rations and water for those in need. Rex and I have told him we can carry our own, but no, David insists in carrying the extra provisions. Something that goes back to his Army days I guess.
We arrived in Ste Genevieve late this afternoon and explored a little bit. This small, but well preserved town has a very strong influence from France and was settled originally in the late 1700's by the French. One of the better and more prosperous towns we have seen to date, but everything is relative in a town of 3,000.
We are in the planning stages for our next leg of the trip. Rex had his method................David has his, and I of course have mine. But, it all seems to work out.................we find out where the cold beer is...........Oh, tonight we had an outstanding dinner with a window table............at the Huddle House.............best look that one up to see where they are from on the east coast.
And now the facts from David.....................
Note: Bill is fast becoming a navigator. He is good with the guide book, which I am ready to throw away. He is great with his GPS phone for directions and reservations for the evening. He is probably responsible for the several easy days (read relatively flat) though there has been a hiccup or two. So far so good with our direction.
Distance today: 66.44
Avg mph: 10. although not convinced of the accuracy due to the number of long, long, hills.
Total miles: 785.28
Daily avg. miles: 65.44
Nr. of days: 11 on the road.
Next way points: Cape Girardeau, Memphis, Vicksberg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, New Orleans.
The good lord willing and the Mississippi dont rise.
We are headed to Cape Girardeau, MO in the AM.
I wrote a little early yesterday before having a chance to explore/appreciate the sights and attributes of St. Louis. We stayed in downtown St. Louis within two blocks of Bush Baseball Stadium and the Arch. The Cardinals played on Saturday afternoon and St. Louis was filled with fans, including many families looking to have a great time. Our hotel, The Drury, was the center of the action. We tried to go to the game, but Rex kept holding us back and delaying us. Turns out he is a Cardinal fan, but he is not happy with their current status so he was withholding his support. We strolled down the the stadium in the early evening after the game was over and looked at a stadium that appears to rival the new Giants facility in SF. Rex had his picture taken in front of several statues, including his boyhood hero Stan the Man Musial. We also took a walk down toward the river and went to the Arch. We went on the tour and went to the top. Over 600' up. The Arch was finished and opened in 1965 and is truly a marvel. Had a little bit of the Disney ride feature, and the view from the top was awesome. I have pictures and if I can figure out a way to get them transferred to the system, you will be able to see what I mean. Hopefully we will solve this problem soon. This is a iconic structure that is standing the test of time. St. Louis, for all its problems, seems like a city doing well inspite of the economy. Something our Sacramento region could learn from. We turned in early and enjoyed a good nights sleep.
We had a nice breakfast and headed out of town with concern...... as we had an understanding certain parts of St. Louis can be bit tough. Anyway, we picked the perfect day and time to leave...........Sunday AM. No traffic of any kind for the first 15 miles. The first 5 miles got out us out of St. Louis, and the trip was great. The designated bike route worked extremely well. Not sure I would want to leave on a Monday AM. We made great time going out of town since a good portion of the first 15 miles seemed to be downhill. The area outside of St. Louis seemed to feel a bit more prosperous than other areas we have seen to date. The economy "looks" to be better based on the housing stock we can see from the edge of the road. We of course are only sampling a "slice" of life but overall all this part of Missouri seemed to be doing ok.
The afternoon was a bit more difficult. We should have known that downhill in the AM will lead to uphill in the afternoon and that is basically what we had. We had several long uphill climbs but all in all they were manageable. The heat was about 90, and the humidity was not too bad. We continue to drink loads of water and take frequent rest stops. David in particular is on the lookout for our health and welfare. He carries extra rations and water for those in need. Rex and I have told him we can carry our own, but no, David insists in carrying the extra provisions. Something that goes back to his Army days I guess.
We arrived in Ste Genevieve late this afternoon and explored a little bit. This small, but well preserved town has a very strong influence from France and was settled originally in the late 1700's by the French. One of the better and more prosperous towns we have seen to date, but everything is relative in a town of 3,000.
