We found a campsite just outside of Kampsville at the McCully Heritage Project. The caretake generously allowed us access to his shower, which was wonderful. The entire Project site was very well maintained and the only drawback was that, as with so many other sites we've stayed at, they put the actual campsites down in the bottom land. So the result is that there wasn't a breath of air that got in there! That combined with the humidity really makes for an all-night steam bath.
The weather forcast for Sunday was for hot, and we weren't disappointed. However, the SW wind that was to accompany the heat took until after lunch to materialize so we missed out on our tailwind most of the morning.
We put on just over 70 miles, and we rode through the worst of the heat as a result. But with frequent stops to cool down, it wasn't too bad at all. At one point we were sitting in the shade an ancient tree next to a cattle farm. The cows were very vocal, and it lulled me into a nap. I was awakened when the farmer, Gary, came up to see if we were alright. His wife told him she thought there had been a motorcycle accident... Gary was great conversationalist, and we shot the breeze for quite a while covering a wide range of topics.
Back on the road, we were trudging along when a cyclist pulled up next to us. He was fully outfitted and his bike spoke to the fact that he knew what he was about. This was Jay Trimble, and as it turned out we'd seen him earlier that morning heading the other direction. Jay was putting on a "century" or 100-mile day, returning from Atlas where he said they have "really great" milk shakes.
He slowed his pace, and rode with us the last 12 miles or so into Quincy. Riding and conversing with Jay really helped the remaining miles fly by! He was wealth of information, and being a cyclist his information regarding distances and rest stops were accurate! I have yet to receive accurate information from anyone on this trip that was not a cyclist. In fact most people don't even know distances between towns, only the approximate time it takes them to drive there in a car.
Just outside of Quincy there were a series of mines cut directly into a cliff face that sat parrallel to the road, and as we passed them we were sort of blasted with a nice cool breeze coming from the mine shafts! It was a real treat in 90 degree weather with high humidity... Welcome to Quincy long-distance cyclists!
5 comments:
Hello John and Company,
It has been raining and raining up here and the end is not in sight. You may have to switch from bikes to canoes.
Take care and may you get the wind at your back as much as possible.
Hi there Dr. Gravel!
We've been bringing the 90 degree weather with us all the way from Alabama, so I'm guessing we'll usher in the north country heat wave for the year...
If you're going to the Dan clinic, give me a call.
Glad to hear you are dodging the rain. Noah is building another ark and we hear there are 2 mosquistos with 1st class reservations! Hope it's perfect weather with a tail wind all the way home. Safe travels!
It is 9.136 miles from TRF to my place. It seems like you are becoming biased against non-cyclists! :) DJ
I love my cycling friends.
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