Lebanon, Missouri to Marshfield, Missouri

Whatever I did while tinkering around with the bike last night must have worked. I rode up and down hills all morning and not once did the rear derailleur ghost shift on me. There’s still a minor issue with two of the eleven gear combinations not always shifting smoothly when I want, but I can live with that for now. Pretty sure it’s an easy fix anyway – most likely the cable has stretched a bit so just need to get the bike up on a bike stand and turn the rear derailleur barrel adjustments out a bit.

Also, I fixed the front derailleur late last night. I was lying in bed when it dawn on me what the problem was and how to fix it. So out of bed I hopped, broke out my multi-tool, adjusted the cable, and voila! All good now.

Weather for today’s ride was pretty nice. Little wind and lots of sun. Temperatures were in the mid-70’s but felt hotter on the open asphalt. I also was away from the interstate most of the morning, so the dreaded road noise wasn’t as bothersome as it sometimes can be. That said, the two-lane highways I were riding had quite a bit of traffic and, as usual, no shoulder. They also had lots of hills and curves that create blind spots for overtaking vehicles when they tried to pass me. So, I spent a lot of attention looking in my side view mirror and squeezing off the road as much as possible to give them room to pass. Some of the drivers appreciated my effort and waved, others – well, let’s just say, not so much.

I biked a very leisurely pace today. Sometimes I got off the bike and walked for short distances. And at one point I stopped at a Dollar General store in Conway, bought a can of sardines and a snack box of tuna salad and crackers, and sat down outside in the shade on a patio chair the store was selling. I have to tell you, whether taking a break from canoeing or biking, sitting in a chair with a high back is a very pleasurable and underrated activity.

I rolled into Marshfield shortly before noon. Found a nice bench in the shade of a couple tall trees alongside a gently flowing creek and sat some more. And munched on an apple. And figured out whether I should spend the night here or push on to Springfield 25 miles away.

There’s a bike shop in Springfield, but after today’s relatively trouble-free ride, getting to it isn’t quite as urgent as it was yesterday. Besides, even if I had the strength to pedal 25 more miles in the afternoon heat, it would be near closing time by the time I got there. Their web site says they’re closed on Sunday and Monday for the holiday, so they probably wouldn’t be able to do any work on my bike until Tuesday at the earliest. Then, on a hunch, I checked the weather radar. Looked like a line of thunderstorms was going to be moving in by late afternoon. Case closed. No need to push on. Better to spend the night here in town at the Holiday Inn, clean up, do a load of laundry, and roll into Springfield early afternoon tomorrow.

Incidentally, after checking into the hotel I inspected the spokes on my rear wheel and found two of them had loosen up during today’s ride. Just another reason I’m glad I didn’t push on. I’ll do the 25 miles into Springfield tomorrow and if I find more loose spokes, I’ll take a couple days there in town, wait for the bike shop to open, and get the wheel trued and rear derailleur calibrated. That way the bike will be in shape, and I’ll get as much rest possible, before tackling the 60-mile stretch between Springfield and Joplin/Carthage. There are no campgrounds or motels in that stretch, and only one convenience store where I can buy food and water about a 1/3 of the way in. Don’t want to invite trouble along that stretch if I don’t have to.