Days 51 and 52: Monday, May 30, 2011 and Tuesday, May 31, 2011

We decided to take a couple of days to explore El Dorado and Wichita since this is our first trip to Kansas.  We are staying at El Dorado State Park which is Kansas’ largest state park. It is located on over 4,000 acres along the eastern and western shores of El Dorado Reservoir.

We visited the Wichita Art Museum, Botanica, Wichita’s botanical garden, and the Keeper of the Plains. Keeper of the Plains is a 44 foot sculpture by Blackbear Bosin and stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers.  It’s quite an impressive site.

Day 50: Sunday, May 29, 2011

42 miles to Toronto, Kansas

The wind was brutal, but the sky was sunny and clear.  At several points, I was afraid I was going to get blown off my bicycle, but the wind did keep me from overheating in the nearly 90 degree weather.  When the wind was against me, I was lucky to keep a 3 to 4 mph velocity, but when it was behind me (rare but it did happen once in a while), I could fly.

I met another bicyclist going east.  Fred is celebrating his 65^th birthday, so we joined in wishing each other happy birthday and celebrating our ability to accomplish our dreams.

Day 49: Saturday, May 28, 2011

25 miles to Pittsburgh, Kansas

Vincent’s knees hurt too much for him to bicycle today, so I biked and we planned to meet at the bicycle shop in Pittsburgh.  I made it there in less than 2 hours and sustained an average speed of 14.8 mph.  That is probably the fastest average I have ever sustained in my bicycling history!!  I got to the Tailwind Cyclists shop by about 10:30 and introduced myself to Roger.  I explained that Vincent would be coming by and hoped Roger would have some recommendations to help with his knees.   I asked him where the Wal-Mart was since Bob planned to park in their lot.  I bicycled about ½ mile up to the road and decided to get my hair cut to kill some time.  We don’t have a Wal-Mart close to us, so I have never shopped there much.  Turns out the Super Centers have everything including hair salons.

Bob still had not shown up when I finished so I went over to look at cameras.  Unfortunately, my camera fell out of my bike bag today and broke.  Thank goodness I heard something hit the road when I was moving at 20 mph, so went back to see what I had dropped.  I was shocked to see that it was my camera.  Fortunately, Vincent was able to get the memory card out and now I have a nice, new, up-to-date Nikon Coolpix. 

Vincent and Bob finally showed up and we biked down to Tailwind Cyclists Inc.  Bob hates driving the trailer in town, even one as small as Pittsburgh, Kansas.  Roger immediately said Vincent’s seat was too high (we had been adjusting it up over the course of the ride hoping that would help).  He then checked Vincent’s shoes and we discovered his cleat/pedal configuration was all wrong.  Apparently,  the configuration (and it is way too technical for me to remember the specifics) created significant instability and caused his knees to function inefficiently, creating stress and strain.  We were there for a couple of hours as Roger changed pedals, cleats and adjusted everything.  Vincent drove out of the shop with a smile and hope that his knees will finally stop hurting.  Given the amount of time we spent in the city, I ended up driving with Vincent and Bob to the next RV camp.

Roger gave us an update on Ad from the Netherlands.  Ad lost more time due to the severe weather so he had Roger pack up his bike and he took a bus to Pueblo, Colorado.  Hopefully, that puts him back on schedule. 

We are now on Section 8 of the trail which will take us to Alexander, Kansas.  Of note: there is no route elevation profile for this map.  Nice flat route!

 Vincent plans to take a few days off for his knees to recover.  I think I could make pretty quick progress through Kansas, but much will depend on where we can find campgrounds.

Grains as far as the eye can see.

Day 48: Friday, May 27, 2011

35 miles to Golden City, Missouri

It wasn’t supposed to rain today.  Even the librarian in Golden City said that.  We had about 3 hours of bicycling before we saw dark storm clouds and lightening ahead.  One thing about this area is that you can see the weather system for miles and we could see that we were cycling just on the line between the storm clouds and clear skies.  Suddenly the temperature dropped dramatically and it began to rain and we made the decision to have Bob pick us up about 10 miles east of our final destination. 

I felt good being on the bicycle again and I had a short taste of riding about 20 mph on the straight highways with a slight tailwind.  Vincent, on the other hand, is having some serious knee issues and adjusting his bike to date hasn’t helped.  We plan to stop at the bicycle shop in Pittsburgh, Kansas and see if the person there has any other recommendations.

