I was woken up in my motel room by a big thunderstorm at 7:30 am. By the time I packed and ate breakfast the storm had passed, so I headed to Main St. in Troy to see the car show. Some of my favorites were a 1951 Chevy pickup hot rod with original paint, and a pair of VWs, a nice old Hippy Van Camper, and an all original 27K mile square back.
On the way out of Troy I saw a thrift store, so I decided to go in to see if I could find a replacement stuffed animal for "HOPPY", who mysteriously disappeared yesterday. I found a cute little monkey, who I named "Chuckles". It is nice having another little buddy strapped on the back of the bike.
Last night I got a phone call from Mike and Kendra, who rode across Iowa with me. When I told Mike about losing "HOPPY" the frog, he said I needed to make a little roadside memorial for him. So on today's ride, just outside of Wright City, I made my "HOPPY" Memorial, out of a pizza box and fork and flowers I found alongside the road. He was a great little green guy !
So now it's me and "Chuckles" riding down the road, into unbearable headwinds. The winds were so bad you were reduced to 10-15 mph going downhill, 3-4 mph going uphill, and 8-10 mph on the flats. I would guess I was only averaging 6 or 7 mph, it was slow.
The roads today were thru the country, with a few farmhouses and a lot of residential subdivisions. I think we're getting near to St. Louis. We've left the Mississippi River behind now.
About 8 miles from Marthasville I had had enough, and had to lie down in the shade next to a farmhouse, and I took a nap. I was woken up by a farmer driving by, who wanted to make sure I was ok. I got back on the bike, and it seemed a little cooler and the winds weren't so bad.
In Marthasville I stopped in a Sports Bar and Restaurant to cool off again. I talked to Mark and Don, who were on their way across the Missouri River to the big Fair in Washington. I was thinking of camping here in Marthasville, but it was too early and still too hot.
I picked up the Katy Trail and rode it from Marthasville to Dutzow. Wow, what a beautiful trail !! It is gravel here, but nice and hard-packed and easy to ride on. The trail is 240 miles long, so as much as I wanted to, I decided I'd better not ride the whole trail this trip. I'm definitely coming back to ride some more of the Katy Trail someday.
I stopped at a neat little ice cream stand right on the Katy Trail called KT Caboose. It is built right into a real caboose ! The owner Noreen is super nice and I got to sign in to her travelers registry. Noreen told me about the trail and suggested several campgrounds and B&Bs nearby. She also warned me about crossing the Missouri River in Hwy 47, and boy, was she right ! Thanks for all the help Noreen !!
I only got to ride about 5 miles on the Katy Trail when it was time to head across the River. Hwy 47 is a narrow 2-lane road, with 55 mph speed limit, and today it had lots of traffic, people rushing to the big fair to hear REO Speedwagon. It was a thrill riding across this very dangerous 4 mile section, and I made use of all my defensive and offensive safe riding techniques. But when I reached Washington I did have to stop, rest, cool down, and unclench my knuckles from the death grip they had on my handlebars.
I stopped by the Brick House B&B, but nobody was there and I got on answer on their phone. So I ride over to the fair - it was huge ! I rode and walked my bicycle around the fairgrounds watching the microcar races, the concert setup, and the rides.
I was thinking I might be able to sneak in and camp with the Carnies, since I worked the carnival circuit in Wisconsin back in the Summer of 1970, so I'm part of the brotherhood. Unfortunately the security was pretty tight, so I decided to head back into town.
This was probably the best or luckiest decision I have made in quite a while. Just as I got to the Old Dutch Tavern, the bottom fell out and we had heavy rain with very strong winds. About an hour later the bar was packed with soaking wet people from the fair. REO Speedwagon only got to play 3 songs before the storms came. The storm was so bad they had to close down the whole fair.
I had a great cheeseburger and 4 craft beers in the tavern, so I was fat and happy and dry. I was a little worried about where to stay, but it turns out the Old Dutch Tavern also has a Hotel next door. The hotel was full, except for one small room with no bathroom - Perfect !! So I took a baby-wipe bath and spent a nice, dry night in comfort.
Today was quite the day !!
