Cycling the Katy Trail Near Jefferson City, MO – Bike Across America Day 52

Herman, MO – City Park

We woke up with a hangover and made our way to a diner in the small town called Dottie’s. I saw a sign on the door that they didn’t accept credit cards. We didn’t have cash left after last night at the bar and there was no ATM in town. The woman who greeted us at the restaurant (Dottie, perhaps) said that we couple eat breakfast and then mail her the money for the tab we owed. We agreed to do it, and I ate great French toast, eggs, and hash browns.

Brian caught his ride with Sean to Jefferson City after breakfast.
I packed slowly. Feeling sluggish. Spent an hour trying to get mud off my bike. I made the mistake of letting it dry overnight. I’d fill up my water bottles with water and spray down the bike parts with a violent squeeze. I painstakingly scraped the mud off of all moving parts, and I even used floss to work mud out of the cassette on the rear tire. I couldn’t get all the mud off, and my patience ran thin because the sun began to work on me, making me sweat out my hangover.

I started on the trail to Portland, where Brian and I had arranged to meet. I needed to get there to get a package at the Post Office. Brian called me to say that the bike shop could repair his bike but it would be a while. We planned to meet at Portland around 5:00pm, meaning I could take my leisurely time to get there (40 miles).

Sluggish riding all day. I never felt good. I reached the Post Office at 3:15. I couldn’t believe it closed at 3:45 on Friday afternoons. I nearly missed my package, which would’ve meant I’d have to wait in Portland two days to get my new debit card from home. I got some mountain house meals from Katie as well, and I’m looking forward to eating those. I returned to the trailhead, snacked on Katie’s pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, and napped on a bench by the muddy Missouri River. The river was high, brown and swiftly moving. Brian arrived around 5:30. We biked another fifteen miles of trail to a highway crossing where we went two miles to Hermann. We paid $5 each to stay in the city park. We spent the evening talking with a leather clad biker names Steve. Stayed up late.