July 28 and 29

 July 28 - 65 miles to St. Charles.

Another hot, humid day.  94 degrees, heat index 103, humidity 85%.  But it didn't matter.  It was our last full day of riding and the KATY Trail was essentially flat the entire way.  As usual, the first 20 miles disappears easily.  Then we start attacking smaller goals - lets get to mile 30 without a break;  lets get to miles 42;  lets get to mile 55;...  After a while we eventually make it to our destination.  Of course today was a big day.  We were going to meet Sue and Patrick for dinner.  A chance to return to normalcy.

After getting to our hotel and showering we met Sue and Patrick and went into the charming town of St. Charles for dinner and ice cream.  It was great to see them in person and talk about our trip and hear all the news from home.  A terrific evening.

July 29 - 28 miles to Patrick's house in St. Louis.

An easy ride today with just a few early hills sprinkled in as a fond farewell to the trip.  After about 18-19 miles of riding we were passing through the beautiful campus of Washington 
University.  Stately buildings and beautiful grounds.  Students here pay a huge price tag to attend this school.  Directly after the University we entered Forest Park.  The Park is huge - over 500 acres larger than Central Park in NYC.  Inside the park is a golf course, tennis center, history museum, zoo, art museum, skating rink, science center, Shakespeare festival amphitheater, multiple restaurants, and more.  A really wonderful resource for the residents of St. Louis.

Another interesting ride has come to an end.  Thank you all for following along.  See you soon.

PS: Forgot to mention - we got weighed at Patrick's house.  Brian lost 7 lbs during the trip and I lost 10.

The Art Museum at the top of the hill in Forest Park.

If you enlarge the picture you will see the St. Louis arch in the middle of the picture off in the distance.

July 27

 45 miles to Hermann

Back on the KATY Trail today.  Most of the trail today was in good shape although we hit a few patches that were being repaired from recent storm damage.  No big hills today - Yay!!!

Tomorrow is our last full day of riding - 65 miles to St. Charles where we will meet Sue and Patrick for dinner and ice cream (of course).  The following day will be an easy ride of 28 miles to Patrick's house in St. Louis.

Brian on the KATY Trail.

We stopped at this trail side campground where they had a pavilion set up with refrigerators with cold drinks and snacks.  Payment was completely on the honor system.

To give you some idea of our speed, this little guy raced past us only stopping briefly to get his picture taken!

 

July 25 and 26

 July 25 - 63 miles to Pilot Grove

Finally we begin the last stage of this trip - the KATY Trail.  We hit the trail early hoping to beat some of the afternoon heat.  Unfortunately, the morning began with 98% humidity!!  It wasn't long before we were soaked.  I had planned camping in the Pilot Grove City Park but after having all our clothes soaked in such a short time I decided to schedule a B&B.  Changing out of wet clothes in our tents means we wake up with a pile of wet clothes in the morning.  So we got a B&B and the gentleman running the place allowed us to use the washer/dryer.  Also, the only 2 places to eat in Pilot Grove were closed on Sunday so we had dinner with our host along with a wonderful breakfast.  At the B&B was another couple riding the KATY Trail and they told us about parts of the trail ahead of us that were washed out by recent storms.  They said there was a 12 mile detour around the damaged trail.  That changed our plans for the next day because we already had 68 miles planned - and with my two sore ankles I was not interested in pushing that to 80 miles.  So I changed the route and we avoided the trail altogether on July 26th.

The beginning of the KATY Trail in Clinton, MO.

Map of the Trail almost covering the entire state of Missouri from West to East.

July 26 - 61 Miles to Jefferson City

No KATY Trail today since I changed our route to avoid the trail detour.  We had a pretty good ride today.  Again, Hot and humid. A lot of rolling hills but nothing too severe.  That is - until we got close to Jefferson City.  Just before Jefferson City we encountered 3 hills that hit 12% grade.  I had to get off the bike and push it up the hills.  Once we got into Jefferson City we picked up a bike path.  The path was a nice way to avoid the heavily traveled roads of the city.  However, at one point the bike path went up at a 19% grade for 3/4 of a mile.  Again I was off the bike pushing it up the hill until Brian (who already reached the top) came running down the hill and pushed it up for me.  That was a big help. An exhausting day.

