Day 3. Act 2 in “hot town summer in the city”

September 20, 2022

Today we departed late (for us) around 8:45. We knew we didn’t have a big day ahead of us, and we wanted to use our breakfast vouchers at the coffee shop. Why? Well, we were excited that something was open after finding the town closed up on Monday. But Tuesday brings with it a whole new sense of exploration. And even a produce stand open in town - score two for us!

A 4+ mile roll on the highway and we arrived at Dutzow trailhead. Why is that detail important? It’s not . It’s just the first trailhead we accessed on the way west.

Catching my shadow in this on-the-bike shot it looks like I’m sitting, deep in thought

Once onto the trail it was a quick 4 miles to the Marthasville trailhead. 9 miles under our wheels and we had a stop for some pics and instruction from the interpretive signs. Well, I did anyway.

Straight through the gate. Our legs felt great!

9 miles behind us; 26 ahead - we take a short break at Marthasville trailhead

Next stop was serendipitous. It was a small settlement of Peers. Of course I made jokes about “Peers pressure” and wondered if this was the home of “Peers Brosnan.”Rather than laugh, I received silent stares from Kathleen. There was nothing but wildflowers and a store. The two caretakers at the store were opening up as we breezed in around 10:00. We chatted about the history in the area, the heat, and what to expect later on.

Field of wildflowers at the top of the hour

We learned about the local lore from the two ladies at the Peers store

One thing you’ve probably noticed is we continually leave the southern side of the Missouri River to ride on the Katy which is one the northern side. On this part of the trail there are only settlements on the north side and the towns grew up along the south side. The northern side where the Katy train ran through supported the agrarian settlements on the north. So, not much in terms of lodging on the north so we hop over to the south. Rolling through the settlements, we’ll see one building which is the town store.

You might think the empty settlements are a bore but you can find history in the sole store

Shooting through the window of the shops interior I guess with people inside would have made it cheerier

First stop rolling into Hermann was the wurst house. Yes, I joked about the name but I’m sure it’s been done many times before. Had the greatest brisket sandwich on a pretzel bun with sides of German potato salad and steakhouse baked beans. So good. I washed it down with a root beer which tasted so good and cold and was the perfect lunch on the hot day.

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Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 100 miles (161 km)

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