Day 28 - St. Joseph's, MO to Chillicothe, MO
86.3 miles official miles (it's always more)
5:51 bike time
6,027 feet of climbing
OK. First the good part. We had our first SAG (support and gear) stop in Maysville, MO at mile 31 this morning. I left at 7:30 instead of 7:00 so I had to put on the gas a bit to catch up to the tail end of the group. I rode solo the entire day. We all gathered outside of town and rode in two by two, just like we rode to Manhattan beach four weeks ago. The Maysville Historical Society had an incredible reception for us. They had the best home made cinnamon rolls you have ever tasted. There was lemonade and PBJ sandwiches as well. I think the gentleman that made the rolls said he baked them all this morning. But most of all, the people were just the absolute best. They were so nice. They made us all feel like family. I still cannot believe the welcome that we received. We all signed the log book for them and the log book of two small girls who wanted to know where we were from (if you are from Texas you can end a sentence with a preposition). Apparently, a relative of Thomas Stevens who was the first to bike (1884-1886) around the world lived in Maysville. Mr. Stevens biked on one of the old bikes with the huge front wheel and the small back wheel, which is a most incredible feat. He was a hit with everyone he met, including the Indians who were fascinated. For those that weren’t so fascinated he carried a .357 (no kidding here). Maysville has an affinity for bikers. All that I can say is that these people are the type of people that made America great. Nothing more to say about Maysville. Thanks so much.
Today was a very difficult day. Certainly one of the two or three hardest we have had. We had winds and temperatures in the mid to upper nineties. If that wasn’t enough we rode up hill after hill. In all we climbed over 6,000 feet. There were some grades where people pushed up their bikes. Not all of the strong riders made it all the way. That is very unusual. Just when you don’t think you can go any more, you must summon energy from within. The legs were talking to me often today. It may be hard for non-bikers to imagine what it is like to bike in the heat, wind and hills for 87 miles. It is very tough. It is one of the hardest things you can do physically. It pushes one to the breaking point. And to make matters even more interesting, we have another day just like it tomorrow. I didn’t know Missouri was so doggone hilly. I tried to sell my bike for $50 today, but could get no takers.
Jed made several funny comments today, but unfortunately only one that I can pass on. We were in this little town (population 61) and he tried to buy this guys truck for $20k so he could get in to Chillicothe without taking the SAG. Maybe it wasn’t that funny and perhaps the sun had fried my brain, but I just broke out laughing. There were a couple of other non-publishable comments as well. It rejuvenated me.
I almost hit a fox today on my bike. Now that would be a first. Fox are very crafty and it is rare to even see one in the day. He probably figured that no sane person would be out today. I guess the bikes are quiet enough that he just didn’t hear me. Now that would have been a great cocktail story. Ty crashes (again) because he hit a fox, but no one saw the fox so who do you believe?
And I can attest that there must be fraud in the Missouri highway fund, because they sure aren’t spending it on the roads. They are atrocious. They aren’t called highways here, but instead it is just incidental pavement. There are no shoulders and many places not much road either. Someone needs to conduct an investigation. And for today’s history lesson, the word Chillicothe, means “big town” in Shawnee. There are Chillicothes in five different states. Chillicothe, MO was named after Chillicothe, Ohio. And now you have……the rest of the story. Good day.
Signing off……..
