Day 12

Long Branch State Park - St. Joseph, MO

I woke up at 5:45AM, determined to get an early start to the day, and polish off the 132 miles to St. Joseph - also the longest single-day ride I'd ever set out on. I packed up my tent, and in the morning chill, rode to the convenience store by the highway on-ramp to get water and coffee. I drank a large coffee, took my ibuprofen, and ate a snicker's bar, as looking at the map, there won't be food for 20 miles or so. At the convenience store, I sit down at a table while drinking my coffee. There, an older gentleman is clearly going through his morning ritual of scratch off lottery tickets. He walks up to the counter, buys a few tickets, and then sits down behind me to try his luck. Winning $5, he walks back up, buys a few more, and sits down again, scratching intently. After winning $7, he went up to get some more... by then, I was done with my coffee, so I walked outside... but I noticed, rather than walk away with the $7, he bought more tickets. I don't know if his luck continued to pan out, because it was time to get moving.

On this morning, I felt a kind of peace, and my legs felt incredibly strong. Even though I was slightly concerned about my rear wheel, I was cruising at around 17mph in the cold morning air, happy to be making such good time. I spotted an off ramp where there was a Mcdonald's and a wal-mart supercenter(these have grocery stores in them). I ate a breakfast of a McGriddle sandwich(800 calories or so) and a yogurt parfait, accompanied by an absolutely massive cup of coffee - I assumed today I would need it. I then rode down to the wal mart, and got a couple bananas, an apple, a gallon of water, and a powerbar just in case I needed more of a boost later.

After getting it all together, I got back on the road, amazed that my legs were feeling so good. I imagine the cross training the other day helped, and the huge dose of coffee was probably working in my favor. I've also realized it's pretty key to consume enough calories in the morning - sure, there aren't always good options, but even if it's a snickers bar, or McGriddle sandwich, something has always proven to be better than nothing.

I was making good progress, and the wheel, mercifully, wasn't getting any worse. The winds were in my favor as well, as my speed hovered between 16 and 20mph for most of the morning. The only problem with route 36 through Missouri is the construction going on - usually it is 4 lane, but for now, many sections are are down to two, with a limited shoulder, so sometimes the automobile traffic is a little too close for comfort. As such, I rode in roadside debris a little more than I cared to, and sure enough, 3 miles short of the 100 mile mark for the day, at around 4:00PM, I got a flat. Pulling out the tube, I noted that, because of riding so far into the available shoulder, I pulled three pieces of steel wire(a lot of truckers wear their tires down so far the steel belting hits the pavement, scattering these pieces everywhere), and two shards of glass. I decided not to use the new tube, and instead used my park tools patches(these things are an amazing, almost zero compromise solution), figuring I'd probably just do the same thing again that day, shredding an otherwise good new tube. After fixing it, I stopped at a McDonald's at the "crossroads of America" where route 35 intersects 36. I got a coffee and a chocolate milkshake, and also ate one of bananas, having eaten my apple, the other banana, and powerbar already.

Getting back on the bike at the hundred mile mark, I noticed that, oddly, my ass didn't hurt at all. By this point my legs were getting tired, and as I looked down the road, I could see the rolling hills I was about to tackle. Fortunately, it was only another 30 miles, but it wasn't going to be easy. Eager to get to St. Joseph, I put the hammer down when I could, often hitting 20mph through the rollers. There were a couple of climbs which were a mile of more long, but they were follwed by equally long downhills, so for the most part it evened out. It wasn't until getting closer, about 14 miles away, to St. Joseph that the rollers became more abrupt, making it tough to keep the momentum up. 5 miles away from the heart of St. Joseph, my legs had finally had it - the landscape flattened out a lot, but still, I was really plunking along, the speedometer reading just over 10mph much of the time. I really didn't have anything left in the tank, but as I pulled up to the campground(which only had 1 tent spot, oddly enough), I was elated - I'd ridding Missouri in two days - the first, totally hungover, and the second, I'd managed to crank out 132 miles!

Anyway, I was directed to a great Mexican restaurant called La Mesa only a couple blocks away where I demolished a steak quesadilla, and an amazing burrito made with pork that had been braised in a fantastic red pepper sauce. The only problem being, my hands were feeling pretty numb - as such, I couldn't create enough pressure with my index finger to cut with my knife properly, forcing me to eat somewhat like a caveman. Ah well, it was so good, and I was so happy after the big day, I could have cared less.

I got back to the campground, made a few calls, then used the wonderful, sparkling clean, and clearly brand new shower facilities, and went to sleep.