Day 32, Chester, Illinois to Farmington, Missouri.

This sign caught my attention. Either the guy in charge of this project had problems in the past on another project, or he is planning on running for election. Either way, he's got my vote.

Some of the roads seem to go on for ever. I always wanted to ride my bike thousands of miles and not see the same thing twice. But does seeing nothing for miles on end count as not seeing the same thing?

I stopped here to do my thing. Such a beautiful and tranquil place, we decided to have lunch here also.

Every time we come to a substantial hill, I take off for the top and wait for Lisa. It doesn't take her long to show up. I snapped this shot just as she summited.

Wheat, grain, barley, oats, rye, bran..........................., It's one of those, I'm sure of it.

More wheat fields and farms.

Wheat and more wheat. The stuff is everywhere.

Check out this church. It's so cool. The thing is massive in the front, but the rest of it is small. It is located in the town of Ozora, Missouri. A town so small, that the interstate truck stop is the main source of lively hood.

The infamous bridge across the Mississippi. Notice, they don't recommend walking across it.

That's the statue of Popeye. The one on the left.

Another barn. No matter where we go on our journey, we see barns of all shapes and sizes. This one is in pretty good shape, and it had a horse in it.

Welcome to Missouri. State number 4. Six more to go.
Crossing the Mississippi on our way to Missouri. This crossing was supposed to be one of the scariest experiences of our trip. God came to our rescue and made it one of the safest bicycle crossings in history.


Day 32, Chester, Illinois to Farmington, Missouri. “Welcome to Missouri”. 53.64 miles

We left the Eagles Lodge under hazy skies, and stopped at McDonalds for breakfast. I had my usual biscuits and gravy. A great deal at only $1.89. But of course with my appetite, I ended up ordering a full breakfast on top of that. Don’t worry, I burn the stuff off. I don’t know if I told you this before, but I actually had to by me a belt, because my shorts won’t stay up any more. Anyway, getting back on subject…………….., we headed west, where we posed next to the Popeye Statue for a couple of shots. Chester, Illinois is the official home of Popeye.

The Popeye Statue is right next to the Mississippi River, right next to the bridge we had to cross to get to Missouri. Everyone was telling us about the bridge. How narrow it was, how dangerous it was, how old and unstable it was. Watch out for those coal trucks, don’t look down, make sure you don’t stop on the bridge………………… After hearing all of that, I didn’t even want to chance it. However, the only other option was to try to get a ride with someone. That however was impossible, because no one was stopping. The traffic is kind of heavy from both sides. We parked our bikes on the side of the road to look at what we were in for. I took a couple of pictures, took a deep breath, and we were off. Our timing couldn’t have been better. There were no big trucks in our lane the whole time we were on the bridge, and very few cars. It was no different than driving through down town Kaunakakai on a Sunday afternoon. I had so much fun, I tried to get Lisa to go back and do it again. Just kidding of course. I know The Lord had a hand in this, and made it safe for us. I believe the prayers of family and friends play a big part in how things turn out. You can only get lucky so many times, and then it happens.

Once into Missouri, we were home free. The road on the Missouri side was nice and wide. It had a shoulder the width of a regular car lane, and was straight as an arrow. The first twelve miles were flat, running through low lying farm land and flood zone areas. We made good time, covering those first few miles in les than an hour. However, remember I mentioned earlier about hills? Funny thing, 41 miles of hills greeted us like old friends. Not bad hills, in fact, I kind of enjoyed them. I asked Lisa if the rest of Missouri was going to be like this? She said it was worse. I think she really meant, Better. Hills are good, they break the monotony and boredom of riding the same terrain for hours on end. It also gives you a chance to use different muscles, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. Once on top, you can ease off the gas and coast for a while.

We stopped at a gas station to pick up some fuel since there would be nothing for the next 30 miles. While gulping on a bottled of Arizona Iced Tea, a gentleman and his wife pulled up, and asked where we were headed. “Oregon”, I said. “Oregon, that’s where I’m headed in a couple of days. Only I’m doing it in a semi.”. We both laughed, and talked for a while. They were both very intrigued by what we were doing, and wished us the best, and honked for us as they drove by. At about 1:30PM, while in the middle of a climb, we came across a nice place to you know what. You can’t just stop anywhere to do you thing, you could get arrested from what I was told……………….. Since we were there, we decided to have lunch. Cheddar potato chips, rice crispy bars, gator aide, and a strawberry yogurt bar for desert.

We continued on, and encountered more hills. I hardly noticed them, but was reminded when the perspiration starts pouring from my head. The closer we got to Farmington, the better we felt, and pretty soon we were picking up our pace just so that we could be there for that hot shower and wifi.

Tonight we are at the Super 8 motel, on the second floor, room 232. Lisa’s mom and dad are here to meet us. They drove down just to see Lisa and I. We’re going out to dinner in a bit.

Aloha everyone, hope all is well with you. Good night, Ted.