We are in the planning stages for our next leg of the trip. Rex had his method................David has his, and I of course have mine. But, it all seems to work out.................we find out where the cold beer is...........Oh, tonight we had an outstanding dinner with a window table............at the Huddle House.............best look that one up to see where they are from on the east coast.
And now the facts from David.....................
Note: Bill is fast becoming a navigator. He is good with the guide book, which I am ready to throw away. He is great with his GPS phone for directions and reservations for the evening. He is probably responsible for the several easy days (read relatively flat) though there has been a hiccup or two. So far so good with our direction.
Distance today: 66.44
Avg mph: 10. although not convinced of the accuracy due to the number of long, long, hills.
Total miles: 785.28
Daily avg. miles: 65.44
Nr. of days: 11 on the road.
Next way points: Cape Girardeau, Memphis, Vicksberg, Natchez, Baton Rouge, New Orleans.
The good lord willing and the Mississippi dont rise.
We are headed to Cape Girardeau, MO in the AM.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Meet Me In St. Louis
We were without Internet last night so this update will cover two (2) days.
Hannibal, MO - Pere Marquette, IL - Our Friday morning ride started out great with great weather and a great plan. As we started out the weather was nice and cool with little humidity. A pleasant surprise. We intended to head down the Mississippi on the Illinois side and then cross back over to a town called Louisiana, MO. But as we have learned during the course of our trip it is best to ask questions and always let the people you talk to know what and why you are asking. During our morning coffee break, in a little town called Kinderhook, which we had wanted to see as Rex had heard the Post Office was interesting, we talked with the cook we said that the crossing of the bridge over the Mississippi into Louisiana, MO was a little tough as the bridge was a bit narrow, in fact he said that when two trucks went across at the same time they were bound to having "kissing mirrors." We you know David does not like any of that kissing stuff, so we took that young man's advice which was to continue on down the Illinois side. He thought there might be a couple of places for us to stay "down yonder". Anyway, we made great time the entire day as the roads were flat and the traffic very light. We found a whole lot more corn again..........sorry about the corny jokes...........but you have to see in person how much it around. We made it down to a little town called (will come up with the name on next blog) and stopped in a little information center/museum and go that low down on a place down the road to stay. We had lunch at a nice little spot across from the river. Typical low key place. One other person in there and seemed like not much else had been going on. Hunting season starts in October so they are all waiting for the big event. We continued on our journey, and ran into the start of the high school football team leaving for the big game. Tied up traffic. Anyway we made good time and covered a lot of ground and arrived in a state park called Pere Marquette, and stayed at a lodge built in the 1930's under the WPA. Great place. Similar to the hotel in Yosemite. All in all our best road biking day of the trip.
Pere Marquette, IL - St. Louis, MO
We got a little bit later start this morning as breakfast did not start until 7:00 AM so that meant we did not get off until 8:00 AM. Weather was a little bit hotter, but basically the entire journey was on bike paths. Stopped and looked at several sites having to do with the expedition of Lewis & Clark. David regaled Rex and I with his knowledge of the journey and said he had the time of his life. We made good time and entered into St. Louis with only a couple of minor little problems of going down the wrong path......where have you heard that story before. We went across one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world, i.e. Chain of Rocks Bridge, which is famous as being part of Route 66. This lead us into St. Louis. We went in via the waterfront bike way and came upon a Corvette show, and have checked into the Drury Hotel and are about to explore downtown St. Louis. Rex needs to find some micro beer as we did without last night and he is not happy. Working on a plan for Sunday tour.
And now the facts from David..........................
From day 10 yesterday:
82 miles! (they told me it was to be 60) gotta watch these over achievers.
9.5 hours.
Total miles 668.4
avg daily mileage: 66.84
From day 11 today:
50.42 miles not bad.
7 hours.
Total miles:718.82
Avg speed: 10.3 (over hill and dale)
St. Louis is interesting. I was awed by the Gateway Arch and the Lewis and Clark Museum.
Daily avg miles: 65.34. You can only whip a race horse so long.
