lessons learn
-shorter rides
- Deside hommok or tent not both
- time your self don't rush it

I've toured enough now to know that six to seven hours of riding, coupled with a couple hours of stopped time, are the most i want to do in a typical day.

At an average of eight miles covered in an hour, which is what I seem to be able to manage, that works out to an average of 50 miles a day plus or minus a bit. Now I know how to plan future tours to increase the odds of success.

Had I laid this one out along those lines I'm confident we'd have completed as planned rather than pulling the plug early. And yet... neither of us was sorry to end it when and where and how we did. Had we continued, we'd have seen more of the Katy but would it have been materially different from what we'd already seen? I doubt it.

We got what we went for and had bonus time with my family as our reward for making the choice we did. I call that a win.

Thanks- I'm very pleased with it. The clouds add to the effect of the near-mirror-image symmetry. The drawings, plans, and so forth indicate that the aspect ratio of the Arch is 1:1 but it sure doesn't look like it to me.

We were indeed very glad. Missouri has had a LOT of rain recently- something like 13 inches in the week or two before our arrival- and is due for more in the coming days. We're quite fortunate to have (mostly) hit a window of decent conditions.

Be glad you weren’t out on your bikes!

That’s mesmerizing. It never occurred to me to want to see this before now.

I agree. The fun factor goes way down when the day gets too long on the bike. You've found yourself a smooth ending and transition home.

I say good decision. Riding strictly on a trail is indeed monotonous.

Yep. We would hit open stretches he's and tenths of miles felt like miles. Trucks on the nearby unpaved farm roads raised clouds of dust; Will says he can still feel the grit in his eyes. For me it was pollen in the throat that left me gasping and raling for breath.

Good plan Greg.

Next time we're in a bar together I'll need to know what you were doing in Jeff City, so far from Your Town.

A very easy decision to relate to. I’ll never forget counting down the telephone poles biking south from Moab to Monticello into a brutal headwind. It’s been 33 years now, and I can still feel it. Headwinds are the worst morale-sappers. Gumption traps, as Robert Pirsig called things like this in Zen and The Art of Mororcycle Maintenance.

Very nice. The rare terrapin trifecta.

I love this. It reminds me of my childhood in W. Va. I collected cicada husks and stuck them in the brick crevices of our home.

Great, but your bike should be there for documentation.

Two in one day! That doubles the number of snappers I’ve seen in the wild in my whole life.