Tag Archives: hiking

Missouri Tour Day 18 – Back to St. Louis and Home

04 Saturday Jul 2026

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Thursday morning (Day 18)

I couldn’t start writing this until I got Dana’s text from St. Louis. He’ll be here in an hour. I hope he will allow me to load everything into the car. Let’s see what happens. So I’m sitting here eating a cookie we bought last night before the malteds. I made Dana stop eating it before dinner.

We’re actually planning to drive back to St. Louis today and see Kelly and Luke. When I texted them our location last night, they texted back their location: an air conditioned hotel room in St. Louis. They took Amtrak from Hermann. Honestly, if my first tour had included camping every night… Yeah, good for them 

When we first met them in Kansas City, they were thinking maybe from St. Louis, they would continue riding, via Route 66, to Chicago. Sometimes ya’ gotta pivot.

So hopefully we’ll see them later, sometime before their 5:40 train to Chicago. Let’s see what happens.

Thursday evening 

We met Kelly and Luke at the Arch and did the touristy thing. Fun fact: the arch is the tallest national monument in the smallest national park. After the Arch, we all had dinner, and hugged goodbye. We’ll probably never see them again, but I hope we do. 

Dana’s ride this morning was hell. 10 flat miles, then 1200 feet of climbing in the next 20 miles. A 12% grade for 1/3 mile. He actually had to walk that one, and he had no extra weigh! Wanna guess how many hills I would have walked with the panniers? We’d probably still be climbing into St. Louis.

As we drove to Terre Haute, where we are sleeping tonight, we passed through Casey, Illinois, home of the world’s largest: 

  • Wind Chime
  • Golf Tee
  • Pitchfork
  • Mailbox
  • Wooden Shoes
  • Truck Key:
  • Barbershop Pole
  • Teeter-Totter
  • Golf Driver
  • Swizzle Spoon

And the following large but not largest: 

  • Antlers
  • Bird Cage
  • Bookworm
  • Cactus
  • Ice Cream Cone
  • Minion
  • Mousetrap
  • Pencil
  • Piggy Bank
  • Softball Bat
  • Spinning Top

Speaking of lists, here’s a list of all of the things we’ve lost or broken on this trip (obviously not in order of importance):

  • Dana’s right shift lever
  • Helmet intercoms
  • One laundry sock
  • Dana’s reading glasses
  • My BLEEPING button
  • My bike computer
  • One bike outfit
  • My pink and blue shirt
  • Dana’s knee, arm, shoulder and back
  • My black baseball cap
  • Our front windshield

What didn’t break: 

  • Our sense of humor
  • Our sense of adventure 
  • Our marriage

Friday morning

I found my pink and blue shirt. Somehow, that feels like a bigger deal than it is.

We were on I-70 for 3 hours yesterday and 4 hours today, and we haven’t seen any truck fires! Let’s see what happens. 

We keep seeing highway signs for Uranus Fudge Factory. So many punny billboardsI Like, did you know that the best fudge comes from Uranus? 🤣😝

Saturday morning

I just ate the Old Timer’s special at Cracker Barrel. Sigh

Monday morning

We are heading home today. Notice I did not say we are getting home today, because I don’t want to jinx us. Yesterday we visited 2 friends in Syracuse, and we spent the night in Utica. Other than that, it’s been 2 days of (thankfully) uneventful driving. 

HOME! Thanks for reading, hope to you all soon!

Missouri Tour Day 7 – Pleasant Hill to Windsor

02 Thursday Jul 2026

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We started our day with breakfast at the cafe with Kelly and Luke. Kelly gave the biscuits a 10 out of 10. She grew up on a farm, so I believe her,

It took a few miles to get on the trail, but they were very pleasant, and we were able to stop at a gas station for Gatorade and Payday bars. Which turns out to have been a good idea, because there were no more services for 40 miles.

The weather today was perfect, and the trail was well shaded. However, all 50 miles of today’s ride was on gravelsand. With every pedal stroke, it ate a little of our tires, and a little more of our souls. Our average speed was 9.3. When I rode without the button, my average speed was 5.6. I admit that, without the button, I would not want to be doing this ride.

Dana said there was a convenience store at mile 30, which we were very much looking forward to. But it was in the town of Chilhowee. Turns out the town is pretty much gone. If the store is still in business, it was closed today. But there was a nice bench in the shade, which was lovely. But I find these dead towns to be very sad.

At mile 40, we came to the town of Leeton, and had lunch at DiAngelo’s American Diner. If you are ever in Leeton, MO, I highly recommend it. I’ve enclosed a picture of the owners, lovely, friendly people serving really good food. Dana had peach cobbler, because he could. 

I was thinking this would be a very short email. Until mile 45.