Hannibal, MO - Pere Marquette, IL - Our Friday morning ride started out great with great weather and a great plan. As we started out the weather was nice and cool with little humidity. A pleasant surprise. We intended to head down the Mississippi on the Illinois side and then cross back over to a town called Louisiana, MO. But as we have learned during the course of our trip it is best to ask questions and always let the people you talk to know what and why you are asking. During our morning coffee break, in a little town called Kinderhook, which we had wanted to see as Rex had heard the Post Office was interesting, we talked with the cook we said that the crossing of the bridge over the Mississippi into Louisiana, MO was a little tough as the bridge was a bit narrow, in fact he said that when two trucks went across at the same time they were bound to having "kissing mirrors." We you know David does not like any of that kissing stuff, so we took that young man's advice which was to continue on down the Illinois side. He thought there might be a couple of places for us to stay "down yonder". Anyway, we made great time the entire day as the roads were flat and the traffic very light. We found a whole lot more corn again..........sorry about the corny jokes...........but you have to see in person how much it around. We made it down to a little town called (will come up with the name on next blog) and stopped in a little information center/museum and go that low down on a place down the road to stay. We had lunch at a nice little spot across from the river. Typical low key place. One other person in there and seemed like not much else had been going on. Hunting season starts in October so they are all waiting for the big event. We continued on our journey, and ran into the start of the high school football team leaving for the big game. Tied up traffic. Anyway we made good time and covered a lot of ground and arrived in a state park called Pere Marquette, and stayed at a lodge built in the 1930's under the WPA. Great place. Similar to the hotel in Yosemite. All in all our best road biking day of the trip.
Pere Marquette, IL - St. Louis, MO
We got a little bit later start this morning as breakfast did not start until 7:00 AM so that meant we did not get off until 8:00 AM. Weather was a little bit hotter, but basically the entire journey was on bike paths. Stopped and looked at several sites having to do with the expedition of Lewis & Clark. David regaled Rex and I with his knowledge of the journey and said he had the time of his life. We made good time and entered into St. Louis with only a couple of minor little problems of going down the wrong path......where have you heard that story before. We went across one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world, i.e. Chain of Rocks Bridge, which is famous as being part of Route 66. This lead us into St. Louis. We went in via the waterfront bike way and came upon a Corvette show, and have checked into the Drury Hotel and are about to explore downtown St. Louis. Rex needs to find some micro beer as we did without last night and he is not happy. Working on a plan for Sunday tour.
And now the facts from David..........................
From day 10 yesterday:
82 miles! (they told me it was to be 60) gotta watch these over achievers.
9.5 hours.
Total miles 668.4
avg daily mileage: 66.84
From day 11 today:
50.42 miles not bad.
7 hours.
Total miles:718.82
Avg speed: 10.3 (over hill and dale)
St. Louis is interesting. I was awed by the Gateway Arch and the Lewis and Clark Museum.
Daily avg miles: 65.34. You can only whip a race horse so long.
