Days Two and Three Thankful To Be Dry and Safe

Day two miles 42.3 total this trip 88.7 total all together 1088.7
Day three miles 42.55 total this trip  131.25 total together 1,131.25

Still can't figure out the picture process so I will just tell the story and you can match the picture to the narrative. That will make it a little game for you. 

Compared to today day 2 was pretty uneventful. Anyone watching our Facebook pages have a sneak preview. 

Yesterday we left Joey's Birdhouse after a pleasant night of rest. The morning was pleasant and we rode along pretty well. We hoped to rest and get a light snack in Treloar. But we were about 40 minutes early for the local bars opening. There was nothing else in the town. Where are the Casey.s when you need them? So it was a 23 mile ride before lunch and a break. We found some great pizza and a salad at Dillbeys in Marthasville.  Again it was about the only place open in the town. The three young girls working made me reflect on the variety of opportunities available in Plymouth for recent graduates, but also why people young people leave to find greener pastures. 

We were within a mile of Defiance, MO and our nights lodging just as a thunder storm came in. We hurried off the trail and found a very steep hill up to the B&B. Even though it was raining we our legs wouldn't get us up the hill. We ended up walking the last 300 feet of the day.  I can't say that this place was as welcoming as Joey's. We showered, rested and walked down the hill to get supper. We only found two biker bars (motorcycles) and a vineyard. The vineyard was having a wedding reception, so biker bar it was. Mary Kay had the whitest garden salad that I have ever seen.  Another walk in a light drizzle and we were back for a nights rest. The morning breakfast gave us a pretty greasy start to day 3. I forgot to tell you our bike computer put the temp at 95 during the afternoon. That did make the thunder storm more tolerable.

Day three had some interesting happenings. It was another 20 mile ride to the first place that had anything open. It was a great city (St. Charles, MO) and what for most people is the end of the Katy 

Trail. Riding there was much more congested than the previous two days. We encountered a benefit run of some type, many recreational biker/runners/walkers, and then what I would call a peleton of 15 to 20 racing bikes pass us. This was a fun morning.  When we got to St. Charles there was a nice area to get a bite to eat (humus, avocados, and crackers). I got a little advice on how to get to the bridge to Illinois and we started the last leg of the Katy Trail and MO. We were riding slower than the first leg. There was less shade, more heat, and allot of humidity. This part of the trail was less traveled and not as nice as the rest. I mentioned to Mary Kay that if the  first part of the trail had been like this we may not have been so enticed to come back and finish. We are glad we did though. The trail just ends with a few big boulders at the end. We found the access road and headed East on state road 94. We had about eight miles to go before the bridge. The heat and humidity was really slowing us down now. Mary Kay saw a shady spot so we headed for it as the thunder started to roll in. As I was rolling in I noticed my front tire going flat. Great!! A nice lady gave us a bottle of wTer and sId we could wait out the shower under her vegetable stand. It was a perfect place to change tubs and rest. We figured we had about 4 miles to go to get on US 67 to go over the bridge. We got within a 1/4 mile and the sky let loose. We saw a gas station ahead so we biked on to take cover. Again, thank goodness for convenience store. We were able to get a drink and a snack while waiting out the storm. It took about 45 minutes for it to let up enough and the sky to begin to clear. We headed for the bridge about two mile away. It was a very busy 4 lane highway with a pretty good berm. I was glad that we hadn't tried the trip in the downpour. It would have been hard for cars to see us.  It was raining but we had to move on. When we got to the bridge I was anticipating a divided bike/pedestrian lane. It was divided by a white painted line. Cars and trucks were going by us at 55 mph or more. I later found out that there is a controversy going on and that the State is putting up a barrier in the near future. I guess there was a pedestrian fatality. We are safe and there are no more big bridges to cross until we get to the Yellow River. 

We found a Super 8 for the evening, Panera Bread for supper, and a washer to clean our dirty wet cloths. As my Uncle John would say, "life is good."

Have a great Sunday, go to church and pray for the ones you love.

Prayers and Peace
Mary Kay and Jack

Day One of Our Reboot

Miles today - 46.2
Miles round one and two - 1046.2

Well, we made it through our first day. Mary Kay said the miles seemed like 100 instead of  46.  Most ou the day we were luky enough to ride in the beautiful shade of the Katy Trail. But wouldn't you know that as we neared the last 10 miles we were out in the sun most of the times it seems that I remember the last 10 miles of the day are always the hardest. The temp for the last 10 miles was near 90.

We started the day with a ride across the "Big Muddy" or the Missouri River. Mary Kay confirmed my suspicion from last night. When we got up this morning she said all she could think about all night was riding across the bridge. It didn't help that when getting directions we were told there was a pedestrian/bike lane. Of course I missed the turn and we got in the lane with the cars and trucks! Those semis don't seem to like us much. Fortunately there was an escape route before we got to the actual bridge and we were able to backtrack to the bike lane. It was much safer.

