Day 18 -Wednesday 6/15/22

Fredericktown, Missouri to Farmington, Missouri – 18 Miles

Today was judgement day. After 17 days on the road, I’d come to a point where I had to decide whether to keep pushing on or dial things back a bit. My brother, who had ridden the TransAmerica Trail in 2016, recommended staying at a bicycle hostel in Farmington, Missouri, which was only 18 miles from where I’d spent the night. At first, the idea was appealing, but didn’t make sense relative to the ground I still had to cover. From that perspective, it would have been more logical to put in a 60–70-mile day and take a break a little further down the road.

As I thought about what I’d do if I wasn’t going to be riding all day, the pluses started to outweigh the minuses. There was a need to get laundry done, as rinsing my gear out in the sink every night wasn’t exactly making me feel fresh each day and I was beginning to look like one of those guys I’d warn children about. I also needed a haircut and wanted to send some of the things I’d been hauling around since Florida back home, since I wasn’t using them. The choice was to keep doing what I’d been doing or taking a day to make some adjustments and benefit from that later in the ride. Knowing that I’d eventually have to deal with all of this at some point, I decided on a short day.

I made a small navigation error leaving Fredericktown that worked to my benefit. I missed the turnoff from Highway 67 onto State Road H, so just kept going toward Farmington. It saved me about 5 miles and some painful hill climbing.

I arrived in Farmington in less than an hour and a half and went looking for the bike hostel. Since it’s on the direct route of the TransAmerica Trail, it attracts cyclists from all over the world. The hostel occupies the second floor of an old jailhouse and is called “Al’s Place”. Al Dziewa was a local businessman and cycling enthusiast who died of cancer at the age of 49 in 2005. As a tribute, the city of Farmington built the hostel to serve bicycle travelers.

At the top of the stairs there’s a number to call, which is the local police station. They supply the code that activates the lock on the door. When you step inside, it looks like this:

Here’s the complete tour.

After checking in, I got all the things I needed to do completed. I shipped six pounds of excess equipment home, got a haircut and had a nice lunch. Ice cream was also on the menu.

Later in the day, back at Al’s Place, other cyclists began arriving. I met John and Mike, from North Carolina and Illinois, who were riding the TransAmerica Trail. We had a talkative dinner together, and when we returned two recent college graduates from the University of Vermont showed up. Also traveling the TransAmerica Trail, Cliff and Josh were enjoying their last summer before beginning their careers. The destination for all of us is Astoria, Oregon, but I’m the only one taking the Lewis and Clark Trail to get there. We may just meet again.

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