Friday, August 26, 2011
A Glimpse of Hannibal, MO
Hey everyone... Sam here! Since my Dad is having trouble sending us pictures, I thought I would put a picture up of where the guys are. Hannibal looks like a pretty nice place. Thanks for following!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
3 States In One Day
Keokuk, Iowa - Hannibal, Missouri
So you are asking how do you cover three states in one day on a bike. Well to find the answer you must read on. You will recall from yesterday that we had a terrible day of heat and wind and so when we went to bed we had a plan to leave early and ride in the cooler part of the day. We got up early, and were able to leave at 7:00 AM......and low and behold the temperature was at least 10 + degrees cooler and with little humidity. We needed to backtrack a little and go back across the bridge we had crossed yesterday to get us back on the road south. We had a great crossing as there was a protected bicycle/ped path out of Keokuk across the Mississippi River as we headed out to Hamilton, Illinois (2nd state). We proceeded down the road in a southerly direction (we always are heading south). We went through a neat town (Warsaw) that out west would be called a "ghost town" but in this part of the mid-west does not yet know it is going to be completely abandoned in the next 10 - 15 years. The town was an example of European architecture adapted to the US. Lots of shops with living above it. Anyway, with no job base the towns all along the river are dying slowly. Must have been interesting in the early part of the 1900 hundreds, but today they are in decline with really no hope of coming back. Some lessons to be learned. We then turned away from the small towns and headed out into the farm land. It was our best ride to date. No heat and no wind. We made great time peddling away at about 15 mph. We made it to Quincy, Illinois in time for lunch. Today was an especially great lunch for me. We stopped at a little Bar and Grill by the river and as usual had a great experience. Seems to always turn out that you meet someone who takes a special interest in our trip and is happy to provide some advice. Today, we found a good way to get into downtown Hannibal, Missouri (our 3rd state) and also got the lay of the land for a motel and coffee shop. Now with respect to the lunch.....the food was normal, but what was special was that it was free for me. You see David and I had made a little bet about the route earlier in the day and he is still looking for the town of Marcelli.........sort of a paper map vs. IPhone map application. David is slowly coming around to believe, but it is hard. Kate and Sam, much more work needs to be done in this area. Anyway, the lunch was great. We made good time on the road towards Hannibal. Traffic a little heavier in the afternoon as we went through some industrical type areas. We should sent some of our CA type officals to look at these plants...... On the road we passed a road bike guy in full gear, and he shouted out "where are you from". He caught that we said Sacramento, and he turned around and chased us down. Turns out the Alex is from Sacramento, works at City Bicycle Works, knows the guy who built my bike and even knew when the bike was built earlier this summer. He is going to school in Quincy at a college that specializes in the medical field, and works part time during the summe and his breaks at the bike shop. Anyway we had nice chat and then continued on the road to Hannibal. We arrived earlier than usual and had time for quick change and we were off to explore the town, which is famous for..................you guessed it......Tom Sawyer.....Huck Finn......and other assorted stories by Mark Twain. We toured his boyhood home, and went through the museum, and all of us have a better appreciation of what drove him. I am looking forward this fall/winter to reading some of his works. David was in heaven and will be full of stories for years to come. We of course went to a fine little bar after our tour so that Rex could opine on the beer selection. All is still good on that front.
We are headed out south but we have a new road problem,......seems anothe bridge is out........and we need to figure out a way around it. Not easy when a detour is 45 minutes by car. Stay tuned.
(photo problem has not been resolved.)
Now for the facts................her's David......
Today's miles: 61.41
Total miles: 586.4
Days avg speed: 11.1
Daily avg: 73.3 miles
Water consumption: All you can drink.
Note: In 8 days on 6 tires, only one flat, the second day. Was a sharp rock. Quickly changed.
Personally I like our stay here at Hannibal, Mo. the best so far because of the Mark Twain history and museums.