Day 47: Thursday, May 26, 2011

We are running into problems  finding RV sites because of the Memorial Day Weekend.  Between that and the weather today, we decided to drive down to the Springfield KOA because we are only able to book one night.  Not only is it Memorial Day Weekend, but there is a Hot Rod Show at the Fairgrounds beginning Saturday, so the KOA is fully booked.  Most of the RVers in the campground are hot rodders, so we got a preview look at many of the cars.  While exploring the area, we discovered that Springfield is the birthplace of Route 66.

Day 46: Wednesday, May 25, 2011

We had some very severe storms last night and one lightning strike next to the campground that must have woken everyone up.  I heard the woman in the trailer next to us get up and check out the outside area.  She mumbled something about smelling smoke, but I figured someone would definitely let me know if there was a fire and so I fell back to sleep (I can generally sleep through just about anything which might not be so healthy in this tornado-alley area).  The next day we noticed that the smokestack on the Backwoods BBQ wagon sitting on the campgrounds was going full blast. Turns out the owner’s son is a championship barbecuer (he won the world championship in 2006) and he had a catering job for 300 due at noon, so he had fired up the smoker at about 2:00 in the morning.  Sure did smell good! As the day went by and we watched the weather channel for news of the storms and the many tornadoes that were sighted in the area.  Fortunately, we only had severe storms with high winds, but I can tell you it gives a whole new meaning to “leave your mobile home immediately” when you are sitting in a travel trailer. This area is beautiful, but give me Maryland where we don’t have such extreme weather on a regular basis.

Day 45: Tuesday, May 24, 2011

We moved the trailer to Mountain Grove which is only 45 miles from the bicycle shop.  Once we set up the trailer, we headed back to West Plains.  The gentleman at the shop trued Vincent’s wheel again (I suppose since he is carrying the panniers, it makes sense that his wheel keeps getting out of whack) and replaced the tube, we headed back to the trailer. We drove about a mile and POW! that tire blew again.  We went back to the shop and he couldn’t find anything wrong with the tire or the wheel.  He said he had never seen anything like this before. We decided to put a different tire on.  He had very little inventory-no touring tires at all- and said if it happened again we would have to go to the big bicycle shop in Springfield.  We managed to get back to the trailer with no mishaps.  The forecast for tomorrow is very severe weather with hail, strong winds and heavy rain and a chance of a tornado.  We are going to stay here another day and hope we can get back to bicycling on Thursday.

Day 44: Monday, May 23, 2011

Turns out the bicycle shop in West Plains, Missouri is closed today.  We’ll probably move on to the next RV site and head down there tomorrow.

We had a huge storm last night with several downed trees, but nothing like Joplin, thank goodness.  We thought about canoeing down the river that we are camped on, but it is closed to canoes and kayaks because it is flowing so fast.  

Day 43: Sunday, May 22, 2011

13 miles to Centerville, Missouri

And then POW! Vincent’s front tire blew out as we pulled into a small restaurant to use the restroom.  We knew Bob would be along eventually since he had to follow the same route as us.  About 5 minutes later, he pulled up and we explained what had happened.  He pulled out the gear and replaced the tube.  The moment he put it on the bicycle POW! It blew.  The front tower was pretty worn, so he decided to replace the tire as well as the tube.  Unfortunately, POW! It blew also.  Three strikes and we took this as an omen, plus, we didn’t have any more tubes.  I thought long and hard about continuing alone, but I wasn’t sure I could carry enough water.  It was hot and not too many towns on the route.  Vince and I got in the Jeep and we drove on up to the Circle G Campground in Eminence.  The Maple Tree Inn and Bakery let us use their WIFI. We have discovered that the closest bicycle shop is about 60 miles away and is closed on Sundays.  There’s a storm brewing also, so we’ll wait it out and see what tomorrow brings. 

We did go through the Mark Twain National Forest before all the drama.  

Day 42: Saturday, May 21, 2011

We had a spectacular day in the Arcadia Valley Area.  Here are some photos of Johnson’s Shut-Ins and Elephant Rocks Missouri State Parks.