There are lots of road crossings on the trail, each with a gate slightly wider than a bicycle. Do you see where this is going?  Now, personally, I’m respectful of those things and ride through them very slowly. Spoiler alert: after mile 45, Dana did, too.

But as he went through that fateful gate, he thought that was a good time to check his bike computer. Turns out, it was not. So he hit the gate with his right brake hood, flipped himself around, and went down HARD. Then he said lots of bad words. 

I was afraid he couldn’t get up, but he did. I’ve enclosed a picture of his knee. Other bloody parts are his elbow and a finger, but they pale in comparison. What he’s most upset about, however, is his broken shifter. 

So for the last 5 miles, he was more miserable than me. But the woman at the hotel in Windsor was so nice. She got us peroxide and bandages, and offered to help us tomorrow if we need it. Which we might. 

The plan for tomorrow was to ride 16 miles to Clinton, without the panniers, ring the bell at the start of the Katy trail, then ride back here. But plans may change. Let’s see what happens.

Missouri Tour Day 6 – Kansas City to Pleasant Hill

30 Tuesday Jun 2026

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If we were to name today’s ride, it would be “The Smorgasbord of Hell”. 

We started the day eating leftover BBQ in the hotel lobby. Dana got us free coffees because when he was checking in, the person in front of him was a titanium member, and they got free breakfast. Dana asked if a titanium bicycle got free breakfast. It did not. But they gave him coupons for 2 free MEDIUM coffees. I know this because I asked for a large. 🫩

Our first 13 miles today were going through Kansas City starting at Amtrak’s Union station. What a beautiful city! And what a hilly city! Not too much traffic, though. Then a park, some nice farmland, a few historic markers, then onto the Rock Island trail.

The first 5 miles on the trail were lovely, and we met a nice couple from New Mexico, Kelly and Luke. This is their first long bike tour. 

But then the Rock Island trail ended. They are planning to complete it eventually. But today, we had to get on the road. A little hill up a pleasant, empty road, which led straight to a 6-lane highway. Luckily it had a median. So we waited a while, rushed across the first 3 lanes, stood in the middle of highway traffic for a while, waiting to cross the next 3 lanes. Turns out the median was also a left turn lane, but the car turning left waited for us. (Drivers around here are very courteous.) After that, a very pleasant country road, ending with a left turn, uphill, onto a 4-lane, 55mph highway with NO shoulder. We were on that for 5 miles, but it wasn’t a hill, thank goodness. About half way in, there was a narrow shoulder covered with a rumble strip. Not better. Dana tried to ride inside, I rode outside, since it hadn’t killed me yet. We had flashbacks of riding in South Carolina.

After a Gatorade stop at a gas station, we turned off the highway onto Smart Road (the name seemed appropriate), which was basically 3 miles of squirrelly loose, large gravel, sand and dirt (Smarter Rd.  Now seems more appropriate.) Then back on the trail. Which you’d think would be better, wouldn’t you?

The surface of the trail can only be described as  gravelsandmudwater. In the hot sun it was gravelsand. In the cooling shade it was sandmudwater. That went on for another few miles. (Honestly, I’ve lost track of the mileages, I was way more focused on survival).

We climbed 1100 feet in 32 miles. Like that wouldn’t have been enough without all the rest. Below is the route profile.

But now we are in the lovely little town of Pleasant Hill (an oxymoron if I ever heard one). According to the sign entering town , it was the largest chick(en) producer in the world until 1959.

We are in a really nice Airbnb above the tattoo parlor. It’s beautifully decorated with toys, books, music posters, and a kitchen table from the 60s. With an efficient air conditioner, probably not from the 60s. It reminds me a lot of my childhood, except for the air-conditioner. 

So after much needed showers, we went to the town museum and historical society. We met the folks who operate it, and their dog, and it was really interesting. They hope the town will perk up when the Rock Island trail is completed.

We asked them if the cafe next door is good. They said it’s the only restaurant in town. So as we headed to the cafe, who did we see but Kelly and Luke! They had just arrived, planning to camp for the night, so we all had dinner at 4:00. BTW, they totally agree with gravelsandmudwater . Dinner was good, although I doubt the menu has changed in decades. After his senior-sized meatloaf dinner, Dana had pie, because he could.

We just took the long way through town, back to the Airbnb. On the way we saw some historical markers, and then we got to a very, very long moving train. I think it had 6 or 7 locomotives, with whatever number of cargo cars matches that. So, instead of getting annoyed, we both thought, “Well, it’s not as bad as the 4 hour trash truck fire”. And we happily stood there for about 10 minutes, counting locomotives.

Speaking of truck fires (I promise I will never mention these again unless absolutely necessary), turns out there were 2 similar incidents in that area in the previous 3 days, and a perfume and candle truck fire the day after. We’re assuming it smelled good. And I’d rather not drive I -70 ever again.

I am exhausted, and can anyone guess what Dana is doing? 😌 Good night.