April 25 Camdenton to Jefferson City, Mo
Marc woke early with one thing on his mind. We were back in a state that held the promise of a good triple shot latte. Kansas, we discovered, had not been settled by lovers of a good cup of coffee. Careful inquires of the locals yielded a promise of a Starbucks in 14 miles. Shawn, the camera man, joined us for the quick 14 mile trip over the Ozark rollers looking for that triple shot latte. Fueled by caffeine, Marc and Jeff headed out of Starbucks to pursue a few hours of intervals. Ozark rollers stretched out in front of them for miles. The miles rolled by quickly and we were in Jefferson City before 2:00 pm. The weather had deteriorated into rain so we stopped early. Jefferson City is located on the Missouri River close to a camp used by the Lewis and Clark expedition over 200 years ago. Much has changed in the West since the voyage of discovery.
April 26 Jefferson City to Herman , Mo.
As usual, we headed out early to get coffee. Jefferson City has a nice café located near the Capital building. The owner is originally from Jordan and opened the café about 16 months ago. He was very supportive of the ideas represented by the message we carry. Coming from an area that has seen a lot of unrest, he was very interested in any movement that supports the idea of global peace. The ride out of town trip started out with a bike around the capital rotunda in Jefferson City . We crossed the Missouri River and turn down river to follow the river bottom with occasional climbs up along the bluffs overlooking the Missouri . The scenery was spectacular and the riding fast. The route parallels the Katy Trail , the longest rail to trail route in the US . We encountered several parties on Highway 94 riding tandems and recumbent bicycles. The heavy rain during the previous night had made the Katy Trail to soft to ride forcing them out to the paved road. All were headed to Hermann, a quaint old German settlement located on the banks of the Missouri River . Hermann, to our surprise, is renown for it vineyards and wineries. We stayed at the Harbor Haus, a wonderful bed and breakfast. We toured around the town visiting an old museum and a winery.
April 27 Hermann to St Charles , Mo.
We crossed back over the Missouri River to continue our route to St Louis . We have some guest riders arriving tonight at St Louis . Chris Bramhall and Scott Martin are flying in from Salt Lake to join us for a few days. We look forward to riding with them. The route continued along the Missouri River for a few miles before it turned northeasterly following small back roads towards Saint Louis . The country is rolling hills covered with vibrant green forests and farms. The hills are steep and the roads are windy which made for some very enjoyable riding. All too soon, we noticed the traffic starting to pick up and the countryside turned into strip malls as we approached Saint Trip RepLouis . We arrived in Saint Charles by early afternoon. Tomorrow we cross the mighty Mississippi River .
April 28
Marc and Jeff were joined today by two cameo riders: Scott Martin, a water law attorney in Salt Lake City , and me, Chris Bramhall, another water law attorney who works with Jeff in Salt Lake City . We'll be riding as a spicy foursome until we reach Indianapolis. We saw all the water we cared to see today, mostly in the form of rain—although we discovered we got just as wet from the spray off of each other's tires as we did from actual rain. We also saw plenty of water as we crossed the Mississippi River. I must say the Jordan in Salt Lake Valley hardly qualifies as a river by comparison. Today was also marked by five flat tires. Jeff just about packed it in after his third flat at about the 60-mile mark. We're now counting our tubes carefully. We stopped for lunch at a small diner to eat, rest and dry out, and Marc and Jeff once again ordered pie and ice cream—and french fries. After lunch, we had the opportunity to share the Message with a hearing impaired group. An interpreter signed my comments, and everyone seemed very interested and appreciative. Despite the rain, we all had a great time. The scenery is green, with woods and newly planted fields through gently rolling hills. We're looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.
April 29: Another Guest Rider Report from Scott Martin
This morning our once soggy peloton pulled out of Greenville, Ill. (pop. 7000) under dry but somewhat doubtful skies. Fueled with industrial quality danishes, several bowls of Fruit Loops and weak Folgers propped up by Swiss Miss, we struck out for Highway 40 with hopes of tailwinds, fanfare and enough sun to resurrect our tans. With Marshall, Ill. some 100 miles away, we got a good jump on the day and knocked out 50+ great miles of nice rolling terrain with limited traffic. Our efforts yielded a great lunch at Joe Sippers of Effingham, Ill where Marc found all the lattes he could handle and Chris, Jeff and I reveled in a pastry induced frenzy. Lunch gave way to rain. We had 50 miles to go and we all took turns at the front plowing through the wind and rain. Jeff was strong on the throttle at the front for long stretches leaving the rest of us wondering what he really had for lunch? Later, he fessed up to secretly running 750 calories worth of Boost Chocolate energy drink through his water bottles, while he filled our bottles with straight tap water. Once in Marshall, Ill., we stopped at The Archer House Inn where we chatted with its amazing 75+ year old proprietress who told Marc and me all sorts of great stories about the Inn and of course, when Honest Abe used to stay there when trying cases at the nearby courthouse. Across the street at The Bishops Place, Marc and I found Jeff and Chris and the finest peach pie known to man. Four pieces later we reemerged to ride another 3 puddle strewn miles to - where else? – the Super 8 Motel showers.
April 30 Marshall, IL to Plainfield, IN
Yet another unbelievable day with kids. This morning, the boys and girl scouts of Marshall, Missouri surprised us by planting a tree in the city park in honor of Salt Lake City's mission. Kids said this spot was chosen because their school bus drives by this spot every day so they can watch it grow. Check out the pictures of these cuties. Our peloton included four riders today which allowed Jeff and Marc to cruise into Indiana. Our two guest riders, Chris and Scott, help increase the flat tire count for the trip. In the last two days, Chris ruined three tubes and and blew out the sidewall of his rear tire. Scott had two flats. Jeff raised his blowouts count to 7. Jeff was seen snickering when Marc got his first flat.
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