Data: 151.6 miles Riding time 9:10 (16.6 mph avg)
I didn't realize there was an Amish area in northern Missouri. There I was riding alone near Jamesport, and coming toward me on the shoulder of the highway (on the other side of the road) was a horse-drawn buggy. A man was driving, and his two children were behind him.
I waved at the kids as the buggy went by, and they waved back. The father kept his eyes straight ahead. On down the road caught up to another buggy, this one with two horses and driven by a young fellow. I rode up behind as closely as I dared and took my photo.
Later, at a shopping center parking lot in Trenton, I saw a parked buggy, and the family was eating some food in it. Just after I saw the moving buggy near Jamesport, I saw a highway sign showing a horse and buggy. But Amish buggies weren't the only special sight today. Check out this spectacular scene as I pedaled down the road. Ahh, the wonders you see riding a bike across America!
Today was long, as you can see by my riding time of 9:10. I was out there a total of 10 hrs. But it was a perfect day! Weather and scenery again were fabulous. The country homes along the back road we used were neat and cozy-looking. Many of them had what appeared to be working water pumps just off to the sides of their porches. Lots of goats, pigs, horses, and cows along the way. Here was a funny sign I saw.
There also were two major flooded rivers we crossed over, one right near St Joe, and the other aptly named the Grand River. There were newly formed lakes on both sides of where the river course was supposed to be.
Today was rolling hills the entire way. I like this kind of terrain. Even though there were no steep climbs, the total of all the rolling ups was about 8200 feet!
This is today's photo of "the road ahead" and the constant up-and-down rollers. At one point I was near Steve Bryant, a strong rider, and he'd pass me down the rollers and I'd catch him on the ups. He told others later how he kept watching me in his rear-view mirror as he'd distance himself from me and think maybe he'd lose me, but that I'd always fight back and catch him before the crest of the next hill.
I cruised along on my own up to the lunch stop in Trenton, at mile 77, and my avg speed at that point was 18.4. Trenton happens to be an old Carnation town, since it has the factory that makes our Chefmate #10 can foodservice products (like chili beans, corned beef hash, and cheeses sauces). It was recently sold to Con Agra, but they still make our products for us. I decided to ride up for a visit (in my Nestle jersey) since I'd never been there before. I went in and talked to a couple people, but the tech person I knew best wasn't in since her home was isolated by flood waters about 20 miles to the south. It was fun seeing this plant that was/is so important to Carnation/Nestle.
At about mile 90 I hooked up with Dan Spector, the new guy who is doing the second half of the ride. This was only his second day, so he was getting pretty pooped out. I slowed down and rode with him the rest of the day.
He wanted to rest to let his muscle cramping go away, and I took another side tour to a lake about 3 miles away. I stopped to take a photo of a wood-carved family sign, which have been common all across Missouri.
When we were almost to the motel, Dan and I saw an A&W and decided to get root beer floats.
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