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!!
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