So you are asking how do you cover three states in one day on a bike. Well to find the answer you must read on. You will recall from yesterday that we had a terrible day of heat and wind and so when we went to bed we had a plan to leave early and ride in the cooler part of the day. We got up early, and were able to leave at 7:00 AM......and low and behold the temperature was at least 10 + degrees cooler and with little humidity. We needed to backtrack a little and go back across the bridge we had crossed yesterday to get us back on the road south. We had a great crossing as there was a protected bicycle/ped path out of Keokuk across the Mississippi River as we headed out to Hamilton, Illinois (2nd state). We proceeded down the road in a southerly direction (we always are heading south). We went through a neat town (Warsaw) that out west would be called a "ghost town" but in this part of the mid-west does not yet know it is going to be completely abandoned in the next 10 - 15 years. The town was an example of European architecture adapted to the US. Lots of shops with living above it. Anyway, with no job base the towns all along the river are dying slowly. Must have been interesting in the early part of the 1900 hundreds, but today they are in decline with really no hope of coming back. Some lessons to be learned. We then turned away from the small towns and headed out into the farm land. It was our best ride to date. No heat and no wind. We made great time peddling away at about 15 mph. We made it to Quincy, Illinois in time for lunch. Today was an especially great lunch for me. We stopped at a little Bar and Grill by the river and as usual had a great experience. Seems to always turn out that you meet someone who takes a special interest in our trip and is happy to provide some advice. Today, we found a good way to get into downtown Hannibal, Missouri (our 3rd state) and also got the lay of the land for a motel and coffee shop. Now with respect to the lunch.....the food was normal, but what was special was that it was free for me. You see David and I had made a little bet about the route earlier in the day and he is still looking for the town of Marcelli.........sort of a paper map vs. IPhone map application. David is slowly coming around to believe, but it is hard. Kate and Sam, much more work needs to be done in this area. Anyway, the lunch was great. We made good time on the road towards Hannibal. Traffic a little heavier in the afternoon as we went through some industrical type areas. We should sent some of our CA type officals to look at these plants...... On the road we passed a road bike guy in full gear, and he shouted out "where are you from". He caught that we said Sacramento, and he turned around and chased us down. Turns out the Alex is from Sacramento, works at City Bicycle Works, knows the guy who built my bike and even knew when the bike was built earlier this summer. He is going to school in Quincy at a college that specializes in the medical field, and works part time during the summe and his breaks at the bike shop. Anyway we had nice chat and then continued on the road to Hannibal. We arrived earlier than usual and had time for quick change and we were off to explore the town, which is famous for..................you guessed it......Tom Sawyer.....Huck Finn......and other assorted stories by Mark Twain. We toured his boyhood home, and went through the museum, and all of us have a better appreciation of what drove him. I am looking forward this fall/winter to reading some of his works. David was in heaven and will be full of stories for years to come. We of course went to a fine little bar after our tour so that Rex could opine on the beer selection. All is still good on that front.
We are headed out south but we have a new road problem,......seems anothe bridge is out........and we need to figure out a way around it. Not easy when a detour is 45 minutes by car. Stay tuned.
(photo problem has not been resolved.)
Now for the facts................her's David......
Today's miles: 61.41
Total miles: 586.4
Days avg speed: 11.1
Daily avg: 73.3 miles
Water consumption: All you can drink.
Note: In 8 days on 6 tires, only one flat, the second day. Was a sharp rock. Quickly changed.
Personally I like our stay here at Hannibal, Mo. the best so far because of the Mark Twain history and museums.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Land of Lincoln
Burlington, Iowa - to Keokuk, Iowa - Via Illinois
We had a great start today as we made it out of Burlington at 7:30 AM with little traffic and across a major bridge over the Mississippi into Illinois. When turned south and headed along the Mississippi for basically the entire day. Great riding as we only had a few hills and we were right next to the Mississippi most of the time. Went through several small towns that are similar to others we have been through........time has passed them by and they are basically quiet little places with not much going on. Very very quiet. Not as much corn, but still plenty of soy beans, in this section of Illinois. We ran into our normal assortment of interesting and very friendly people. Most looked at us with an expression of "you must be crazy to be riding in this heat." Did I mention it was hot today? Well it was close to 100 and most likely was above that as the heat from the pavement most likely made it hotter. The humidity continues to be difficult, and we had a little headwind, but nothing like yesterday. We understand we will have headwinds most of the trip. Sometimes the wind is our friend as it keeps us a little bit cooler. We are well stocked up on water and even I have learned that you never can have too much water. A wise man I know told me that over and over before and during the trip. We stopped for lunch at Nauvoo, IL, which has major symbolism for the Mormon faith. They recently built a new temple in the town and it over looks the Mississippi. It was extremely impressive...........even though it is out in the middle of nowhere so to speak. (pictures to come although, I am still having problems downloading them into this blog. I will be consulting with my advisor, Sam, to see if we can't figure out how to get all the pictures on the system.) Tonight we are back in Iowa in a medium sized City called Keokuk. Town is losing population, but they are trying. We have a nice room at a Holiday Inn Express and are planning to get off very early to try and beat the heat a bit. We are going to head back into Illinois and go south and work to get to Hannibal, Missouri. And does everyone know why Hannibal is famous? If not, stayed tuned for the next report.
