Welcome to the Show Me State!

From Janie:

Sunday, October 7, from Ottawa KS to Harrisonville MO.

An interesting day of wildlife.  First Rod has two sparrows fly into the car when he stopped to throw away trash.  No kidding.  One was a little camera shy; the other posed nicely on the dash board. 

Birdie on the dash of The Little Darkness.

 

About 39 miles into the ride, we left Kansas, and entered Missouri.

It was a fabulous day for riding, warming up to about 50 degrees,

sunny, with a bit of a tail wind.

Don't know, however, when we'll be back.

While he was waiting for us at the border, Rod spotted this odd looking creature.  Dog?  Coyote?  Fox?  None of us are sure.

Odd Kansas wildlife.

 

I had a great ride today, starting about ten miles into a 57 mile ride.  Jody didn't catch me at my first stop, to shed some clothes and refill my water bottle.  We passed a Cider Festival, but I was motivated to stay ahead of him, so I didn't stop.  Just rolled on by.  Stopped for a bathroom break in Louisburg, and Jody caught me just a few minutes later, a scant four miles from the Kansas Missouri border.  He eased up, and we rode to the border together, where Rod was waiting for us - stories of odd wild life and more donuts.  Yum.

Janie and Jody, riding toward the Missouri border.

 

Pomegranate Boy (a/k/a Jody), showing off the fruit he picked

from a roadside tree.  He thought it was a quince.

Rod called it a monkey ball.

It is an Osage orange, also known as a hedge apple.

Jody and Janie rolling out of Kansas.

The Little Darkness, on the border.

 

Welcome to Missouri, the Show Me State.

Blue sign and blue sky.

Promises of more blue sky and a tail wind tomorrow.

 

Today I rode from the ten mile mark to the end of the route, about 47 miles in under 4 hours.  Fun, fun day.  My feet are a little tired.  I should have new cycling shoes (from Zappos) at the hotel in Sedalia tomorrow.  That should help.

 

Jody found a noon Rotary meeting tomorrow in Sedalia, so he decided to cut tomorrow's short by 30 miles.  How did he do that, you ask?  By riding an extra 30 miles today.  So . . . it'll be a shortened route tomorrow, with us starting at the 30 mile mark.  That'll leave about 41 miles.  Feet willing, I'll ride all the way tomorrow, from the 30 mile mark to the hotel.  Stay tuned, fans.  We'll update you tomorrow!

 

Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.

     ~Yogi Berra, famous Missourian