Wednesday, 7Jul10, Kirksville, MO
Today was another 82 mile day … with threatening rain and thunderstorms all day long … however, it seemed to hold off until we made it to the Holiday Inn Express in Kirksville. (Later when we went out to dinner at Napoli’s … it poured and luckily we were inside.)
What a day! We rode through an area that it called the “Thousand Hills State Park” and believe me when I tell you … they started out with Missouri “rollers” that continued to get steeper and steeper.
I again rode with Kiwi Rick from New Zealand … since we have a similar riding style … he is a good climber(by my standards) and I’m a good descender (by his standards) so it seems to work out well for both of us.
Yet I must say that by the end of today’s ride … I was not only tired and exhausted … “I felt OLD!” (Both physically and mentally). So tired that I took a shower then “crashed” for a 90 minute power nap … and … it was so hard to wake up for route rap and dinner!
Because of the current wet conditions … I didn’t take many pictures today. Have you noticed that there always seems to be some kind of challenge … mountains, wind, rain, etc.? (Yet what pictures we did take will be on Facebook)
John Hurley(from Boston area) is a good climber and was in front of us on a hill and was able to take an incredible photograph of Shawn and I climbing and cresting a hill with all the “rollers” on the never ending highway behind us … (if you’ve never been to Missouri, it probably won’t mean a lot … yet, if you’ve ever ridden a bicycle through the “rollers” on Missouri highways … then this picture has “Missouri Rollers’ written all over it!)
We heard from Dan D (from Erie, PA stop) he has booked radio remote with a local radio station WCTL 106.3, and we are to call in next week. (Thanks Dan for your “heads up”.)
We also heard from Sher P (from Dayton, OH area) and she it trying hard to make connections with ABC and FOX … looking forward to hearing more from her.(Thanks Sher!)
Also heard from Lee M (Springfield, Ill. stop) and he is working on connecting us with a couple of local radio stations … so that we can do the interviews by cell phone … along the way. a special thanks to Lee.
Also heard from Mistie H (Augusta, GA stop) and she brought us up to date on the many things they have planned in Augusta, GA. Too many to list here … yet, we need to say “thank you” to Mistie and her crew for all the neat things they are working on.
Also Jen checked in to let us know that NYCBC has some great events planned and have moved us to lodging in the Times Square area … a special thank you to the crew at NYCBC for their support and also to Jen for everything she is doing to help us keep track of each of the scheduled events.
Also a special “thank you” to Shawn for riding with us today and the kind words he said to me after we finished.
An interesting sidenote is to observe how we come together as “30 complete strangers” and 30 days later we have become “family” … and it’s amazing to watch the diverse personalities come together and watch how even the very strong and fast “cyclists” are willing to kid around with the rest of us and in their own way really do care about us.
Two of our strongest riders … Phil and Ric are obviously competitive by nature … yet today were willing to stop and help a “damsel” in distress … in this case, Adella, who had a flat tire 1 mile from the hotel. To understand this sacrifice and the compassion of this act of kindness … you need to understand that Phil is almost always “first” to the hotel. (So to Phil … a special “thank you” award for helping Adella change a flat!)
Tomorrow the ride to Quincy, Illinois, will be another 97 mile day … with threats of thunderstorms, rain, and flooding … in fact, part of our route tomorrow will have to be changed because our scheduled “ferry ride” across the Mississippi River … is cancelled because the ferry boats are closed because the river is too high. (So they will have to “shuttle” us across a different bridge which is not open to cyclists.)
The ABC staff have done an amazing job of helping all of us … literally “weather the storms” of a “cross country challenge” … so thank you to Michelle, Gerard, Pam, Judy and Alex!)
Talk to you tomorrow.