Johnson's Shut-Ins

Elephant Rocks

Shut-Ins Falls

Day 41: Friday, May 20, 2011

50 miles into Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park

We made great time today and rode into the State Park by 3:00.  We bicycled through beautiful country and saw tons of vineyards.  I had no idea Missouri was home to so many wineries.  We also bicycled a portion of the trail through the Blankshire Trailhead in St. Joe State Park.  I was surprised to see wild monarda growing everywhere.

I was intrigued by the name of the State Park and it turns out a shut-in is a river that's naturally confined within a deep, narrow channel.  The park is located in the St. Francois Mountains and is located on the East Fork of the Black River.  In 2005, the Taum Sauk Reservoir, a hydroelectric power station, breached, sending 1.3 billion gallons of water down Proffit Mountain.  The water extensively damaged the campground.  As a result, the campground is essentially brand new and is a beautiful facility.   Given the beauty and uniqueness of the area, we are going to take a day to explore and enjoy.

Blankenshire Trail through St. Joe State Park

Vineyards in SE Missouri

Day 40: Thursday, May 19, 2011

It’s a cold, rainy day in Missouri, so we decided to take the day off.  We plan to get back on the road tomorrow. 

Day 39: Wednesday, May 18, 2011

50 miles to Farmington, Missouri

We had perfect weather for bicycling today.  It was sunny, about 70 degrees and a light south-easterly breeze.  We stopped at the library in Chester, Illinois.  While there, we met John James Audubon, in the person of Brian Ellis.  Mr. Ellis, a storyteller and author, portrays Mr. Audubon and spoke to us only in that personality while we were at the library.  He spoke of his 1811 walk across Southern Illinois from St. Genevieve, Missouri to Henderson, Kentucky.  He was quite impressed that we are traveling the country by bicycle.  We also learned that Chester is the home of Popeye.  Elze Crisler Segar, the creator of Popeye, was born in Chester and based the Popeye characters on people he knew in the town.

Just as I was nearly finished crossing the Mississippi, I heard a beep and there was Bob passing me in the trailer.  He pulled over at a gas station and we were able get a picture of all three of us at the Missouri Welcome sign.

Day 38: Tuesday, May 17, 2011

47 miles to Wine Hill, Illinois

There was not a cloud in the sky when we started this morning although it was quite cool. We rode through farmlands and the route was relatively level.  It began to cloud up and the wind picked up about mid-day.  Fortunately, there was no rain.  We didn’t even think about taking the Mississippi Levee alternate route as I am sure it is mostly under water. 

We are on the next set of maps which will take us through Missouri and into Kansas.

Pickup at Wine Hill

Day 37: Monday, May 16, 2011

We are at Panera in Carbondale, Illinois today planning the route.  It took us awhile to get connected to the Internet and find things, so we are taking the day off.  It’s not raining, but it is only 50 degrees outside.  The forecast for the rest of the week is partly cloudy and in the 60’s so hopefully, we can cross over the Mississippi River and into Missouri in the next day or two.

Day 36: Sunday, May 15, 2011

46 miles into Little Grassy Lake Campground and Marina, Makanda, Illinois

Another day of wet, dreary, bicycling.  According to one gentleman at the campground, it has rained 29 days in a row.   The highlight of the day was lunch at Delaney’s on Broadway Restaurant in Goreville, Illinois.  The owner of the restaurant talked our ears off about his business and how much they love meeting bicyclists from all over the world.  Every cyclist gets free dessert and their picture taken.  He lamented the fact that Polaroid went out of business so he can’t display the photos instantly, but has to wait until he develops a full roll of film.  I had honest-to-goodness homemade vegetable beef soup.  It was warm and fulfilling. 

We have no service at the campground and the ranger told us numerous roads are closed. Therefore, we will probably have to take tomorrow off and ride into town (Vincent thinks there is a Starbucks there) to research our route.

Tunnel Hill, Illinois wine Valley.

Illinois TransAmerica bike route sign.

Day 35: Saturday, May 14, 2011

71 miles to Harrisburg, IL

Today was a little different.  Vincent didn’t feel like riding, so I rode by myself.  The detour route was a straight shot up SR 56 to cross over the Ohio River at the Shawneetown Bridge, then up SR 13 to Harrisburg, Illinois. This was the same route Bob took in the trailer and we had planned that he would stop when he saw me on the route.  As it turned out, the timing was perfect.  I was just thinking about stopping to eat at 25 miles into the ride when he came by.  He fed me some pasta and cheese bread and went on his way.