Jefferson City.  The capitol building in the capital of Missouri.

July 24

 38 miles to Clinton, Missouri.

We only had 38 miles today because we added miles the previous few days.  Lucky that we did that because my ankle is still pretty sore.  We arrived in Clinton at 11am and the heat index was already 103 degrees.  The weather report is talking about a "heat dome" that is going to dominate the weather for the next week bringing high temps and record high temps to the entire region from Montana to St. Louis.  Luckily we will be on the Katy Trail crossing Missouri and there is supposed to be a good amount of tree cover and shade on the trail.

We hit the trail tomorrow morning.  Again, it looks like we will be doing some camping along the trail so blog posts might have to wait a few days.

July 23

 67 miles to Adrian, Missouri.

The ride today started at 6:45am.  It was 71 degrees with 93% humidity.  Needless to say I was completely soaked within the first hour of riding.  High temp today was 98 degrees.

We have changed our schedule the last few days by adding more miles to each day so that we could have a short ride into Clinton, Missouri.  Today we were supposed to stop in Drexel, Missouri.  We had no place to stay there - we were just going to stop at the local police department and ask where to pitch our tents.  But we decided to push past Drexel by 20 miles and stop for the night at Adrian, Missouri.  Our reasons to pick Adrian were that they had a library that was listed as open on Google, and they had a small motel.

Well, as we've learned on this ride through rural America, these small towns are all dying and things they once had are no longer.  Our first stop was the motel.  There was a lady outside cooking on the sidewalk.  We asked if there were any rooms available.  Her reply - "Well, the rooms don't have any electricity or running water but you're welcome to look at a room if you'd like".  We didn't look.

Next stop was the library which is always a nice place to get out of the heat and grab some WIFI.  The library was listed on Google as being open but the sign on the door said "Closed for Renovations".

Next stop, the police station.  We explained our situation and they made some phone calls to find out where to put us.  They finally said we could camp next to an Antique Tractor Store.  That didn't sound too appealing but when we got there it turned out they opened up a place called "Frontier Village" for us.  This village is a collection of authentic structures, most from the early 1800's, that have been moved to this one location.  Structures like and old school house, a saloon, a blacksmith shop, a bank, and a bunch of old machinery.  The grounds had water pumps that worked and electric sockets that were operational.  After dinner in town (sandwiches) we set up our tents and took a "shower" at the water spigot and climbed in the tents for the night.

Notable things that happened today:

1. Got chased by a dog.  He got pretty close to us but we didn't get bitten.  Finally he gave up and went home.

2. We crossed the state line into Missouri.  Yay!!  Kansas really wore us down physically and mentally.  We are happy to be done with Kansas.

3.  My anterior right ankle was sore to start the day.  I figured it was just tightness and would work itself out.  But it got worse as the day progressed.  Finally around mile 48 I could hardly put any weight on the right pedal and had to stop.  I took off my shoe and sock to see that the tendons of the anterior ankle were all red and swollen.  I took a  few Motrin, wrapped the foot and ankle tightly with an ACE wrap, and we made it the final 20 miles to our destination.   I expect I'll stay on the anti inflammatories for the next few days until we finish the trip.  Don't really know why this happened.  Just wearing out!!

Yay!!  Goodbye Kansas.

Our camping spot for the night.

July 19

 44 miles to Salina, Kansas.

A thankfully shorter ride today but still tiring.  There were no places to stop between Lincoln and Salina so we bought some things for the ride at the Dollar General the night before.  Kind of a boring ride today.  We didn't pass through any towns or even see anything worth stopping to take a picture.  Just bright sunshine and long, straight roads of rolling hills.

We're taking a rest day in Salina on the 20th before our final 8 days of riding.  Following the rest day we have 83 miles to get to Council Grove; then 54 miles to get to Pomona State Park; and then 64 miles to Drexel, Missouri.  All 3 nights will be camping so I'm not sure we will have any WIFI and, therefore, probably no blog posts.

