Missouri
Day 23: Stillness and Success: Murpheysboro, IL to Ozara, MO
60 miles (97 km) – Total so far: 1,134 miles (1,825 km)
This route was an absolute treat. We spent 30 miles casually rolling along side by side. Bill and I had a chance to chat about topics ranging from deep philosophy to birds to the frivolous. A peaceful stillness permeates the land here and we stopped often to enjoy it. The highlight was witnessing four bald eagles up close. One of these majestic birds burst out of the brush just next to the road and flew off towards the great river to our West. The only response to such a sight is to stop pedaling and watch in respectful silence.
Route 3 turned out to be very heavily trafficked, but some fluke of timing brought us there as the traffic was all going the opposite way. For the seven miles of our journey we saw about 50 coal trucks rumbling down the opposite direction at high speed. Even having them on the other side of the road is intimidating, so we bailed off route 3 and took the “truck bypass” up towards Chester and the bridge across the Mississippi. Turns out no trucks use the truck bypass, so this turned out to be a stellar idea.
Just before crossing the Mississippi we stopped at the IL/Chester welcome center. A kind woman there was very concerned for us riding across this narrow bridge on our bikes. So, she called the chief of police, who came down to the bridge to give us an escort across. I’m glad I had the appropriate pomp and circumstance because I’m extremely proud of the following fact: I rode my bike from the Atlantic Ocean across the Mississippi River! Woohoo!
Low on provisions we pulled into a gas station across the river to grab a hot dog, some fruit, and a bunch of bars of various varieties. Just as we were finishing up our snack a couple of tourers came scooting by from having just crossed the Mississippi river. We met Jess and Twan and struck up an immediate camaraderie for having accomplished our crossing of the great river.
The final 10 miles today were the start of the Ozark mountains. These hills are getting pretty serious, but all four bikers made it to the top of each with smiles intact. So far Missouri is beautiful. I’m looking forward to the hill country over the next couple of days. Also, my friend Janet sent me this limerick, which may prove prophetic:
There once was a man named Mike
Who was traveling America by bike
He’s not in a hurry
But when he gets to Missouri
I hope he finds breakfasts to like
There was a young fella named Mike
Who travelled by recumbent bike
Across the Big Muddy
With Bill, his good buddy,
Just to see what Missouri was like.
Congratulations!
You had a police escort over the Mississippi river! Dude, you’re awesome.
I was curious about other cycle tourists. It’s common on established routes to pair along off-and-on with other people following your more-or-less same route/itinerary. But that doesn’t seem to have been your experience so much.
Enjoy (southern) Missouri! Watch out, though, for the weather; you’re starting to get into tornado territory.