 It rained most of the day (Bronnie-the shower cap worked great to keep my bag dry), but it was about 10 degrees warmer than last time, so it wasn’t bad at all.   The flooding on the Illinois side was much worse than anything we saw in Kentucky.  I overheard one man say that he planted on high ground, but it all got washed away.  This gives me an entirely different perspective on the rain.  For me, a day of rain is a nuisance.  For this agricultural community, another day of rain on top of all the previous rain can mean no livelihood.  For their sakes, I hope things dry out soon.

We are staying at Hayes Canyon Campground, another horse camp, and this one has lots of horse occupants.  A woman I met the other day said a couple came through riding their horses across the country.  She thought bicycling was strange enough!

After trying several times to take a self-portrait at the Illinois state line by holding the camera up with one hand, I finally set the camera on the bicycle seat and used the timer.  I like the final result.  Hope you do too.

Our neighbor for the night

Day 34: Friday, May 13, 2011

We were pretty tired last night and didn’t have the energy to work on the route for today.  When we woke up, we began working on it and due to the flooding, things got pretty complicated.  It started to rain again and given that time was passing quickly, we decided to take a rest day.

As it turns out, this weekend is the Owensboro, KY International Bar-B-Q Festival.  Barbecued mutton is Owensboro’s claim to fame with more being consumed per person in this county than any other place in the world.  This doesn’t surprise me because I have never heard of anyone eating barbecued mutton before.  The other specialty is burgoo, a spicy and hearty soup made from mutton, chicken and a variety of vegetables.  Bob and I ventured over to the festival and things were pretty quiet at 2:00 in the afternoon.  Apparently, things don’t heat up until the beer gardens open at 5:00.  We saw the competition tables being prepared and were disappointed that the judging happens tomorrow and there is a lot more action.  The standard fare of fried food, including deep-fried Oreos, was available, but we wanted the authentic goods. The barbecue stands have a limited menu of chopped barbecued mutton or chopped pork sandwiches or burgoo.  We tried the mutton and decided to go with the chopped pork sandwiches served with pickles and onions; pretty tasty.  The burgoo was quite good and I brought an extra helping back to the trailer with Vincent’s food.

Vincent worked on the route while we were gone and we are set to ride again tomorrow.

Day 33: Thursday, May 12, 2011

72 miles to Beech Grove, KY

We ate at the Diner in Fordsville, KY.  If you are ever there, check it out.  The food was excellent and they have great looking desserts, but I was much too full after eating to try any of them.  They served white gravy and it was the best gravy I have eaten in years.

The landscape has changed dramatically again and the area is much more agricultural.  We saw several chicken farms and I can say the chicken houses look much nicer than those on the Eastern Shore.  We saw our first of what I am sure will be many cornfields.  The corn was only about 5 inches high.

John Deere kickin' up dust

Baby corn seedlings

Day 32: Wednesday, May 11, 2011

45 miles into Laurel Branch COE Campground

We had planned to bicycle a bit further to the Rough River Dam State Resort Park.  Unfortunately it is closed due to high waters.  Several other parks in the area are also closed, we are lucky this park is open. 

We had noticed purple ribbons in the center of Bardstown, but didn’t know what they were for until I spoke to a woman putting up purple ribbons in Sonora.  They are “painting” the towns purple for the relay of life to support all types of cancer research.  We saw several towns “painted” as we rode today.

Day 31: Tuesday, May 10, 2011

49 miles to Sonora, KY

Today we met Ad, a policeman from the Netherlands, who has 10 weeks to complete the trail.  He lost several days this past weekend when he broke a spoke.  Unfortunately, there are no bicycle shops in Bardstown, so he had to rent a car and go up to Louisville to get it fixed.  Too bad we didn’t know or we could have given him a lift in the Jeep.  I gave him our number in case he has another emergency.  Of course given that he is on such a tight schedule, he will undoubtedly be far ahead of us. 

The Cave-In-Rock ferry, which crosses the Ohio River at the Illinois-Kentucky border, is closed due to high water. Maybe we will meet up with all the cyclists we have seen on the route and have a party.

We ended the day at Brooks General Store and Café, where they have been welcoming TransAmerica Cyclists since the first ride in 1976.  Delores, the owner, had us sign a guest book which has signatures she has collected over the years.  They also let us know that part of our route for tomorrow is under water and gave us a detour route which will save us much aggravation.  The food was as good as the hospitality.

