DAY 31: JULY 1: ST JOSEPH (MO) TO CHILLICOTHE (MO)

Time Zone : Central (GMT -6)
Todays Distance: 90 miles
Cycling time: 5 hrs 45 mins
Average Speed: 15.6 mph

Today’s cumulative ascent: 3566 ft

Average Heart rate: 127 bpm

Distance so far: 2226 miles

Ascent so far: 73,459 ft.
Centuries so far: 6
Punctures so far: 3
Today’s Profile:

Today’s Route:
Dedication: Today is for Br Steve and Br Peter in St Edmunds and all the other Brothers on St Edmund’s campus who have contributed to our experiences. And for Br Dinny (RIP) who made us feel so much at home there always. God reward you all. Thank you

Back on the road again after a relaxing Rest Day and all very keen to get going. We have four new riders – Leslie and Virginia (GA) on a tandem who did the first half last year and Joe and Danny, a grandfather/grandson pair (Joe on a recumbent). Shortly after 7 am we set out from St Joseph (referred to as St Joe locally) on Route 6 East.

As usual the low morning sun was in our eyes for the first few miles. I needed a quick job done on the rear hub before setting out. A quick tightening and the play in the back wheel was rectified. Assuming that I was the last to leave I pedalled off attempting to catch up with the usual group. Only later in the morning did I find out that they were behind the luggage trailer fixing a flat for another cyclist. (I didn’t remember what I’d heard about assume.)
Soon the group gradually broke into the usual sub-groups and we were back on the rolling flint hills. In Nevada I got a new understanding of the words vast and infinity. Here in Missouri I’m getting a deeper insight into everlasting. These rollers are everlasting – they come at you like the waves on the seashore. One after another after another etc. we had 50 miles of them. It was an advantage to ride alone in that I could descend at my own pace and use the momentum to climb the next one. None of them were too long, but everlasting.
As the last section of the cycle finished off, so did this section begin. Dogs. I couldn’t but think of the Baha Men song ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’. At about the 16 mile mark two brutes came out from the right and proceeded to have an early lunch. Again, I decided not to go for the camera but burst into a sprint and left them in my wake. My sprinting is improving as a result. 3 miles further on two more appeared and repeated the process. Eventually these gave up the chase possibly because of the sprint or that they understood Irish or didn’t like the shaking of fists or just because of my persuasive personality. Saved again. Dogs appeared again at the 40 mile mark but only gave token chase. I think word had spread on www doggie.com to leave the lad with the Providence shirt alone; you haven’t a chance.

More than any other day I noticed flowers along the way. Granted there was a lot of meadows on both sides (as well as soya at the early stages). The milkweed (left)was plentiful and still in flower. When a stem is broken a milky substance quickly appears. Later in the season after flowering, pods form and burst open in August scattering seeds like the dandelion. It is a great favourite with the Monarch butterfly, the best known of the North American butterflies.
We are coming near to the Mississipi and today we saw the first of the flooding just before we came to Chillicothe near to the Thompson River. Floods were on both sides of the road and fields were still under a considerable amount of water. I thought that the surfaces of the roads near the end of the cycle were rough possibly also as a spin-off of the flooding. The ferries that usually take trucks etc over the river are out of commission for the next 3 months. Our bikes will be transported across as the bridges are unsafe for cycling due to the increased vehicular traffic.
Our second SAG was in Jamesport where there is a large Amish community an Anabaptist denomination found mostly in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana. They use horses for farming and transportation, dress in a traditional manner and forbid electricity or telephones in the home even zippers are shunned. The aesthetic value is one of plainness with absolutely no ostentation. A large number of carts were up and down the street while we were at the SAG.
Just as I came out of a confectionary shop in Jamesport after treating myself I met two men an as is usual they enquired where were off to, where we started and where we all came from. I told him ‘from Tipperary, you probably heard of the song’. He ( the one in the yellow top) told me there was a Tipperary up near his place about 74 miles away. Nice to hear but pity it was so far, especially for a bike. He said it was just a few houses now, used to be a mining town. I found out later that it is just 5 miles off our route tomorrow, so I intend doing the bit extra to pay a visit and conduct a twinning ceremony with Tipperary, Missouri. More about this tomorrow, hopefully.

Destination after 90 miles appeared in the town of Chillicothe (pop 9000). Chillicothe prides itself as the Home of Sliced Bread and a large mural on the Main St proclaims that pride. Sliced bread was first offered for sale here in 1928. The town capitalises on its claim by offering themed t-shirts, aprons, posters and even candles that give off the fragrance of freshly baked bread.
For the last two segments of todays cycle I joined up with Gary (Il) and Forest (MD) and we kept up a respectable pace for the period. We arrived at the Best Western Motel at 2.30 when the temperature was reading 88 degrees.

Felt good to be back on the bike again after the lay-off. An up and down day literally but enjoyable. The wind left us alone but not the dogs. I look forward to tomorrow and visiting Tipperary.
Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

Seen Today: Possibly as a result of the downturn in property, one ranch had its name in large letters over its entrance ‘El Rancho Bankruptus’