July 19, 2009, Sunday, Morganfield, KY to Henderson, KY

Photos: Paul's trip ending broken trailer frame in Henderson, KY. Time to call home for a ride! Paul and Tom's last picture together, just south of Henderson, KY. Sonny pedaling his hand bicycle from Yorktown to Seattle.

Tom and I were up fairly early, and we headed toward Sebree on Rt. 65. We met Sonny Neumiller, a biker from Sweattle WA, who is a paraplegic. He was pedaling his hand bicycle, his camping gear, and his wheel chair in a trailer, and by this time, he was more than ½ way to his goal of Seattle, WA. You can read about Sonny at: WWW.crazyguyonabike.com/handcycle WHAT A GUY!!!!

Where 65 joins Rt. 41 alternate, I spotted a sign, “John Joseph Audubon State Park 23 miles” Audubon park is in Henderson, KY. I had heard about this park before, and I wanted to visit it, so I decided that it would be much easier for everyone if I headed north rather than to continue on to Berea as planned. Tom saw the logic in this, but was rather emotional to see us split up because we had been together for more than a month and a half. Tom was determined to continue on to Yorktown.

I turned north toward Henderson, and called Linda who offered to pick me up at Audubon park the next day. Unfortunately, when I reached Henderson, I noticed that one of the frame members on my bike trailer had broken. I felt that this had weakened the Nashbar trailer to the point that if I continued, I would have put myself, and others in danger of a major failure. So, at this point, I decided it was time to end my journey. I walked into the nearby McDonald’s restaurant where I remained for 5 hours, eating, and updating my journal.

My distance today: 31.89 miles, total ride time, 2 hours and 37 minutes, average speed 12.1 miles, and total miles overall 2,890.12, just 110 miles short of 3,000, but who’s counting?

July 18, 2009, Saturday, Carbondale to Morganfield, KY

Photo: One of thousands of Harley motorcycles enroute to Sturgis, KY on Rt. 13 headed to the "Li'l Sturgis motorcycle rally".

Today was cool and cloudy with a light tail wind that allowed us to safely ride the berm of Illinios Rte. 13 for 63 miles to the Ohio River bridge. While we were biking, loud Harley Davidson bikes sped past us by the hundreds. We soon learned that the bikers were on their way to Sturgis, KY to attend the “Lil Sturgis bike rally” . This might be the last year for it because the “Big Sturgis Rally” is sueing it for name infringement. Before crossing the river, Tom and I became separated when I rode down the road to Shawnee town where there was another rally going on. I left after being asked for $10 admission charge. I learned that Sturgis was about 12 miles west, in Kentucky, on Rt. 109. Thank goodness we were headed south on Rte. 65 toward Seebre, KY.

We continued biking past Morganfield, KY where we camped in a nature preserve there, near a lake. Surprisingly, there were lots of horse campers, and fishermen camping here in this free campground. The only drawback for us was that the campground had gravel roads.

Today’s distance: 83 miles.

July 17, 2009, Friday, Farmington, MO to Carbondale, IL

Photos: Amaya and Eric from France, on the road non-stop for 3 years. WOW! Also, we enter Illinois at Chester, the home of Popeye, however he wasn't listed in he local phone book.

After crossing what has to be one of the most poorly maintained bridges in the country, we entered Illinois at Chester. The bridge actually had a pothole in it that went all the way through the bridge, and you could actually see the Mississippi River through it! It was frightening, Tom and I took pictures of one another at the state border sign, and at the, “Welcome to Chester, home of Popeye sign”. We continued south on the river route, and then continued on to Carbondale where we arrived at about 6:00 p.m.

In Carbondale, we stopped at the Phoenix Bike shop where Doug, the owner worked tirelessly on Paul’s bike trying to get it into like new condition. He replaced the broken front grip shifter that had been installed in Kremling, CO., and fixed other smaller problems The price, and his attitude were both in the right place!

Tom and I ate at the local Pizza Hut and spent the night in the Motel Six.

Total miles today: 93.90, 8h 1 minutes pedaling time, 11.7 miles per hour average, and total miles 2,774.