My view of Vincent and Ad

Kentucky "Knobs"

Brooks Family Article

Day 30: Monday, May 9, 2011

We visited the sites in Bardstown today and found them quite charming.  We also went up to the Abbey of Gesthemini which sits in a valley between 2 knobs and is serene and peaceful.

Home of Brotherly Love

Day 29: Sunday, May 8, 2011

55 miles to My Old Kentucky Home State Park campground, Bardstown, KY

It’s so nice to be out of the mountains!  Can’t stress that enough.  The ride today was much like yesterday except the weather was much nicer.  We stopped at the Lincoln Homestead State Park where Lincoln’s parents were married.  While there, we met Sylvia, who is bicycling to Portland, Oregon on her tricycle.  She bills herself as the world’s slowest cyclist and has been traveling around the world by cycle for several years.  Check out her website, myrtletheturtle.me.  I am sure we will see her again on the route.

Bardstown has numerous sites to see, so we are going to take a day off to visit.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

These signs are ubiquitous when there are more than 3 houses within 3 miles.

Rolling hills of Kentucky.

Sylvia and Myrtle the Turtle

Day 28: Saturday, May 7, 2011

46 miles to Chimney Rock RV Park, Burgin, Kentucky

The sweet song of the red-winged blackbird accompanied us on our trip today through the rolling hills of Kentucky Bluegrass country.  It was a nice ride and we managed to finish before the rains started again.  It’s sweet to be in Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby.  The campground we are in is having a rousing all-day celebration with mint juleps and a good old-fashioned barbecue.  We said goodbye to Don and Bronnie this morning and hope to see them again later in the summer.  We also started the third series of maps which will get us to Murphysboro, Illinois.

All of Don’s tutoring has paid off.  We noticed another water leak after Bob set up the camper.  Bob was able to use his new multi-screwdriver tool and look behind the panel under the stove.  He discovered a leak and was able to tighten it up.  Now, he just has to buy some 3M self-fusing rubber electrical tape and seal up the connection.  Another trip to the hardware store.   Who knew having a camper would lead to so many new handy, dandy skills.

Day 27: Friday, May 6, 2011

26 miles to Berea, Kentucky

A day to catch up on our schedule.  We had a nice ride as we finally finished up with the Appalachian Mountains and biked into the Kentucky Bluegrass.  Things should get a little less strenuous for a while.  We are looking forward to making up some mileage and Bob is thrilled to be out of the mountains!

Daniel Boone forest McKee, KY

Quilt square on a barn outside Berea, KY

Day 26: Thursday May 5, 2011

We took the day off and spent it with Don and Bronnie touring the crafting sights of Berea, KY. We also had Vincent’s bicycle tuned up as he was having difficulty with shifting.  We took it to a fabulous bike shop, Mike’s Hike and Bike, in Richmond.  If you are ever in the area and need bicycle work, he’s a great guy. We had a nice clear evening around a good old fashioned camp fire.

Day 25: Wednesday May 4, 2011

43 miles to McKee, KY

Today on our route to McKee we passed through the small town of Vincent.  Upon entering we took a few pictures to capture the moment.  Hope you enjoy them.

Day 24: Tuesday, May 3, 2011

43 miles to Buckhorn, KY

We rode in miserable pouring cold rain today.  The only highlight of the day was when we saw Don and Bronnie on their way to the campground.  Everything was soaking wet once we finally got to camp.  Thankfully we were met by Bob brandishing hot cups of Cocoa.

Day 23: Monday, May 2, 2011

29 miles to Hindman, KY

We took a short ride today because our good friends Don and Bronnie came to visit us.  What a delight to have visitors on the trip and Bob was thrilled to have someone else to talk to other than me and Vincent.  And of course, Don was able to answer lots of camper questions that have come up during the trip.

Twin Fun Finders

Here's a great craft to bring in your RV
Bronnie spinning 

Day 22: Sunday, May 1, 2011

48 miles to Bevinsville, KY
We crossed into Kentucky today.  We saw the most unusual site:  a horse was standing at the side of the road just munching away.  When he saw us, he was quite curious and stood and watched us bicycle up the highway.  In fact, he was so interested, he stopped eating!  We've seen lots of horses, but none quite like this.

Too busy staring at Cathie to chew the grass in his mouth.