Anyway, the facts from David.............
Just the facts:
Days riding, 8
Distance today 50 miles
Total distance, 525 miles
Daily avg. 65.62
Avg speed today, 10 mph. Mostly flat road not much shade. We baked in 98 degrees plus high humidity. Should have a water trailer to pull. Rex and Bill not happy because I would not share my emergency tuna rations with a stray cat. Too bad, so sad. I plan to sell them a can of tuna for five bucks when we get stuck out without food. They will be happy then.
We had a great start today as we made it out of Burlington at 7:30 AM with little traffic and across a major bridge over the Mississippi into Illinois. When turned south and headed along the Mississippi for basically the entire day. Great riding as we only had a few hills and we were right next to the Mississippi most of the time. Went through several small towns that are similar to others we have been through........time has passed them by and they are basically quiet little places with not much going on. Very very quiet. Not as much corn, but still plenty of soy beans, in this section of Illinois. We ran into our normal assortment of interesting and very friendly people. Most looked at us with an expression of "you must be crazy to be riding in this heat." Did I mention it was hot today? Well it was close to 100 and most likely was above that as the heat from the pavement most likely made it hotter. The humidity continues to be difficult, and we had a little headwind, but nothing like yesterday. We understand we will have headwinds most of the trip. Sometimes the wind is our friend as it keeps us a little bit cooler. We are well stocked up on water and even I have learned that you never can have too much water. A wise man I know told me that over and over before and during the trip. We stopped for lunch at Nauvoo, IL, which has major symbolism for the Mormon faith. They recently built a new temple in the town and it over looks the Mississippi. It was extremely impressive...........even though it is out in the middle of nowhere so to speak. (pictures to come although, I am still having problems downloading them into this blog. I will be consulting with my advisor, Sam, to see if we can't figure out how to get all the pictures on the system.) Tonight we are back in Iowa in a medium sized City called Keokuk. Town is losing population, but they are trying. We have a nice room at a Holiday Inn Express and are planning to get off very early to try and beat the heat a bit. We are going to head back into Illinois and go south and work to get to Hannibal, Missouri. And does everyone know why Hannibal is famous? If not, stayed tuned for the next report.
Anyway, the facts from David.............
Just the facts:
Days riding, 8
Distance today 50 miles
Total distance, 525 miles
Daily avg. 65.62
Avg speed today, 10 mph. Mostly flat road not much shade. We baked in 98 degrees plus high humidity. Should have a water trailer to pull. Rex and Bill not happy because I would not share my emergency tuna rations with a stray cat. Too bad, so sad. I plan to sell them a can of tuna for five bucks when we get stuck out without food. They will be happy then.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Nothing is ever easy
Had some Internet problems, some too tired to write problems, and simple logistics with pictures, and trying to get organized given the physical nature of the journey..................
