Part 9

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" LINK="#FFFFFF" ALINK="#000400" VLINK="#FFFFFF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#CC3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>Dave's Cross Country Bike Tour 2004</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC99" FACE="Arial" >   </FONT> |   <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Daves Cross Country Bike Tour 2004"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Daves Cross Country Bike Tour 2004"><U>Dave's Cross Country Bike Tour 2004</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Intro"><U>Intro</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Answering Machine Diaries"><U>Home Answering Machine Diaries</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 1"><U>Part 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 2"><U>Part 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 2 Pics Continued"><U>Part 2 Pics Continued</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3"><U>Part 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3 Pics 1"><U>Part 3 Pics 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 3 pics 2"><U>Part 3 pics 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4"><U>Part 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4 pics 1"><U>Part 4 pics 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 4 Pics 2"><U>Part 4 Pics 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 5"><U>Part 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 5 pics"><U>Part 5 pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 6"><U>Part 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 6 Pics"><U>Part 6 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id10.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 7"><U>Part 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 8"><U>Part 8</U></A>   |   <B>Part 9</B>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 9 Pics"><U>Part 9 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reunion"><U>Reunion</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reunion Pics"><U>Reunion Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 10"><U>Part 10</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 10 Pics"><U>Part 10 Pics</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 11"><U>Part 11</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 12"><U>Part 12</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Part 13"><U>Part 13</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Epilogue"><U>Epilogue</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Schenck/Gump"><U>Schenck/Gump</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id13.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Guestbook"><U>Guestbook</U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="00758020.png" border=0 width="600" height="2" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Part 9</div> <div> <IMG SRC="03261d90.jpg" border=0 width="609" height="217" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Map Courtesy of Adventure Cycling Association -  <A HREF="http://www.adventurecycling.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.adventurecycling.com"><U>www.adventurecycling.com</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Girard, KS to Ste. Genevieve, MO</div> <bR> <div> I was on the bus 24 hours through Kansas, down to Amarillo,</div> <div> TX and Oklahoma until arriving in Springfield, Missouri this</div> <div> morning at 2 AM. I slept on and off, but it wasn’t good</div> <div> sleep, you know how that is.  It was hard to avoid talking</div> <div> to people- there were some pretty colorful characters. <I>(Note</I></div> <div> <I>from Winnie: I asked if he was wearing his Spiderman shirt,</I></div> <div> <I>because that would have ranked him as one of the most</I></div> <div> <I>colorful characters on the bus by any standard. But he</I></div> <div> <I>wasn’t.)</I></div> <bR> <div> At 2 AM, when I got off the bus in Springfield, I</div> <div> immediately started putting the bike together and</div> <div> fine-tuning it so I could start out at daybreak, which I</div> <div> did.  It’s so good to be in Missouri- the smells, the</div> <div> birds- purple martins, meadowlarks, mockingbirds- the</div> <div> sounds, going up and down the hills, all remind me of</div> <div> growing up.  It’s very comforting.  Except there’s been</div> <div> lots of dead armadillos on the road, too.</div> <bR> <div> Well, I have to go now and call the sheriff’s department</div> <div> and check in so I can sleep in the park in Houston MO.</div> <div> That’s what the bike map says I have to do for Houston.</div> <div> But I’m so tired, I don’t know if I’ll make it there</div> <div> tonight.  I’ll definitely see everyone at the family</div> <div> gathering in Centerville tomorrow evening.</div> <bR> <div>  (*Alp d’Huez is the infamous killer mountain in the Alps</div> <div> that is so steep, it’s not even rated)</div> <bR> <div> *********************</div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="thursday_72904_843_pm_central"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Thursday, 7/29/04, 8:43 PM Central Daylight Time</div> <div> Conversation with Winnie</div> <bR> <div> I have to tell you about the part from Springfield Missouri</div> <div> to Bendavis.  I’ve said it before, being back in Missouri</div> <div> brought back so many memories from childhood- the hickory</div> <div> smells, the song of the bobwhite, meadowlark- all the</div> <div> sights, smells and sounds.</div> <bR> <div> The hills were much, much tougher than I thought they would</div> <div> be.  They get you by repeated ups and downs, rather than the</div> <div> gradual ascent and declines I’d done in the Rockies.  It</div> <div> was a constant roller coaster without end.</div> <bR> <div> I got a free lunch from the nicest woman in Marshfield (25</div> <div> miles NE of Springfield). She was very excited about what I</div> <div> was doing and gave me a free lunch at her restaurant: DJ’s</div> <div> Café.  Later I saw she went on the website and signed the</div> <div> guest book.</div> <bR> <div> In Bendavis, which is only a store and a gas station at a</div> <div> crossroads- no houses or other buildings- a lady saw me</div> <div> looking around and said, “I bet you’re looking for a</div> <div> place to camp.” She let me camp behind the store for free.</div> <div>  She’d done it for other cyclists and knew the look on my</div> <div> face.  I was so grateful!</div> <bR> <div> The day Winnie and Kevin (my brother) picked me up the hills</div> <div> were tough.  Not as long (high) as the Rockies, but much</div> <div> steeper in portions.  Without a doubt, the Ozarks were</div> <div> harder cycling than the Rocky Mountains.  And, of course, I</div> <div> had storms to contend with all day and 2 flat tires.  They</div> <div> picked me up at Owl’s Bend (known for its bluffs</div> <div> overlooking the river).</div> <bR> <div> As for the family reunion, it was an incredibly supportive</div> <div> and reinvigorating experience.  The Raft trip was on the</div> <div> cool side (72 F) – but seeing my brothers and sisters,</div> <div> nieces and nephews, my parents – it was just the recharge</div> <div> I needed at this point in the trip.  And it was wonderful to</div> <div> see Winnie.  I loved camping at Carlyle Lake (Illinois) with</div> <div> her- it was a gorgeous spot.</div> <bR> </BODY>