Marshfield, Missouri to Hood’s Motel Near Halltown, Missouri

A good ride today. Weather was near perfect. Generally downhill, too. Just one or two long climbs and a lot of small rolling hills. Almost 48 miles total. 42 miles on the route. 5 miles off route in Springfield to a bike shop that was closed.

Made pretty good time, getting into east Springfield shortly after 11 AM. Spotted a picnic table under a large shade tree on the campus of Evangelical University so stopped for lunch there. Answered a couple “Happy Birthday” texts on my phone, rested a bit, tightened a couple spokes on the rear wheel which had worked themselves loose, then biked into the city to see about that bike shop. I knew the odds that it would be open were slim, but it was only a couple miles off route and I had time. When I got there, it was closed; the sign on the door said it would be closed tomorrow for Memorial Day as well. So, I biked on. Past the ‘birthplace of Route 66”. Through downtown Springfield and past the campus of Missouri State University. Through west Springfield and into the rural countryside again.

My destination was a truck stop motel. Hood’s Motel at the I-44 exit ramp for State Highway K/PP. It’s the last motel going west for almost 50 miles before reaching the Carthage/Webb City/Joplin urban region. I was expecting a rundown hole-in-the-wall place, but to my pleasant surprise, it was really nice! Clean. Inexpensive. Furnishings weren’t modern, but more than adequate. I mean, of all the motels and hotels I’ve stayed at throughout my many adventures, this motel was the only one that had a oversize lazy boy rocker in my room! How sweet is that! From now on, having a lazy boy rocker in my motel/hotel room is the new standard.

Tomorrow’s ride will be another long one. Close to 50 miles. Weather is forecast to be near perfect again. One big climb early, a couple small ones later, then mostly downhill for the last 25 miles after that. I’m aiming for a hotel in Webb City about a mile from a bike shop where I hope Tuesday they’ll be able to tune my rear derailleur, true my rear wheel, and put on some new tires. That’ll be a zero-mileage day for me. My last day in Missouri and a day to rest before biking into Oklahoma.