There is no rain in the forecast for the next 10 days and temperatures are expected to hit 100 by Friday so we are anxious to be getting out of Kansas soon!

We hope you all are well and look forward to getting home soon.

July 18

 68 miles to Lincoln, Kansas.

Wash, rinse, repeat.  Another 68 mile day.  Another day with the wind blowing west/northwest while we're headed east/southeast.

We hit the road today at 6:40am riding in heavy fog.  The sun tried valiantly to break through but the clouds kept thickening through the day.  That was OK with us as it helped to keep the temperatures down.  We had a planned stop at mile 36 at a convenience store but when we got there the store was closed.  So we headed down the road to mile 46 where another gas station/convenience store was listed on Google Maps.  The skies were getting darker and started to rain lightly.  Then the wind picked up and it was clear we were in for a storm.  We made it to the store just as the heavy rain started.  Inside the store several people stopped us and asked about our trip.  One guy said if we wanted to ride to his house he would cook us a nice hot lunch.  Another lady said we were welcome to stay the night in some sheds she had across the street if we wanted to wait out the storm.  Super nice people.  We had some pizza and drinks, put on our rain gear and hit the road.

We made it to our motel at 3:15pm.  Another long day.  After checking in to the motel I asked the lady at the desk about a place to eat dinner.  She said nothing is open in town but she would cook for us if we would like!!  Again, super nice people.  We didn't want to inconvenience her so we ended up getting some sandwiches and snacks at the gas station next door.

Main Street, Natoma, Kansas.  

The old Theater sign harkens back to better times long ago.

Where's Waldo?  In Kansas.  (population 53)

Main Street Luray, Kansas.

Quiet as a mouse.

July 17

 69 miles to Plainville, Kansas

We set the alarm to get up for 5:40am totally forgetting that we entered the Central Time Zone yesterday - so sunrise was not until 6:30am.  So we packed up, made some instant hot oatmeal for breakfast and hit the road at 6:40am.

It turned out to be a really difficult day.

    1. The road looked like a giant piece of ribbon candy; wavy, rolling hills all day.

    2. 2200 feet of climbing elevation.

    3. A nasty headwind of 15-20mph was with us all day.  We often had to pedal the downhills just to                    maintain a speed of 8-10 mph.

    4. The sun was shining bright all day, topping out at 94 degrees.

We stopped at a convenience store at mile 32 in Hill City to refill our drinks.  We stopped again at mile 53 in the town of Palco at a small grocery/deli.  There we each got a sandwich and more drinks.

These small towns we're passing through are in sad shape.  They look like they were populated, popular places years ago (judging by the number of structures).  But now most of the buildings are empty and boarded up and few residents remain.  All the towns we passed through the last 2 days have a population under 200.

We saw this abandoned place along the side of the road and stopped just to get out of the sun for a few minutes.  Funny that it's called "Fonzies".

 

July 16

 71.5 miles to Hoxie, Kansas.

Another interesting day.  At breakfast this morning we checked the weather and it indicated sunshine all day, high temp of 85, and west wind 13-15mph all day.  We hit the road before 7am to try to beat the heat but found ourselves riding in dense fog and light mist.  It looked like the sun was going to break through early but the clouds rolled back in and the temps stayed down in the low 70's.  Sometime after 1pm the sun finally came out but we were already 50 miles into our day so it didn't affect us much.  Before we start riding each morning Brian and I offer our prediction as to what time we expect to get to our destination.  Today I guessed 5pm while Brian guessed 4:45pm.  We actually got into Hoxie just before 3pm.  We averaged 12.7 mph for 71.5 miles and we were quite pleased with that effort, especially considering the wind in our face all day.

Today we passed the "World's Largest Easel" in Goodland, Kansas.  Really not much to say about that except - why?

We also passed into the Central Time Zone.

A hazy start.

The sun soon disappeared and didn't come out for another 6 hours.

World's Largest Easel

Granaries dot the landscape.

Usually run as a COOP by several large farms in the area.

Rolls and rolls of hay.

July 15

 49 miles to Goodland, Kansas.

