That was quick! First thing in the morning we were down by the Mississippi River getting ready to leave Illinois for Missouri. It took approximately 2 days to ride across the southern part of Illinois. I kept telling everyone that it was a precursor to Missouri.
Before taking the bridge into Missouri we had to stop at the Visitor Center that overlooks the Mississippi River for pictures but also to get our picture taken with ”Popeye”. The creator of Popeye was born and raised in Chester, IL but did not achieve his fame until he moved to California. After getting the necessary pictures taken it was off to the bridge. It is a rickety and narrow two-lane bridge that carries lots of traffic with high speed. The trucks and cars move much too quickly across it. In some places the bridge decking was corroding and seems scary from a cyclists perspective. However we are making this crossing before 8 am on Memorial Day so traffic is light. We did manage to slow traffic down and the vehicle drivers were respective, plus they had no way to get around us.
Now it is a day of strong headwinds, hills, and lots of heat. The wind was out of the south at 15 to 20 mph, the skies clear, hot, and very little cloud cover. There was a time when I was riding and wondering why I would punish myself and ride through this part of Missouri again. Missouri is a tough state to cycle across. Lots of climbing of short and steep hills. Even today the grades would get over 14%. I was feeling good as I went through the Mississippi River Valley and Amador and I did a little drafting of each other until we got to the first climb out of the valley. Then he was gone. On the way up I passed Steve.
At one point in the ride we were all short of water. We pulled into a Tiger Rescue Sanctuary looking for water. The gate to the main building was open and the building was locked but it did not stop us from using their spigot to replenish our water bottles.
We made it to Farmington relatively early so we could wash clothes and shop for food. In Farmington the cyclists stay at Al’s Place, a hostel run by the City of Farmington for TransAm cyclists. It is a good spot and Farmington is a good place to hang out for a day. Tomorrow is a rest day before we tackle the Ozark Mountains, or whatever is left of them.
Today’s stats: total mileage 47.37 miles, average speed 10.8 mph, elevation gain 3402 feet, elevation descent 3061 feet, max speed 34.2 mph.