Since the last post (again, a bit too long ago) we have cycled across yet another state- I'm now writing this from Pittsburg, Kansas.
Day 17: Chester, Il - Farmington, Missouri (55 miles)
Day 18: Farmington, Mo - Owl's Bend, Mo (75 miles)
Day 19: Owl's Bend, Mo - Hartville, Mo (95 miles)
Day 20: Hartville, Mo - Ash Grove, Mo (75 miles)
Day 21 Ash Grove, Mo - Pittsburg, Kansas (70 miles)
From Chester, we crossed the Mississippi into Missouri. The first few miles were pleasant enough, but within about 45 minutes we were caught in another big thunderstorm, and had to take shelter in a local garage for a bit- a pattern that continued all day, hence the short 55 mile day into Farmington. The next couple of days after that were fantastic cycling however, as we entered the Ozark mountains in central Missouri- lots of beautiful rolling hills covered in pine forests. A particular highlight was our night on day 18: we camped next to a river which flowed off the mountains- we had a pretty nice (but cold) swim for a bit, perfect after a tough day's riding!
The next day we managed a good amount of miles into Hartville without too much alarm, and all was going well until about 3am when we were once again caught in a storm. This one was unlike anything we'd seen before, and due to us being in pretty flimsy tents, we decided the best thing to do was to ditch them and hide under a nearby porch until it blew over- it was pretty scary stuff! Didn't make for the best night's sleep either- we were all pretty knackered the next morning! Managed 75 into Ash Grove yesterday- nice town, made all the nicer by the Christensen family who saw it was a Sunday night in a sleepy town and kindly took us in for a couple of hours and fed us bacon and eggs for tea! It's things like that which are really making this trip special for us- random acts of kindness that we just wouldn't usually come across in the UK.
Now we've got the hills out of the way, we've just cracked through another 70-odd today, but in just over 4 hours of cycling- the lack of hills and a big tailwind help so much! Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of Kansas and we avoid the storms for a while now!
Missing you all lots
Sam, Hal & Dave
Look like you're making good progress. I notice one of you is riding a Dawes Horizon? How's it holding up? I've been riding one for around 3 weeks, just had a puncture today caused by a small thorn so not overly impressed with the Conti's! My last set were bulletproof.
ReplyDeleteAlso the pannier rack fell to bit's and I lost the bolts which secure it in place so I'm waiting for replacements from Dawes. Oh, and I managed to get the rear gear cable jammed in a jockey wheel! But other than that I'm loving it.
I went on my first touring trip around Anglesey a few weeks ago, I've love to cycle across the states. Might start with the trans-pennine though :) Best of luck!
Oh, and I've just noticed you've got identical pannier bags too! The altura drylines, how are they holding up? I love them.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt! Yes we making really good progress. The countyside is stunning, and the people are so friendly. I fully recommend touring the States if you ever get the chance.
ReplyDeleteI've been to Anglesey on a few occasions before but never cycled there. We did a warm up ride in Wales from Liverpool to Betws-y-coed a few months back, which was fun. After the States, i'd like to do some shorter tours in the UK, like the Trans-Pennine and the John O'Groats to Land's End.
None of us have a Dawes Horizon, but Dave has the Dawes Galaxy, and I have the Super Galaxy. Both are holding up really well, we've had a few punctures, but thats to be expected over such a long distance.
The Altura pannier bags are great! We've experienced some heavy rain, and they've not let any water through. Dave has some different pannier bags, and his have split and are currently being held together by Gorilla Tape, but mine and Hal's Altura bags are still going strong.
Thanks for reading the blog anyway!
Great stuff! Ken (Fitzhead resident cycling across China - www.acrosscontinents.org)
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