Day 5. Another flat? SOMETHING is in that tire

September 22, 2022

During our first break, we attempted to depart to ride past the Harrisburg Grans which was an old opera house. “Not a chance” said Kath’s rear tire as it was flopping around, nearly completely devoid of air. Keep reading to see how we got out of this debacle.

We arose to the sunrise next morning and the weather forecast of showers warning (not really a great stanza, but it’ll work. Want to know what’s a really bad stanza? George Costanza!)

One of the best things about staying at a Courtyard hotel is their breakfast bistro. They did a really good job with that, and they keep the breakfast purchase right in the hotel coffers. We definitely partook, and then hit the road a little before 8:00. In fact, 8:00 on the nose we descended down “the maze” which is a quad-shaped decline lowering cyclists from the level of the highway bridegroom to the land below. Then 2 miles along the spur trail to return to the Katy.

When leaving Jeff City descending is fun galore; climbing, on the other hand, is quite the chore

With renewed energy this morning, and attacking our longest day, we conquered the first 14 miles in a little over an hour. A quick stop for snacks and leaving found us with the tire acting more like a pancake than a tire. After yesterdays adventure and getting the tube replaced I knew something was up. There must be something in the tire that we hadn’t yet found. Using my best Law and Order (cue the thump-thump music) detective skills, I found the puncture in the tube and traced the location to the spot in the tire that aligned with the puncture. SHAZAM! Felt a small wire bead from a truck retread she probably ran over on the way into Hermann. Grabbed my Gerber leatherman-like tool with pliers and pulled it out. No more wire. The day is ours, gentlemen!

I wonder how much sun power it takes to grow a sunflower?

Next stop on the “what else do we see other than a rail trail” tour was the Eagle Bluff overlook. This was funny because I stopped to go up and have a look and Kath said she’d wait at the bottom. So, I parked my bike and climbed the steps to the top, the sign at the bottom said “strenuous climb, great view.” I’m used to strenuous so I climbed but it looks as though the view was overgrown. I, getting text messages at the top asking when I’m coming down as my wife didn’t understand it wasn’t a ride to the top it was a hike.

This is the only picture I took at the Eagle Bluff overlook

There are a lot of bridges on the Katy. The design of these bridges are called “Truss” bridges. I could bore you with the engineering of how they are constructed but instead I’ll humor you with the conversations I have about the bridges.

ME: “Kath, They’re called truss bridges because you have to truss that they’ll hold your weight”. “The train engineers put a lot of truss into those who built the bridges.” “Clearly, the builders of this railroad had truss issues…” KATH: “STOOOOPPPP!”

Atop this bridge is a haven for a family of ravens

This tree predates the United States - seriously, it’s not a joke. If you don’t believe me, look up the McBaine burr oak

On the Katy you’ll see stuff like this bluff

There was a section of trail undergoing construction on the way into Rocheport (while not 100% fluent inFrench, I believe that means “rock(y) port”). The detour took us onto a gravel road which honestly was a really nice agricultural view. Rocheport itself deserves a mention. There’s a Meriwether café which we stopped at 13:00 for late lunch and then walked around the town a bit. The area around the café is cute, and there’s a “shopping district” which has about 5 stores of which 3 are open. There’s an artist collective that had some nice wares.

We had a detour introduction due to trail reconstruction.

I state with all brevity this lodge thinks I’m a celebrity

We finished the day crossing the Missouri River and rolling into Boonville. If you guessed Boonville was named after Daniel Boone you would be correct. We checked into the Windy Nest Airbnb (very nice and clean accommodation) and then walked the town to pick up snacks and bring food back to eat in the apartment. All in all, a great day.

For me personally, it takes me about 3-4 days to get into tour mode. I’m there now. I can myself becoming a machine - ride, eat, sleep, repeat. It’s similar to a circadian rhythm, maybe it’s a cycle-cadian rhythm or something, does anyone else get into that rhythm and just feel it?

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Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 208 miles (335 km)

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