Day 46: Marshfield, MO to Springfield, MO

Distance: 31.0 mi, Climbed: 1,076 ft
Completed: 1,703.3 mi, 92,295 ft

The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is for thunderstorms and lots of rain. The original plan for tonight was to camp in Walnut Grove, Missouri, but with the impending storms, I decided to re-route to Springfield, which has hotel options and only adds a few extra miles. 

The good news is that the new route is just thirty miles and is relatively flat. The first half of the ride was on the historic Route 66. That sounds cooler than it was in reality. The section I was on had almost no indication that it was the old Route 66 and almost nothing historical to see. To make matters worse, Interstate 44 was built right next to Route 66. So for a good chunk of the first half, all I could hear was the sounds of trucks racing by.  

Still, I was at least able to find a one sign identifying the road as Route 66. I also saw along the way a mini junk yard of classic cars on display.  

I turned off Route 66 after about fifteen miles as I got closer to the city. I had assumed by the density of roads on the map I would be riding busy store-lined streets the rest of the way. I was happy to discover I was wrong. I was on  a series of quiet farm roads almost all the way to my hotel. 

I had a few minor navigation challenges. At one point, the route dead ended at a small limited access highway. The route continued on the other side, but there was no provision to cross the highway safely.  I looked at the map, and there were no easy alternatives. I would have to ride several extra miles to get fifty feet across the highway. Since the traffic was not heavy, I decided to play frogger and cross the highway as a pedestrian.  

Later, I had a similar problem trying to cross I-44. I followed the route to a bridge under the highway to find it was closed.  The official detour would take me a few miles out of the way. I checked the map, and there was another bridge in the right direction about a half mile up the road. When I got there, that underpass was closed as well. Fortunately, the third bridge was the charm.  

I stopped at a deli just before my hotel to get some lunch. The gentleman behind the counter said he always wanted to do something like ride across country. I told him to do it. It’s a great experience.