September 27, 2010 - Ellington to Farmington, MO

This morning Andreas left us (a second time).  We will really, really miss him! 

I totally flunked map reading today and headed south rather than north (I was actually following Andreas!).  I discovered my mistake 13 miles out so turned around and rode back to Ellington.  If I had ridden my 26 mile total mistake and the planned ride it would have been more than a 90 mile day so Fran and Donna drove to to where I met up with Dana and rode the rest of the way with her.  It was a nice ride; part of it was on a bike path in St. Joe's State Park on the outskirts of Farminton, MO.

Andreas leaving us in Ellington, MO

WHAT A CHANGE A DAY MAKES

We went down to Branson for our rest day in full-fledged summer. Everyday lows of 70 highs in the mid-90's and humidity--we returned for full-fledged fall. Everyday low of 50 and high of 60ish. We went from flat and gently rolling to STEEP!! We climbed more in a day in Missouri than we did in any day in Colorado.
Plus we were foolish enough to convince Andreas that he did not have to carry his bags on his bike--the Elephant would be kind enough to carry them--so I had to kill myself for two days chasing him up and down the hills.
The Ozarks are steep, hilly, woody with lots of dogs chasing us. They are beautiful but I am glad to be done with them.
Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi and head into Illinois. Another new state for me.

Missouri is NOT Flat!

Over the last two days we have ridden from Marshfield to Ellington, Missouri.  We covered about 130 miles of very hilly terrain.  It started out as rolling farmland, not much different from eastern Kansas.  However, in Missouri people are more likely to have farms, many of the dairy farms, whereas in Kansas they are more likely to have large cattle ranches.  The farther east we have travelled through Missouri the hillier it has gotten.  Today we climbed almost as much as any day in Nevada, Utah or Colorado.  We are now fully in the Ozarks with very steep, rugged climbs, beautiful rivers, and hills filled with oak and pine trees.  The leaves are just starting to change and a ride/drive through here in a few weeks would be spectacular.



Current River in the Ozarks



I never did see a horse & buggy but assume this is Amish country - wish they would add a bicycle to the sign!



Missouri!

Our last full day in Kansas I decided not to ride.  I have been plagued with "saddlesores" most of the trip and I was really needing a day off of the saddle.  I must say that my day off really seemed to help and I enjoyed our next day's 64 mile ride from Chanute Kansas to Everton, Missouri.

We will miss riding in Kansas.  It is really a beautiful state with rolling countryside and wonderful people.  We were, of course, riding in very rural Kansas with small towns.  My memories will be of fields of corn, soghrum, and soy beans, cattle grazing, and friendly people.

Yesterday we rode into Missouri and it is very green with much steeper "rollercoaster" hills.  Andreas decided to join up with us again for a rest day in Branson, MO where Fran and her friend Donna (she has joined us for the rest of trip) are enjoying some shows.  Dana, Andreas and I took a "Ride the Duck" tour of Branson which was quite entertaining and got us out of town to see a bit of the surrounding area.  It is really great to have Andreas back with us!


Dana and Andreas in the Duck Boat




View of Table Rock Lake from Duck Boat



Chanute to Pittsburg-still in Kansas then on to Missouri

Our last full day in Kansas. It has grown more beautiful each day. I was dreading the long passing--but turns out the highlights of our trip may have happened here. Andreas, Glenn & Sondra, El Dorado Lake (pronounced like the city in Texas--not Gold). Eastern Kansas is quite beautiful and gently rolling and the road surfaces are the best we have ridden on--most are as smooth as glass.
The winds blow here--but I understand we were lucky in that they were not as hard as they could have been. Two tornadoes in the state but both missed us!!!
Into Missouri the hills have gradually gotten steeper--way more and way steeper to come. We may be walking some. Our friend Andreas said he has already had to walk one as had Nancy due to a shifting problem. We have a bet going to see who has to walk up the most hills--they get free drinks for a night.
We are now in Branson, MO. What a strange city--but it is nice to have a day off.
So since it is a day off--here are the re-caps since the last time I posted.

Pueblo to Ordway Colorado: 39 miles, 70-84 degrees, 141 feet of climbing.
to Eads: 58 miles, 60-94 degrees, 616 feet.
to Leoti, Kansas: 78 miles, 65-92 degrees, 439 feet.
to Ness City: 80 miles, 55-84 degrees, 144 feet.
to Larned: 64 miles, 60-94 degrees, 567 feet.
to Hutchinson: 35 miles, 66-92 degrees, 68 feet.
to El Dorado Lake: 73 miles, 53-94 degrees, 705 feet.
to Toronto Lake: 57 miles, 70-94 degrees, 938 feet.
to Chanute: 45 miles, 71-92 degrees, 866 feet.
to Pittsburg: 63 miles, 70-87 degrees, 1158 feet.
to Everton(drive to Branson): 64 miles, 70-96 degrees, 2132 feet.

September 21, 2010 - Toronto Lake to Chanute, Kansas

Today was a fairly short day (about 45 miles), but with about 17 miles of headwind in the beginning.  The wind seems to come primarily from the South, which isn't bad unless you're riding directly into it.  We left Toronto Lake early in the morning and headed for Chanute, Kansas, a town of about 6,000 people (large by our standards at this point in the ride!).  It has your usual fast food restaurants, chain motels, and even a WalMart!  We're camping in a county park that for some reason doesn't charge anything for the first 2 nights of camping.  In the afternoon Dana and I walked to WalMart and got haircuts and picked up a few items.  Lisa rode to Pizza Hut in the late afternoon for the buffet; Dana and I ended up ordering a pizza delivered to us from Pizza Hut.  It was really a nice day.

September 20, 2010 - El Dorado Lake to Toronto Lake, KS

We hated to leave El Dorado Lake as it was our favorite campsite of the trip.  However, we were up at the crack of dawn as Andreas had a long distance to ride today.  It was our last day riding with Andreas as he needs to "make ground" in order to fly home to Switzerland on October 15.  We are really sad to see him go.  We rode from El Dorado Lake to Toronto Lake, a distance of about 57 miles.  It was a beautiful ride through the Trent Hills with Andreas leading the pace line (Dana and I will also miss not being able to draft off of him!).  We all had a late breakfast/early lunch together in the town of Eureka (thank you, Andreas!), then shortly after exchanged hugs and wished each other safe travels.  Andreas is encouraging us to fly to his home in Switzerland next summer and ride the 800 mile bike trail along the Rhein River - we may just do it!

I stopped at a rest stop not far from our destination (Kansas has beautifu, cleanl rest stops, most of them with some historical information).  At this particular one was a sign explaining the significance of the area:

As we get closer to Missouri we are encountering more rolling hills.  We know the hills will be steep once we reach the Ozarks.