Near Halltown, Missouri to Webb City, Missouri

I think it’s fair to say that today I left the hills of southwest Missouri behind and moved into the flatter farm land that Kansas and Oklahoma are known for.

The first twenty miles today had a couple river and stream crossings followed by steep climbs up and out. I was glad I did those miles in the relatively cool morning air.

After those first miles, in order to avoid the heavy traffic on the Route 66 corridor of State Highway 96, I veered north onto lesser traveled county and farm roads. Using these roads probably added 10 miles to my route but was worth it. Riding them was one long shallow flat descent over paved roads with little traffic to worry about. The roads were mostly through open farmland, however, and offered only one rare opportunity for me to sit and rest in a shady spot. Any other relief from the hot sun would be restricted to catching my breath beneath whatever tree might be close enough to the road to provide some shade. Although thunderstorms and tornadoes are always a threat this time of year in Oklahoma, I think the hot sun may be the biggest issue I’ll have to content with in the days and weeks ahead. I’ve already started carrying an extra liter of water, and may need to carry more as the towns and gas station convenience stores get farther and farther apart.

A couple of the day’s highlights.

Stopped to take a photo of the Spencer ghost town, and met two nice folks from Colorado that were traveling the entire route in a 1959 classic Chevrolet El Camino he restored especially for this road trip. They were westbound having left McCook, Illinois (a southwest Chicago suburb) a week earlier. We chatted a bit about his car, their Route 66 experience, etc. It gets a bit lonely at times on these long bike rides, so it’s always nice to meet someone and just talk story for a while.

Saw lots of cows, some horses, and other farm livestock. Even got chased down the road by a farm dog for a couple hundred yards before he gave up and went home.

It was about 1 PM, when the sun was highest in the sky and I was looking for any place reasonable to stop and rest. When, lo and behold, at some farmland crossroad not even on my map, I came across an old, dilapidated storefront/warehouse with a porch for shade and an old bench to sit upon! The perfect spot out in the middle of nowhere! On these adventures of mine, it’s always things like that that seem the coolest things to stumble across. Maybe they wouldn’t seem ‘cool’ if I was in a car, but on a bicycle, when you need something the most, things like that become very ‘cool.’ Sometimes it’s the situation that makes things ‘cool’, I guess.

Rolled into Carthage about 2 PM. There’s a bike shop on their city square, so went slightly off route to check it out. It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so decided not to take my rest day tomorrow there. I did find a nice little park in town though. So bought a cold bottle of water and a sandwich at a gas station and had lunch at a picnic table in the shade of a small pavilion.

Around 4 PM, 67 miles after I started this morning, pulled up to the front door of the Sleep Inn hotel in Webb City. A brand new hotel within walking distance of the Bicycle Specialists bike shop, and a comfortable place in which to take a day off. Checked in, relaxed and enjoyed the air conditioning a bit, took a shower, and went to dinner.

Had a great dinner at the restaurant next door. Met and chatted with the manager about my adventures. He told me about some of the Europeans traveling US 66 that he’s met. US 66 is one of the most famous roads in the world, and people come from all over to travel it. Anyway, a great way to cap off a long day.

Tomorrow I’ll take my bike to the shop, get it tuned and ready for the next 583 miles from Joplin to Adrian, Texas – the US 66 halfway point. In the three weeks since I left Woodstock, I’ve pedaled 721 miles total and have traveled 687 miles of Bicycle Route 66, averaging 32.7 miles/day.