A few quick facts:
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is spelled with an h. Many (or most) of the others are missing it.
The only rain that D&R had seen prior to July 7, was a tiny amount in the middle of the night somewhere in Kansas. This brief shower lasted for perhaps 15 minutes.
July 5, A ride from Chanute to Pittsburg Kansas, a distance of about 65 miles.
July 6, Pittsburg Kansas to Sprinfield Missouri. Distance of about 95 miles - Dale & Riley pedaled about 75.
July 7, saw Riley & Dale (D&R) swimming in the Jack's Ford River for about 2 hours. They then took a Sunday drive on Saturday. Hey, now we are getting ahead of ourselves.
JULY 5
On the 5th, Riley's bike was once again refusing to shift to the biggest chainring and Dale's feet had been killing him for days. Fortunately, Pittsburg boasts a population of about 20,000 and more importantly, a proper bike shop. Riley, Kym & Dale rolled into town at about 1:30 and quickly found the bike shop, Tailwind Cyclists. The owner is a guy named Roger who seemed very knowledgeable, and may have done some wrenching for Greg LeMond at some point, based on an autographed jersey near the rear of the shop. Arrangements were made to return at 4:00 with the bike, to have it worked on.
In the interim, Kym, as is her custom, made a beeline to the city library right after lunch while Dale & Riley found a laundromat where they also made the acquaintance of 3 west-bound cyclists from New York: Bryan, Oliver and Doug. This trio said that they were expecting 2 more lads (from D.C.) whom they had met about a week or two earlier, and had been traveling with since then in a loose confederation, similar to our heroes'.
Riley was left at the laundromat to do the wash and exchange reconnoissance intelligence with the new-found colleagues, while Dale returned to the bike shop aboard Riley's mount. Roger concurred with the assessment that the chainline was all wrong due to the bottom bracket being too wide. That was why the derailleur had so much trouble getting to the top ring. To make a long story short, the only available fix was a new crankset & bb. As for shoes, Dale was not so fortunate. It ain't easy finding riding shoes for a guy with a size 14 foot (that's about a 49 or 50 in Euro sizing, which is the standard for cycling gear). Tim was spotted riding past the bike shop at about 5:30. He also encountered the west-bounders and reported that he was continuing on to Golden City, some 30+ miles to the east.
After about 2 hours in the bicycle shop Dale returned to the laundry to fetch Riley and his own bike. On the way he met another west-bound rider, a fellow named Louie, and also learned that a plan had been hatched to barbeque burgers in the city park/cyclist campground. A good time was had by all while sharing burgers and stories of the road. One of the later arrivals, a young man named Brent was traveling without the actual route maps (as they are a bit pricey), but rather, just the GPS coordinates loaded into his phone, so Dale gave him all of his Trans-Am maps that he and Riley had already traversed. Brent promised to mail them to Dale's home, or to swear some other similarly needy cyclist to the same oath before passing them along to be reused yet again. This idea had occurred to Dale a week earlier, just about 2 minutes after John and his 2 daughters had ridden off to the west...
Some of the west-bound boys were talking about rising at 3:00 to hit the road, so goodbyes and good nights were said before retiring for the evening.
JULY 6
As dawn broke on the 6th, our heroes awoke to the sight of the last west-bound tail lights heading out into the still dark morn. As for plans for the day, both Dale & Riley's and Kym's plans were a bit uncertain. Dale & Riley planned to go to at least Ash Grove - a distance of about 70 miles - before determining whether to then head off-route to the city of Springfield Missouri in search of shoes. Kym said that she was bound for Walnut Grove which is still on-route and about 10 miles past Ash Grove. So, it seemed that the terrific trio may be a dynamic duo once again. About 40 miles into the ride, the decision was made. The dogs were howling and shoes were deemed to be more of a requirement than a desire.
One requisite stop for cyclists on this section of the route is Cooky's Cafe in Golden City. The food was good but not remarkable, however the pie (which is what the cyclists talk about anyway) was excellent and just two bucks a slice! It's pretty hard to make Cooky's a quick stop, at least it was on this day. There were two other groups of west-bounders, and how could anyone not take the time to chat it up a bit unless both parties are on the road, rolling in opposite directions? Riley and Dale talked with another father-son team who were riding west, as well as a family of 6 who were traveling west aboard 3 tandems. This family was traveling with another six-pack, also aboard 3 tandems.
While in Kansas, D&R had been out pedaling in temperatures exceeding 110 degrees for 3 or 4 consecutive days, but they had a stiff crosswind to cool them, and the humidity was low. Here in Missouri, although the actual temperature may have been almost 10 degrees cooler, the lack of wind and the additional humidity made it even more uncomfortable for riding. Plus just about as soon as you hit the border between Kansas and Missouri, the landscape and topography changes noticeably. Our boys had arrived in the Ozark's. Up and down, and up and down, and up and down... It's no wonder that the most popular sports around are hunting and fishing; that's because there is no place that is both flat enough and large enough to play a game of football or baseball. Even volleyball might be a stretch!
