Day 17 – Tuesday 6/14/22

Cape Girardeau, Missouri to Fredericktown, Missouri – 61.6 Miles

The day started off well at breakfast, when I met a couple from Washington state who had traveled to Florida and were now heading home. Since I was doing the opposite, we had an enjoyable conversation comparing travel notes and observations about life on the road.

About midway through the past couple of days, Ishmael was reacting as if he was riding through mud. This was due to the back tire losing air, which indicated a leak somewhere. Though I was ready to get going, the fear of having to make repairs by the side of the road versus at my own pace in the hotel room convinced me the extra time was worth it. After removing the back tire and tube, I found two pinhole leaks caused by running over the remains of car tires on the highway shoulder. The holes were so tiny that it would be hours before they’d effect tire pressure, but they ultimately did. I fixed the problem and got out the door.

As I suspected yesterday, today’s ride wasn’t short of hills. Combined with a temperature in the mid-90’s and an unfavorable wind for part of the day, it was tough pedaling. For most of the ride I was either climbing a hill or descending one, with very little time spent on level ground. The thrill of each descent was never quite matched by the apprehension of when the next climb would appear and make the world pass by in slow motion again. On one hill I hit 38 mph descending, but on another was climbing at 3 .5 mph. With a significant speed difference like that, it’s clear what I spent most of my day doing; riding up hills at 3-6 mph.

If you look at the Speed\Elevation chart above, you’ll see that the trend was towards a higher elevation (Red graph) from about 19 miles to 50 miles. That’s not a great scenario for achieving a high average speed for the day. In fact, at 9.68 mph, it was the slowest day of the trip. Still, it was another step closer to the finish line and an excuse to have a super-size dinner tonight.

The ride out of Cape Girardeau was easy, I was in the country within 20 minutes.

Because the roads are numbered and lettered in Missouri, remembering which ones to take often sounds like a football play if you say it aloud. For example, “4, left 25, Z right” meant take highway 4 to highway 25 and turn left, then turn right on county road Z. There are some road combinations that may have hidden meanings:

As I passed through Gordonville, I spotted a couple of abandoned railway cars on an unused siding. They were from the Erie and Lackawanna Railroad, which went out of business in the early 70’s. It’s hard to imagine what this car looked like when new and railroads were a popular way for people to travel.

Did I mention that hills were a problem today? I’d just come flying down the road for about a mile, rounded the bend and saw this dead ahead. I decided it was a good time to take a break.

On a long climb, I never look more than about six feet in front of my wheel. At such a slow pace, I don’t want to know how much further I have to go. So, I focus on turning the pedals and watching the road beneath me go by. Eventually, things get good again.

From Gordonville west, there were no stores at all for 27 miles. When one appeared, I loaded up with drinks and a few snacks. There were a couple of wooden chairs out front, so I sat down while I replenished the water bottles and ate my food. After resting there for about 10 minutes, the lady who worked the register came out, along with another woman. She occupied the next chair, smoking away, and carried on a conversation with her friend as if I wasn’t there.

For example, about her husband or boyfriend, “I’m workin’ extra hours now to get Lloyd out of jail.”, and her daughter’s boyfriend, “He’s a good kid. I said he could go into her bedroom if they kept the door open, and he said “No, Ma’am”. Her heavily tattooed companion agreed that this fellow must be a real gentleman, while regretting the fact that she hadn’t met one herself. I stood up and got ready to leave, even though there were tales left untold. I had miles to go.

An hour later I stopped again in Marquand, at Moore’s Grocery. The town was just a few buildings, but it must have served a wider area to remain in business. I said “Hello” to a delivery guy and got a “Howdy” in response. I must be inching closer to the West.

The last few miles into Fredericktown were downhill, which I appreciated. McDonald’s provided the evening meal. Tomorrow I’ll have to figure out how far I’ll need to travel in order to make the rides later in the week a reasonable distance. The short-term destination is Washington, Missouri, which is now in reach over the next few days. From there, the Lewis and Clark Trail will take me to Oregon.