Fair Grove, MO to Golden City, MO – 73 miles
Today I woke up in Jay’s screened in porch after raining all night. Slept fantastically. It was really nice basically sleeping outside, hearing the rain, but staying dry.
Jay made some breakfast – eggs with some veggies in a muffin pan – kind of little Quiche like things. Threw it on an English muffin with some bacon and cheese for a nice breakfast sandwich! We were moving slow again this morning. I think everyone’s legs are starting to feel it. I know mine are. No time for recovery.
We weren’t on the bikes until probably around 10 am. Said goodbye to Jay and set off. It was cloudy and cool. Kind of nice actually. The ride was pretty mundane. Max had some front derailleur issues early on and couldn’t shift down into his low gears. Made for a rough ride for him early on since it was still pretty hilly.
We met a group of 5 older people riding from St. Augustine, FL to Washington. They had a support vehicle, but still an ambitious trip. I love meeting other people bike touring. Makes me feel like I’m not alone in this crazy urge to just travel a long distance on a bicycle.
We quickly realized that we probably weren’t going to make it the 100 miles to Pitsburg. Kansas will have to wait another day.
I listened to a couple of pod casts to pass the time. Listened to Star Talk with Neal de Grasse Tyson. Love that guy. I have a feeling I’m going to be doing a lot of that through Kansas. Kind of looking forward to it! About halfway into the ride things really started to flatten out. You can tell we are getting into Kansas.
We ended up making it to Golden City. They have a city park here they let Trans Am cyclist camp at. It’s complete with bathrooms, shower, and outlets for charging phones!
Dries and I ate at a diner in town called Cooky’s Cafe. Steak, potatoes, and salad topped off with a piece of pie all for less than $15. Can’t beat it.
Now I’m laying in my hammock under a shelter at the Golden City city park. Just talking about anything and everything with a couple of other awesome people with the crazy urge to just travel a long distance on a bicycle. Not sure how far we’ll get tomorrow, but it definitely feels weird to be rolling into state number five!
