I had a Great time camping out in Hannibal. It got cool enough that I had to get into my sleeping bag last night. I made some coffee in the morning and ate an energy bar for breakfast. I stopped by the Mark Twain Cave on the way out of camp, but the next tour wasn't for an hour, so I decided to skip the cave and hit the road.
Or maybe I should say I hit the HILLS !! My goodness, you would think you were on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was miles and miles going up and up, at 3.6 mph in granny gear. Then ZOOM, down you go at 40 mph for about 5 minutes. Then repeat again and again until your legs are screaming out in pain !!
There were also dozens of big rock trucks going back and forth on Hey 79 for the first 10 miles out of Hannibal. It was a nerve-wracking ride this morning.
There were some fun stops along the way today. I stopped in Ilasco, a ghost town with a nice memorial to all the emigrants who came there to work for the humongous Portland Cement Plant. There were also 5 or 6 scenic pull offs along the hilly road. These were great to stop, catch your breath, and take a picture. At one pull off a guy gave me a COLD bottle of water. Man, did it taste good !!
It was a very long ride from Hannibal to Louisiana, about 30 miles, through very steep hills, with no town or store along the way. I drank and ate a lot to keep going.
About 5 miles from Louisiana, it started to get overcast. Then there were a few raindrops, and all of the sudden it started to rain very hard, with thunder and lightening, too. I zoomed up the driveway to an old run-down farm and ducked into an open barn. I was so lucky, because it really started storming, with the rain going sideways.
I waited out the storm, but it took about an hour and a half for it to pass. The barn was filled with junk, and looked like it hadn't been touched in many years. Unfortunately, I didn't find any old motorcycles or old bicycles.
By the time I rode the last 5 miles in to Louisiana MO, it was 5:00 pm and I was exhausted. I was riding around town, looking for a place to eat when I ran into John Lersch, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. He invited me to sleep in the church tonight, so I said Great !!
We ate a nice meal at a restaurant called Pikers, then I walked thru the town down to the river. Louisiana is a beautiful town with splendid old buildings and lots of painted murals all around.
It was a short day today, only 32 miles, but it was a challenge. Goodnight from Pete and Hoppy !
