We’ve had beautiful weather for several days now, although it is certainly summer in Missouri. Hot and sunny high 80’s with little cooling at night. It’s hard to drink enough water. As we’ve left the mighty Mississippi behind we’ve begun the assault on the Ozarks. Yesterday had only a few hard climbs and only 42 miles total riding from Farmington to lesterville. We stopped at a fascinating state park call Johnson shut-ins. Don’t ask where the name came from. It’s a huge recreation area with the main draw being a river that runs through granite creating all kinds of interesting water flows and rock formations. There’s a few pictures below. We stayed in a camp ground that had to be designated as the number 1 party campground in Missouri. Being Friday night you can imagine the rowdiness of the beer drinking crowd. The party went way beyond reasonable. I was so tired I slept without a problem. Many of the rabble-rousers continued at first light which was fine because we’re up and rearing to get on the road.
Today’s ride started gently enough with rolling farmland. Then bam!!!! Straight up. The hills were either steep and short or long and reasonable grade, but it was never ending. The quick downhills never allow me to recover from the previous hill and then it’s right into the next one. I believe today was the hardesr day yet and probably would have been a deal breaker three weeks ago. Ralph turned 60 today. Ralph is a retired banker and along with tom are our two ultraconservatives. Both great guys that the rest of us try to not engage in political discussions. Ralph’s brother Mark joined us for the last two days on the rode and will head home after tomorrows ride. He lives here in Missouri. Tonight we’re at a more family oriented campground. We’ve been promised quiet time at 11:00pm. We’ll see.

johnson shut-ins state park

camping on the front lawn of the farmington, mo fire dept

Last night in chester turned out to be quite interesting. The town is the birth place of elzie segar the creator of popeye. There are statues of the popeye characters all over the place. The pictured statue is right on the banks of the Mississippi river just where we were about to cross. Our residence in chester was on the grounds of the fraternal order of eagles which is basically a bar and restaurant that turns over all profits to local charity. The folks were the most hospitable people we’ve run into so far. The road sign pictured was one block away. Felt just like home. This morning we met at the popeye statue for a group shot and then andy blocked traffic with the van so we could ride safely over the river. The road was very narrow with zero shoulder. We rode along the river for a short time and then began a very hilly 40 miles to Farmington, Missouri. Total for the day was 49. The forecast had been for rain with thunder and lightning, but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Upon entering Farmington I found a traditional drive-in restaurant for lunch. There was no indoor option so I just pulled up on my bike and got served. Burger, fries, root beer float. It reminded me of the lark and a& w. we’re camped for the night in front of the Farmington fire department.

popeye statue

A mostly pleasant 51 mile ride today. We left Carbondale at 6:30am hoping to beat some severe thunder storms in the forecast. We made it to camp in chester, illinois by noon completely dry. We’re outdoors but under cover so bring on the rain. We rode several miles along the Mississippi river sometimes riding on the top of a levee right next to the water. The bike felt like brand new after all the work that was done on it in Carbondale. The shifting was jumpy and chain stretched so after work everything is working well. The last 10 miles broke the reverie of the day. We hit a busy road with guess what….. more coal trucks. I hope the below picture gives you a perspective on how huge these trucks are. We made it safely and early so it’s like a half layover day. Stay tuned. We cross the Mississippi first thing tomorrow morning.

coal truck

mississippi river view from levee

Layover in Carbondale, il. I’ll be hanging out doing laundry and looking for likely migdol progeny. Back on Saturday in marion, Kentucky I had a feeling that I might see Connecticut before Illinois based on the way I felt. After a good rest we got an early start headed to the ohio river. It was a quick 12 mile ride, then on to a small ferry(see picture) and into Illinois. Sunday early is proving to be our favorite riding time. No trucks and little other traffic. The church traffic starts around 9:00am so by then we’ve gotten 20-25 miles behind us. We’re so far south in Illinois and we’re riding due west so we’ll be outta here and in Missouri on Thursday. The rest of Sunday morning we cruised along the ohio river on a country lane the width of a driveway with no traffic and no dogs. Found a great place for lunch in golcanda. Another great burger. The place had home made cakes and pies. I couldn’t pass up the chocolate cake with white frosting. That was always my favorite birthday cake choice. Not as good as mom’s but o.k. just outside the restaurant was a levee(see picture) built after a devastating flood in 1937. Note that the road passes through the levee. When the water rises they drop in gates into slots in the concrete walls on either side of the road to keep the flood waters contained. Everything on the river side of the levee gets wiped out, but the other side is protected. Stayed in a very pretty state park with a swimming pool, but no flush toilets at our camp site. Monday was a very quick 54 mile ride into Carbondale. Everyone has bike issues so we rode straight to the bike shop so we could leave our bikes overnight to be worked on. My biggest thing has been my tires and tubes. I went three days in a row having a flat each day then two days with no flats, but not to take a chance I needed an upgrade. They are putting gator skin tires on and a special layer of material that goes between tube and tire for extra protection. My bike also needed a good cleaning lube and complete tune up which means they check and adjust all cables, shifting stuff, wheels, spokes, brake pads, etc. I hate to leave my nice room at the super 8, but I need to get to the post office to ship some extra gear home. My cold weather stuff won’t be needed until Colorado. Laundry, pharmacy, back to the bike shop. Can’t wait to get the chores out of the way so I can go to the nearby barnes and noble to browse and get a cup of good coffee.

care package from caryn

care package from the talkow's

levee along ohio river

in honor of jeff migdol

ferry takes us across ohio river into illinois

beautiful country road and scenery along ohio river

Bentley's third cousin twice removed

My man is fine.

Just spoke to Joe - he has no internet for a change, but wants me to let you all know that he is great. Feeling spunky (my word, not his), had a great day today and all is right in the world.
He'll blog when he gets to Carbondale, IL tomorrow.
Caryn