Clinton to Muscatine - Iowa
We have found to date that the two toughest parts of each day are the beginning and the finish. Traffic in the morning leaving a town is always tough, and finishing coming into a town is also tough with respect to traffic, and given how tired we are. We are being careful and have David be our point person so he can set the pace. Toughest job! We of course are always discussing the route and which way is "best." 3 opinions is always interesting, but so far so good as we have made it to each stop. The ride from Clinton to Mascatine was going to be our best of the trip. Rex had set the itinerary as he wanted to see the American Picker which is located in Le Claire (you all need to watch the show to appreciate this stop and the people in the show) Rex of course was interested in the store, or so that was his story, but we know his real interest in stopping was to meet Daniel. Anyway we made it to Le Claire without too much of a problem. Made it about 9:50 AM and found that the shop would open at 10:00 AM. We had a cup of coffee before the "grand opening".........................well let me tell you........TV can really fool you............the place was basically an old garage with a coat of paint, and a bunch of "junk" that has been on the show. People started arriving right at 10 AM. Help, even Rex was a tad disappointed especially when they wanted $12 for a T-shirt. Anyway when we get back Rex, David, and I are buying some junk at a few yard sales, and setting up a shop as Gold River Pickers................. That morning we also met a person who really made our day. Name is Bruce Haugen, and he sells boats for a living.....Crownline. Said he would be glad to sell one to Loni. Most importantly he has ridden the MRT, as well as many other major bike trails in the US. Anyway, one thing lead to another and he met us down the road and showed us a great route for about 15 miles right along the Mississippi. We would have never found this route on our own. We stopped and had lunch at a little spot in the little berg of Buffallo, at Clarks Landing. Great little spot. (pictures to follow....I hope) We continued on our ride that afternoon and finally pulled into Muscatine, Iowa. Had a great little hotel next to the Walmart, and of course dinner at the Applebies. Due to previous less than good dinner at Applebies we were a little hesitant to go their but our options were very limited and we found the service and food just great. People do make a difference. We set up our plan for departure and got ready to head for Burlington.
I also note we saw a little more corn on this let of the trip...........well we saw a whole lot of corn.......along with some soy beans.................a lot less hills..........but a hill is still a hill when it is 90 with humidity of 90. Help.
Muscatine - Burlington
We planned to leave early today as it was supposed to be 90+. Well that best laid plains.............we did leave early, but the thunder showers started about 1/2 hour after we started. Luckily, our guide........DS found a spot with an overhang just as the rain showers started......an hour later (and many buckets of rain.......it sure does rain hard in the mid west) we continued to make our way out of town. Probably this leg of the trip was close to what we all thought it would be like.........back roads with little traffic and basically flat with lots of great views of wildlife and open spaces................we ran into another rain show and sat under a tree in front of a farm house.........very cool. As usual, saw a whole lot of corn..........soy beans...........and now we also know where hogs come from..........A few less churches than we have seen up north, but still nice farm houses,and farms. We stopped in a very little town called Oakville and had a really wonderful lunch at a former bank building. Again, this little town is a place that time has passed by,and it was made worse by floods in 2008 which basically flooded out the entire town of 500 residents. We met the lady who is helping rebuild the community one house at a time. (pictures to follow I hope) So we headed out of town full of confidence and looking forward to a nice ride into Burlington as the sun was out. As has been the case so far, nothing is ever easy..........what should have been an easy 20 mile peddle turned into a 20 mile peddle into a extremely strong headwind. It was really really tough. We had to stop every 15 minutes +/-. Very tough going............oh, and the temp.............well it was 90+ with some really nice humidity. Nothing ever easy. We made it into Burlington without incident. Had dinner at a Casino this evening. Turns out they are not owned by Indians as in CA, but by private investors. Going to do some more research on this. Anyway, we walked past all the gaming and just had dinner.
Lessons learned: No one in Iowa knows what a micro beer is, and only Walmart carries Sierra Nevada. Both David and Rex swore they would not step into a Walmart, but both have changed their minds. Rex for beer, and David for ice cream. I went along with both.
We are off for Illinois in the AM.
Now for the facts, and I turn it over to David.................................
Fact one, it is Karen and my 31st Anniversary today. Karen, Happy Anniversary. I love you. Here's to 31 more, if you will have me. Love.
Other facts: Days on the road, 7. Total miles, 475. Avg daily miles 67.8. Avg speed today 8.9 mph, against the wind. Temp. 90 today, 93 tomorrow. Easing after that.
Cheers!
