After our first day in Missouri proved to be difficult with the steep hills, we were excited to get going in the morning to give us as much time as needed to conquer them. Unfortunately, fate had a different plan for us and the valve on my tube came off as I was topping it off with some air. We ended up leaving around 9:30 AM but the ride proved much smoother.
We climbed through the beautiful Missouri countryside and marveled at how mystical it all seemed. For me, Missouri has the air of a secret, enchanted forest. It was so breathtaking it almost distracted me from the wall-like hills that we were ascending. Almost. We arrived in Hartville that evening around 4:30 PM; a whole two hours earlier that the previous day. We celebrated by getting lottery tickets (which we did not win, by the way) and drank some Gatorade and Arizonas.
The evening was going well, apart from the fact that our ride tomorrow needed to detour about 10 miles and we would be doing more than 4,500 ft in sixty some miles. And on top of this, the lodging was iffy as the one camping spot listed replied to my inquiry “We’ve never had camping here, you’re insane.” The last part wasn’t said over the phone but I can read between the lines. We prepared ourselves emotionally for a rough day and went to bed earlier than usual.
As I went to fetch my phone that was charging before bed, I saw a dog trot right past me. There were people canoeing in the nearby lake and I assumed he was theirs. I told Paula to not be alarmed if she heard a sound and went into the tent. An hour went by. The dog was running around our tent and panting and at this point, it was later than we hoped to go to bed. I went out and asked some older gentlemen across the park if the dog was theirs but they had no idea. The couple canoeing was still out on the water so I retreated to the tent and waited for them to come out and take their doggy back.
Another hour. The people came out and started calling for “Daisy” and we assumed they were looking for their dog, who was around the picnic pavilion. After about ten minutes, they stopped calling and drove off so we thought that was that. As we start to drift off to sleep, a loud series of barking jolts us awake. The dog was still there, and was barking aggressively at any person who walked by the pavilion. There were several groups arriving to do night fishing, so you can imagine the frequent howls. We asked again if it was anyone’s dog and again we found no one.
We tried once more to settle in and rest but then a loud “slump” bent the zipped entrance to our tent. The dog was using it as a bed and upon hearing (and smelling) it sinking into the mesh material, our hopes of sleeping that night sunk with it. We got out of the tent and I called the sheriff’s office to see if any dog shelter could take him. It was becoming clear to us that the poor guy was a stray and we wanted him to be in a nice home while we could also get our sleep. Unfortunately, this small town had no animal shelters or even a county officer that could take the dog away.
It wouldn’t respond to us yelling at it to leave, but instead would cower its head and whimper and shake profusely. It was clear this dog had been abused and we hated every attempt to get it to find another area for the night. It was past midnight now, and we had no way of getting enough sleep to do the amount of elevation and miles.
The next morning, we got breakfast and devised a plan. We would get a U-Haul and bring our bikes to the next stop with a U-Haul dealer, which luckily only cut out about 80 miles. Unluckily, the dealer near us only had 20 foot trucks. So I drove it! Never have I felt so unsafe in a vehicle than driving that truck but at least I know I can! We drove to Ellington and stayed in a nice hotel there. It was good to get an emotional “reset” for the day and not have had to stress about dogs, detours, and difficult hills.
We left the next day feeling refreshed and calm, and looked forward to our next destination: Al’s Place in Farmington, Missouri — AKA the best hostel on the trip. It was a fully furnished apartment in the city of Farmington and it made us feel so luxurious. We got really good custard at “Lix’s” and found Missouri stickers at the local bike shop. It was a successful day and we were finishing Missouri on a high note.
It was hard to believe that we were already heading to Chester, IL the following day. We crossed the Mississippi and were greeted by the hometown of Popeye! We stayed at a bike hostel/shack in town and watched the second Twilight movie (we had decided to binge them at Al’s Place).
Unfortunately, some family news led to a late night awake and we needed to postpone another day. We were just thankful to have a nice, free place to stay. During our second day in Chester we watched more Twilight, went to a really good breakfast buffet and got Chester, IL stickers at the Popeye store. While we were there, we learned that two other bikers had just stopped in and were headed to the hostel — which I had the keys to! I ran back and met Beau and Sarah a younger couple riding west on the trail. We got them another set of keys and went separate ways. As we lay in the shack later that night, we heard a knock on the door. We figured it was Beau and Sarah, but it was Matt who opened the door! We had met up once again with the cyclist going east.
The night was crammed, with all five of us in tiered bunkbeds, but so fun. We got to talk, share battle stories and recommendations, and just laugh at how crazy the trip can be.
On our way to Goreville the next day, I called the church we were planning to stay at. I’m glad I did because they decided just a few days prior to not host any more cyclists due to COVID. We found a warmshowers host named Jack en route and went there for our second-to-last night in Illinois.
We left Jack’s house and rode on a pretty bust rode for about twenty miles until we could glide through Illinois’ back country. For our last full day in Illinois, it was a beautiful one. About 10 miles away, the roads turned gravel, which was my fault for trusting Google Maps on knowing which roads are real. We powered through the discomfort (especially me since my tires are much thinner than Paula’s) and ended up at a horse camp with so many amenities! We had ice cream, laundry, showers, and WiFi! The people were so nice and it was a great experience for our last night in Illinois.
A Funny Moment of the Week: It was such a hoot to run into Matt and to meet Beau and Sarah. Laughing with all of us crammed into a tiny shack will be a highlight of the trip for me.
What We’ve Learned: I learned to drive a U-Haul! Never would I have gone into this trip thinking I could come out saying “Oh yeah, I know how to drive a 20 foot truck through the Ozarks.” But here we are! It was definitely something I’ve always wanted to do and definitely the most stressful time I’ve driven in my life.