So there they were, drenched with sweat, chugging away up another short but very steep hill, in their efforts to yet again get to a bike shop before closing time, in a city that is perhaps just out of reach for the allotted time... Now, one thing to bear in mind is that Dale was born in Detroit, the city from whence so many classic musical acts emerged, not the least of which was The Temptations. And of all the hits that The Temptations had, who could possibly forget Ain't Too Proud To Beg? The Rolling Stones certainly didn't forget it; they had a rather successful cover version! Neither did Dale forget his roots. So when that next pickup truck came bounding over the hill behind them, out went the thumbs, on went the brakes, and Dale & Riley had a ride and a new hero, just like that!
The new hero was Laurie. She gave the boys a lift into Everton, which was a distance of about 5 miles. She told them that she had to go and get a different truck and trailer because she needed to go to Springfield to pick up mulch for the family business. Then she added, "If I see you on the road after I get the other truck, I'll give you a lift into Springfield."
After a much needed cool off break the boys rode on to Ash Grove and just as they were arriving there, Dale heard a horn honk, turned around and lo and behold, there was Laurie, as good as her word! A half an hour later and there they were in Springfield, riding to Sunshine Cyclists, where they found every bicycle part that they were looking for at that time, and then some.
Let us take a moment to tie up a few loose ends and introduce a new character onto the scene. While riding to Springfield, Laurie reported that she had seen a single female cyclist leaving just as she was leaving Everton. This must have been Kym, meaning that Dale & Riley must have passed her at or near Everton. Kym is traveling without a cell phone, so there is no way for D&R to contact her directly. When they return to the official route, they are likely to be in the same general area, so they may or may see her again. Once they return to the route, D&R will be able to ask other cyclists about any possible sightings. The same holds true for Tim. He called and left a voice mail while D&R were in Springfield. Our boys were ahead of him and may be in the same area upon returning to route.
The new character to introduce is Dale's Aunt Carolyn. She has been living in Mountain View Missouri for about 8 years. She was one of the earliest supporters of the trip, and became even more enthusiastic when she was informed that a visist from her favorite nephew and grand-nephew was highly probable because the route ran within about 15 miles of Mountain View. Aunt Carolyn has been a faithful reader of this blog, loves entertaining, and made a point to let our heroes know that she does in fact have an "eligible" vehicle, should they need assistance in getting to her home. Well, Aunt Carolyn also needed some new shoes for an upcoming trip abroad, and didn't have in mind the variety of footwear that may be found at the local farm supply store, so she opted to make a trip into Springfield for the additional variety that may be found in the retail outlets there. The reader may feel free to provide the details for the missing blanks...
JULY 7
Decadence. Utter decadence. Sleeping in past 8:30. Aunt Carolyn makes a pretty mean bacon and eggs, and our boys enjoyed every last morsel. The heat was still stifling, so Aunty C took the boys to a favorite swimming hole on the Jack's Fork. The Jack's Fork is one of the rivers in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Besides being beautiful to look at and running through some truly spectacular scenery, the water is very clear because so much of the water in the river at this time of year is spring fed.
Well, somebody must be living right. At the swimming hole is a rock that can be climbed for a jump of 10 feet or so into the river. Riley made the climb wearing his new, perscription RayBan Wayfarers. Aunty C hollered up to him something about his glasses and he thought it would be a good idea to toss them to her before jumping. Bad Idea. The toss was errant and Wayfarers do not float. Aunty C was in about 15 feet of water at the time. Things at this point are looking pretty grim. Riley spotted a young man with a mask and snorkel and was able to borrow them. After a dive or two, Riley was not able to reach the bottom and spend any time looking, so he asked Dale to try, which he did. Dale was able to reach the bottom and look for just a bit, but he too, tired very quickly and surrendered after 4 or 5 attempts. The young man who loaned Riley the mask was aware that Riley's glasses were the object of the search, so he asked where they were believed to have gone down. The fellow then donned his mask and dove. After a brief time he broke the surface, held up the lost RayBans, and asked, "Do they look like these?" A jubilant Riley, Dale and Carolyn hailed this gentleman as a hero and declared a local holiday in his honor. The odd thing is that they never did get his name, although he did have the name CRAIG tattooed across his back. It was just about this time that a little afternoon rain began falling. It wasn't much, but it was rain, and in the daytime too.
After a good, long swim, our trio took the LONG way home, including crossing the Current River on Aker's Ferry, a very old current powered ferry. Along the way they saw signs saying SHARE THE ROAD with the image of a bicycle and they realized that they were driving along the transamerica bicycle route. Behold, Dale & Riley have not gotten lost, they have just taken a little time out from the strenuous activitiy of pedaling up and down, and up and down, and up and down in the blistering sun. They had once again been blessed by being able to utilize the locally available resources to add a twist and thereby some slight variety, to their summer adventure.
The trio of D&R and Aunty C finished out the day by playing a game of Fact or Crap. Now it's your turn. Sticking out a thumb. Making a call. Catching a ride. These are permitable actions that sometimes make a Trans-America bike ride even better. Is this a fact, or is it crap? You make the call.
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