Day 11

Hannibal, MO - Long Branch State Park

I wake at 7, hearing Chris walk into the room, and he asks if I'm ready to go. Oh yeah. We get driven back to the Monte Carlo, get in, and zip back to Hannibal. We say goodbye, and I begin wrapping my head around riding 75-100 miles hungover... I decide pancakes and coffee at the Mark Twain Diner will help, so I go, have breakfast, and get back to the campground. I shower to wake me up a little, pack everything, and roll out of Hannibal.

I'm actually not feeling too bad, aside from definite dehydration, so I drink as much water as possible. 50 miles into the day, I am definitely tired, and realize that riding hungover is not all that much fun. Fortunately, for a good portion of my last 15 miles to Long Branch State Park, where I'd be camping for the night, the left side of the highway was closed - thing is, the road was there, so I figure, hey, why not, and ride on the smoothly groomed, fresh concrete. It was as I started picking up speed again that I heard the pinging I've come to hate - two spokes had given up the ghost, leaving me with a slight wobble, concerned because, according to google, there were no bike shops for, well, 50 miles. Super.

Thankfully, I make it to Long Branch State Park without the wheel blowing up. On the shore of the giant man made reservoir, I set up camp, and decide the next day, I will ride 132 miles, and make it to the border of Kansas where there is a good bike shop. I slept alright, aside from a Possum or Raccoon which, at a few points during the night decided to scratch at my tent and wake me up.