July 16, 2009, Thursday, Ellington, MO to Farmington, MO

I feasted on homemade granola, and fruit while Tom biked into town for breakfast. I got the recipe for the granola so I could make it later. It was delicious.

The route today was relatively easy, except for a couple of gym shoe hills later in the day. I could bike up most of the hills with little trouble. We’re finally getting out of the Ozarks! There were not as many steep hills as the previous couple of days.

West bound bikers had told us that we should stop by the firehouse, where they would surely put us up for the night. Greg Beavers, the city administrator there is a very avid bicyclist. The firefighters, Chris Spradling, Mike Franklin, and Justin Holmes treated us like one of the crew and put us up in the department’s command van. They let us use the firehouse showers, watch TV with them, and told us the best places to eat in town.

Later, a French Couple, Amaya Williams and Eric Schambion, www.worldbiking.info showed up in the rain, wet and ready for showers. They also joined us in the command van. Amaya and Eric have been bicycling across the globe for the last three years. They bicycled the entire circumference of Africa, they have bicycled in the Middle East, Europe, and are now biking from Maine, to Missoula (where Amaya was born), and then they’re headed south to the southern tip of South America. WOW! These are truly the king and queen of the bike gypsies.

Amaya and Eric told us they take a rest day every 6 days or so, and they take two weeks off every 6 months or so. They always use Couchsurfer.org or Warmshowers.org, or camp in city parks. They seldom pay for lodging, and they always cook rather than eating in restaurants.

They offered us several shortcuts in KY, and verified the efficacy of using Rte. 13 to cross Illinois rather than following the Adventure Cycling route.

The firemen told us that the town here is converting the local jail into a hostel for use by bike riders and others who might need it.

Sorry, miles not recorded today.

July 15, 2009, Wednesday, Eminence to Ellington, MO

I biked from Eminence toward Ellington where I was pushing up a steep hill, in the high heat up from the Current River. The hill was extremely steep! A couple named Donna and Garland picked me up on this steep slope. I needed little convincing to get into the truck with them. I was wet from sweat today, more than I was wet from the rain yesterday. They dropped me off at Halls restaurant in Ellington where I ate for an hour or so on the salad bar, and the fried chicken. Tom finally showed up hot and hungry.

Tom called Jonathan Swyers, Ellington, MO who is registered on the Warmshowers.org web site. Jonathan picked us up in his pick-up truck within about 10 minutes from the call, and took us to the local grocery store. I bought some fruit for the house, but they would accept nothing else.

At the house, we met Jonathan’s wife Alyssa, and their two daughters Ella, 3, and Demi, who is just a few months old. Jonathan and Alyssa made us feel very welcome in their home. Jonathan, and his father, who is on vacation now, are avid adventure racers, so they love bicyclists.

Today’s total for Paul was just 15 miles, and about 23 miles for Tom.

July 14, 2009, Tuesday, Houston, MO to Alley Emenence, MO

Photo: Tom from New York, biking, and raising money for brain tumor research.

We left Houston in a light rain. Tom, the reporter joined us at the local McDonalds, and decided to take a rest day to avoid riding in the rain. We continued on in the rain, which only increased for most of the day, especially on Rte. 16, which was winding, narrow, and with no berm. Tom was nearly run down by a speeding semi truck that braked hard to avoid Tom and a pickup truck which was headed in the other direction. We met the truck driver a few miles later, and learned how much some truck drivers hate us bike riders! This driver thinks the only safe way for us is for bike riders to get off the road whenever trucks pass! We pulled up the road a short way in Summerville where we had some lunch, and tried to dry off.

We eventually turned left at Summerville, and headed for Alley Springs, MO. From there where we rented a room at the Riverside Motel, used a drier at the Laundromat, ate and reviewed maps. We finally located the shortcut that Tom (from NY’s) shortcut which cuts across the bottom of Illinois, and then crosses the Ohio River and Connects with route 65. This route probably saved us 30 miles.

We pedaled today 49.79 wet miles, averaging 10.9 MPH for 4 hours and 33 minutes. My total mileage is now 2,595 miles.