Easy day today.  We were on the road by 7am trying to beat the wind that was forecast to be in our face all day.  However, we started riding with overcast skies, a light mist, and a slight chill in the air.  Without the sun to heat things up the wind didn't materialize until after 10:30am.  By that time we were well past half way to our destination.  

We have been fortunate so far with respect to the sun and extreme heat.  I had expected to be baking in the sun by this point - but so far so good.  It will take us another 8 days of riding to get to the Katy Trail in Missouri, which is, we're told, a beautiful rail trail that will take us almost al the way to St. Louis.  Just have to get across Kansas.

We passed miles of wind farms today in Colorado.  That was great to see, and seems like a wonderful idea given the constant wind blowing across the prairie.  

A note about the roads.  So far Montana wins for having roads in the best condition, with the widest shoulder, and with the best roadside scenery.  Wyoming is coming in a close second place.  Colorado, unfortunately, is a distant third place.  The Colorado roads were terribly bumpy and, for the most part, had no shoulder to ride on.  Other bicycle tourers that we met going west told us about the poor roads in Colorado and they were definitely correct.  The road literally changed at the "Welcome to Colorado" sign - and changed again the moment we entered Kansas.  Fingers crossed that the better road conditions continue for a few more days.

Wind farms in Colorado.

(They abruptly ended at the Kansas border.)

Our recreation of the ending scene from the movie "Gladiator"!!!

July 14

 62 miles to Stratton, Colorado

Our last full day in Colorado.  Another day with wind blowing across the road but not as strong as yesterday.  And we only had to get to mile 37 when we were going to turn south and then have the wind at our back.  Also fewer rolling hills.  We broke camp and were on the road at 6:45am.  We wanted to make some headway before the stronger winds arrived.  Also today, we passed a small grocery store at mile 39.  This was the main grocery store serving 4 surrounding communities and was the size of a small Turkey Hill convenience store back home.  Today was a good day, a pleasant ride.

This is wheat harvesting season around here.  Along the road we often saw huge harvesters being transported from one farm to another (picture below - forgive my finger in the frame!).

Harvesters being moved from farm to farm.

Wheat processing and storage.

The one grocery store along the road today.

July 13

 60 miles to Anton, Colorado

Really tough day today.  Woke up to a 15-20 mph wind blowing north and it was with us all day as we headed due east.  The wind was not in our face but it was enough to slow you down such that you had to pedal down any downhills - no coasting today.

We were only on one road today heading east; no turns for 60 miles.  And nothing along the road for 60 miles, no places to stop, no trees for shade, no stores for supplies.  Just rolling hills up and down all day, and a relentless wind blowing across the prairie.   Around mile 35 Brian got his first flat tire but we put a new tube in and he was back on the road in no time.

Finally we rolled into our campsite in Anton, population 126.  Anton, like many "towns" around here, is more of a crossroads than a town.  We saw a smattering of small homes, the campsite, a wheat storage facility, and a small corner store.  The owner of the campsite was very nice and said we could have burgers and fries with her family for $10 a piece - which we agreed to.  While we were sitting around the table talking I looked outside and could hardly see our tents in the field due to a wind storm that had just arrived blowing huge clouds of dirt, dust, and wheat chaff from the processing facility across the street.  The camp owners, much too gleefully, exclaimed "hey, look at that - that must be at least 45 mph wind."  I was worried our tents would blow away - and we had laundry hanging near our tents to dry!!  Brian and I ran outside and gathered our laundry from the field and threw everything in our tents.  In about 10 minutes the storm had passed.  I found it remarkable how unfazed the owners were.  Apparently this type of thing is pretty common.  After dinner Brian and I sat around a while longer just waiting for bed time.  We got into our tents a little after 8pm just as a thunderstorm rolled in.  I was exhausted and slept like a baby.

Long road, rolling hills all day.

July 12

 35 miles to Strasburg.

We're only about 40 miles east of Denver but we are already clearly on the plains; flat, hot, surrounded by wheat fields.  The ride today was uneventful, as I expect the next several days will be.  Last year we rode across Indiana and Illinois surrounded by corn fields.  This year we will ride across Colorado and Kansas and be surrounded by wheat fields.  The weather tomorrow is calling for a high of 94 degrees so we will be up before 6am, pack up, eat breakfast, and hit the road before 7am.

