Welcome to Missouri!
Leaving Pittsburg the winds were whipping the flag at the post office when I stopped to mail home some maps I no longer needed. (3.5 oz) At least it was a south wind not a north.
The super cells that form over tornado alley from Texas to Nebraska are from hot, humid southern air running into cold northern air. The last couple of days with temperatures in the 80s in late October coincided with south winds. Tomorrow the forecast is for winds from the north and temperatures in the 50s. Luckily it is late in the year so there is no real danger of tornadoes.
 |
 |
|
Downtown Golden City, MO
The Adventure Cycling description of the route through Missouri includes someone commenting that riding through Missouri is doing a self propelled roller coaster. I started to see that today. The hills aren’t big but they are steep and numerous.
Golden City is famous among TransAm cyclists. Famous for Cooky’s and it’s pies. They make their own pies and have generally about a dozen flavors to choose from. I went there for dinner. The dinner special was pork chop dinner. Fantastic pork chop. Then came the hard part of the meal, which kind of pie? I went with apple and vanilla ice cream. Really good apple pie. If I were not full I thought about trying another piece probably of black berry.
Farms dot the countryside
Outside Cooky’s I talked with a couple of Harley riders from a couple towns over. They said I was much more hard core than them. We talked about riding in Missouri. I noticed they put on helmets. The only motorcyclists who have never waved are the Harley riders (more like choppers) who don’t wear helmets. My friend in Denver who rides motorcycles a lot said those guys won’t wave to anyone and think they are too cool and generally mad at the world for no good reason. Actually I noticed that in Kansas and Missouri many people in cars, pickups, and semis will also wave.
The city park was very nice with a shower and bathroom. I camped under the picnic pavilion since it was supposed to rain that night and in the morning. There were soccer games going on until about 9 PM. Then the lights went out and everyone went home.
Start: Pittsburg, KS
End: Golden City, MO
Today’s mileage: 39.6 miles
Total miles so far: 2236 miles
Average speed: 10.1 mph
Max speed: 27.3 mph
Travel time: (10:30 to 15:30) 5 hours
Total travel time: 283.5 hours
Weather: partly cloudy, windy, 70-85 F
Please consider making a donation to the Jimmy Fund to support research, treatment and care of childhood cancers allowing children to grow up and lead full, healthy, exciting lives. Thank you.