Clinton to Muscatine - Iowa
We have found to date that the two toughest parts of each day are the beginning and the finish. Traffic in the morning leaving a town is always tough, and finishing coming into a town is also tough with respect to traffic, and given how tired we are. We are being careful and have David be our point person so he can set the pace. Toughest job! We of course are always discussing the route and which way is "best." 3 opinions is always interesting, but so far so good as we have made it to each stop. The ride from Clinton to Mascatine was going to be our best of the trip. Rex had set the itinerary as he wanted to see the American Picker which is located in Le Claire (you all need to watch the show to appreciate this stop and the people in the show) Rex of course was interested in the store, or so that was his story, but we know his real interest in stopping was to meet Daniel. Anyway we made it to Le Claire without too much of a problem. Made it about 9:50 AM and found that the shop would open at 10:00 AM. We had a cup of coffee before the "grand opening".........................well let me tell you........TV can really fool you............the place was basically an old garage with a coat of paint, and a bunch of "junk" that has been on the show. People started arriving right at 10 AM. Help, even Rex was a tad disappointed especially when they wanted $12 for a T-shirt. Anyway when we get back Rex, David, and I are buying some junk at a few yard sales, and setting up a shop as Gold River Pickers................. That morning we also met a person who really made our day. Name is Bruce Haugen, and he sells boats for a living.....Crownline. Said he would be glad to sell one to Loni. Most importantly he has ridden the MRT, as well as many other major bike trails in the US. Anyway, one thing lead to another and he met us down the road and showed us a great route for about 15 miles right along the Mississippi. We would have never found this route on our own. We stopped and had lunch at a little spot in the little berg of Buffallo, at Clarks Landing. Great little spot. (pictures to follow....I hope) We continued on our ride that afternoon and finally pulled into Muscatine, Iowa. Had a great little hotel next to the Walmart, and of course dinner at the Applebies. Due to previous less than good dinner at Applebies we were a little hesitant to go their but our options were very limited and we found the service and food just great. People do make a difference. We set up our plan for departure and got ready to head for Burlington.
I also note we saw a little more corn on this let of the trip...........well we saw a whole lot of corn.......along with some soy beans.................a lot less hills..........but a hill is still a hill when it is 90 with humidity of 90. Help.
Muscatine - Burlington
We planned to leave early today as it was supposed to be 90+. Well that best laid plains.............we did leave early, but the thunder showers started about 1/2 hour after we started. Luckily, our guide........DS found a spot with an overhang just as the rain showers started......an hour later (and many buckets of rain.......it sure does rain hard in the mid west) we continued to make our way out of town. Probably this leg of the trip was close to what we all thought it would be like.........back roads with little traffic and basically flat with lots of great views of wildlife and open spaces................we ran into another rain show and sat under a tree in front of a farm house.........very cool. As usual, saw a whole lot of corn..........soy beans...........and now we also know where hogs come from..........A few less churches than we have seen up north, but still nice farm houses,and farms. We stopped in a very little town called Oakville and had a really wonderful lunch at a former bank building. Again, this little town is a place that time has passed by,and it was made worse by floods in 2008 which basically flooded out the entire town of 500 residents. We met the lady who is helping rebuild the community one house at a time. (pictures to follow I hope) So we headed out of town full of confidence and looking forward to a nice ride into Burlington as the sun was out. As has been the case so far, nothing is ever easy..........what should have been an easy 20 mile peddle turned into a 20 mile peddle into a extremely strong headwind. It was really really tough. We had to stop every 15 minutes +/-. Very tough going............oh, and the temp.............well it was 90+ with some really nice humidity. Nothing ever easy. We made it into Burlington without incident. Had dinner at a Casino this evening. Turns out they are not owned by Indians as in CA, but by private investors. Going to do some more research on this. Anyway, we walked past all the gaming and just had dinner.
Lessons learned: No one in Iowa knows what a micro beer is, and only Walmart carries Sierra Nevada. Both David and Rex swore they would not step into a Walmart, but both have changed their minds. Rex for beer, and David for ice cream. I went along with both.
We are off for Illinois in the AM.
Now for the facts, and I turn it over to David.................................
Fact one, it is Karen and my 31st Anniversary today. Karen, Happy Anniversary. I love you. Here's to 31 more, if you will have me. Love.
Other facts: Days on the road, 7. Total miles, 475. Avg daily miles 67.8. Avg speed today 8.9 mph, against the wind. Temp. 90 today, 93 tomorrow. Easing after that.
Cheers!
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