Distance: 42.8 mi, Climbed: 2,313 ft
Completed: 1,507.8 mi, 79,272 ft
Day 2 of the Ozark Mountains. On paper, today was a lighter day with significantly less climbing than yesterday. And to a degree that was true. But, the first 15 miles today was every bit as difficult as yesterday. The climbing eased up a bit at the end of the ride, but the challenging start had already taken its toll.
My bike journey was a big topic during breakfast at the hotel this morning. I got questions about our ride and where I was staying each night. Interestingly, the most common question? How are we getting home from Seattle. And if it’s not obvious, we are totally flying back.
The ride today switched back and forth between rural roads with houses, pastures, and small farms; and state park lands with forests on both sides of the road and a nice shady canopy above. It was another hot day so I really appreciated the shady sections.
The ride went through Bismarck, Missouri, at mile 12. It was similar to many of the small towns we have encountered along the way. A few blocks of suburbs as we approach the town itself. Then, a downtown with a few buildings, a post office, a church, an auto mechanic and if you are lucky, a convenience store or a restaurant or two.
I am staying tonight at Johnson Shut-Ins State Park. I am staying in a cabin with a kitchen, but I need to bring my own groceries as the park’s website says both their river front and campground stores are closed today. I do have some freeze-dried camping meals with me that I can eat in a pinch. But I was hoping to get something better for tonight and save the freeze-dried meals for when I am actually camping. With that in mind, I looked for a convenience store or grocery store in Bismarck but came up empty handed. Luckily, I was able to get some food at the convenience store at mile 25. The store had very little, but there was a microwaveable chili and beans that was shelf stable and could safely be carried in my panniers. I also grabbed pop tarts for breakfast. I am all set.
The ride today passed by a few interesting homes. Today, and really throughout our ride, I have seen many homes and buildings that are decorated with antiques on the front lawn from old carts, wagon wheels, farm equipment, and even old cars.
I past by an AMVETS Post. AMVETS is a charitable organization that advocates for veterans. They had their own version of using antiques to decorate the front lawn – they had a Bell AH1 Cobra helicopter.
I passed by one small house with a big property that I could see had several chairs set out near the woods in a line. I assumed there was a river on the property. But as I got closer, I realized the chairs were for a shooting range.
I was hoping as we have finished Kentucky and Illinois that the challenges we have had with dogs were behind us. No such luck. Today, I had dogs come out to the street and chase me three times. The first two were easy enough. I sprinted ahead, and the dogs quickly gave up the chase. The last dog was more persistent. I was going up hill and could only ride so fast. The dog was able to keep up with me for a few hundred feet and came up along side the bicycle several times. I kept going, and the dog, fortunately, finally gave up and I could complete the hill.
The highlight of the day was Johnson Shut-Ins State Park. I pulled up to a bike rack to lock my bike, and there was a nice lady at the bench next to the stand who commented that I was the second 76’er she saw in two days. The TransAmerica trail has been made into an official US bike route. It is route USBR 76, named after the year the route was created. Apparently, locals now call us 76’ers. I asked her a bit about the park. And one point, she mentioned in passing that the store was open. The store is open? That is not what the website said. A chance for real food? The store was open for a few more hours. I grabbed an ice cream and planned to come back later to get a hot dinner. It was a very limited menu, but a lot better than shelf-stable meal I had found earlier. I was even able to get some eggs for tomorrow’s breakfast.
The Shut-Ins themselves were very cool. The Shut-Ins featured several shallow wading pools and lots of rocks to climb on and explore. People were climbing everywhere. I took off my shoes, waded into the water and found a rock to sit on for a bit. It was another very hot day, and the water felt great. A perfect end to another great day of riding.