Wheat as far as you can see.

July 11

 51 miles to the east side of Denver.

After a wonderfully relaxing rest day we were ready to start traveling east toward St. Louis.  We didn't get far out of Idaho Springs before we hit our first hill of the day.  Luckily it was short, only about 3 miles to the top, but it was steep.  At times hitting 12% grade.  My legs felt great but regardless, half way up the hill I was soaked with sweat.  Following this hill was a second hill of slightly less grade.  Once we were finished with those 2 hills we had the most glorious downhill - miles and miles of downhill with stunning scenery all the way the the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

The Amphitheater and the surrounding Red Rocks were a site to see.  It would be great to come back here to see a live concert.  Following our stop at the Red Rocks area we continued another 25 miles to our destination on the east side of Denver.  It was a bit of a slog getting through the suburbs of Denver but we were on a multi-use trail for most of the ride.

Scenery on the way to Red Rocks.

John Denver monument at Red Rocks.

The Red Rocks Amphitheater.

July 9

 57 miles to Idaho Springs.  

Today was the day we had been anxious about for some time.  Again, woke up before 6am, ate breakfast and on the road by 7am.  Today would be our last crossing of the Continental Divide on this trip.  Our mountain pass today was Berthoud Pass at an elevation of 11,307 feet.  The top of the pass was 32 miles from our breakfast point and took 5 hours to reach.

On our way up the mountain we passed through the town of Fraser which looked quite nice and was a hotbed of construction.  Condo's and townhouses going up everywhere.  Then we rode through the Winter Park ski resort where they were getting ready for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals this weekend.  Guys and girls on mountain bikes were everywhere.  I'm sure it will be an exciting event.

After Winter Park the slope of our road really increased.  It was a bit distressing how little shoulder (when there was a shoulder) there was to ride on.  Fortunately there were two lanes for cars and trucks going up the hill so they could often move over and give us a little space.  Of course we stopped several times going up the hill to catch our breath and gaze at the terrific scenery.  It was really stunning.  Again, we reached the peak in almost exactly 5 hours.

From the peak it is essentially downhill all the way to Missouri!!  We had a great downhill ride to the town of Empire where we stopped for ice cream.  We both ordered a small shake and couldn't believe what we got - it was enormous.  I complemented the owner on one of the best shakes I have ever had.  Then the final downhill to our destination of Idaho Springs where we will take a rest day tomorrow.

A quick water break early in the ride today.

A rest stop about half way up the hill.

The Peak: 11,307 feet above sea level.

Beautiful view from the top.

You can see some of the switchbacks we just rode on.

Our reward for making it over the mountain.

Thank goodness we ordered the small size!!

July 8

 56 miles to Granby.  We are now in the Arapaho National Forest in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Because of the forecast for more wind moving against us today we decided to get an early start.  We met some fellow cyclists for breakfast at 6am and were on the road by 7am.  We had 32 miles to get to the top of our climb today but it went better than we expected.  We stopped at mile 22 in the town of Rand for a break with water and snacks.  The "town" of Rand only had 4 or 5 houses but somehow had a store selling gifts and home decor.  I can't imagine how they make it.  From there it was another 10 miles to the top of our climb, crossing the Continental Divide again, this time at an elevation of 9683 feet.  On the way up to the top, the hills were covered with Aspen trees, evergreens, and flowering meadows.  The way down the other side of the divide was a different story.  Last year there was a terrible fire here and we passed through 15 miles (at least) of fire destroyed forest.  It was quite a site to see all the destruction.  Now with no vegetation on the hillsides there is a great risk of mudslides with every rainstorm.  In fact, the road we were on was closed a few days prior because of a mudslide.

We had a good dinner tonight which included a lot of carbs - preparing for our biggest climb tomorrow.

The entire "town" of Rand.

More pictures of Rand

The road up the hill with Aspen and evergreen trees.

The top of our climb.

Miles of fire damage from the 2020 fire.