Wow I got the pictures I just can't get them in the right order. This is the end of the day as we approach the Mckittrick station on the trail. It was a vey welcome site! 

This is one of the beautiful sites we saw along the trail. It is pretty, but I think it is goldenrod.

Our lunch break at Mokane, MO. This was about 20 miles into our day. The place was an old general store with concrete floors and a few tables to sit at for lunch. The menu was sparse, but we had tuna salad and egg salad sandwiches. There were several touring bikers eating also and a group of ladies playing cards. The ladies left so we ate at their table. Gary a local came in so we invited him to sit with us. Gary had his own backhoe and Doug septic and water lines. He was about our age, lived a few houses down from where he was born and enjoyed his life. Some of the other bikers noticed our shirts and wanted to know about our ride. They were on a three day tour with a SAG truck. They couldn't believe our story and that we never had done much bike riding until we started our trip the first time. Then they told us that their group had come up on a man yesterday who had died on the trail. That was more info than I needed to know. 

So far the only animals we have seen this time are several turtles, this dog that stayed with us for awhile, and one deer. No snakes and no warnings to stay away from the rattle snakes. I can be slow at times, but even I can remember that advice.

Here is what should have been the first picture of the day.  Mary Kay actually riding across the bridge.  I was so proud of her! 

Now back to the end of the day story.  We got to our B&B, Joey's Birdhouse at 4pm. Hot, tired, and ready for a shower. There was a note on the door to go in in, that the door was unlocked and we could call Joey's partner Rich when we were settled. There was nowhere in site to eat supper so I called and asked Rich where we could go to eat. He said let me know when you are ready and I will take you to town.  He picked us up about 5:45 in his pickup truck and took us to Herman, MO. about 3 miles away. He took us to a friends restaurant, introduced us, and said he would come back in 40 minutes to get us.  Then he proceeded to sit down and told us his story.  It was interesting and was much like brother-in-laws Jim's story. He moved back to Herman because he loves the town and wanted to do something for it. He is a contractor, so he and Joey have bought several old buildings and have or are going to renovate them. He also ran for Mayor, but because of his "ideas" was soundly defeated. However he continues to dream and work toward making things in both Herman and Mckittrick better. After supper he drove all around Herman and showed us virtually every street, nook, and cranny. Then we headed back to our room and Rich had a glass of wine with us. It was an interesting evening. He left about 9 when Mary Kay said she needed to go to bed. 

As I finish tonight's post I am also ready for bed. Tomorrow we plan to end up in Defiance, MO at Parson.s House Bed and Breakfast. Hopefully we will be able to find a place to eat. We had a stretch today without any cell contact, so we missed out on making some post during the day to let our family know we were OK. We hope tomorrow will be better. Oh yeah, I didn't really say much about our physical condition. We felt good for most of the day, maybe even better than we thought. The mileage was about right. We did forget to buy sunscreen, so we are a little baked. It was good that most of the day was in the shade. We did get sunscreen tonight so if the muscles don't tighten up too much tonight we are looking forward to another great day tomorrow. 

Prayers and Peace

Jack and Mary Kay

The Long Ride To a Restart

A 6:30 AM Start - Thanks Greg for taking us to Chicago

After a Long Day on Amtrak We arrived in Jefferson City  MO at 7:45 PM 

I am very frustrated right now. The blog is not doing what I am trying to do with it. It can't be operator error!  I have spent an hour trying to get these two pictures from my phone to the blog on my IPad.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring back the "genius" in my thinking.  Suffice it to say that we had a good day riding the train. We actually rode through much of the area we will be when riding our bike.  It looked pretty flat. Those are famous last words of any rider. However,  As we approached Jefferson City I had a feeling that we were making a very long and gradual drop. Hopefully I am wrong. 

We got a few looks from other passengers as we loaded our bikes on the train. Some were looks of awe and others were looks of bewilderment. A few people stopped us as we got off to ask us what we were doing. I don't think we convinced them to try it, as they were actually taking a quick smoke break while the train was stopped. 

We had a nice supper - nice rich pasta for me and of course a salad for Mary Kay.  Tomorrow the fun begins. We start off with a ride over the Missouri River. It is a nice tall bridge.  Mary Kay is really looking forward to that as our first obstacle. If there is much traffic it may be a walk across the river for her.  

I better get some sleep and hopefully tomorrow's post will be more interesting. 

Prayers and Peace

 

Blessings as we get closer

Father Kummer came all the way from Ft. Wayne to bless us and our bikes for the ride. I hope my kidneys got a little splash of Holy Water too!            

              

Tomorrow is our last day at home,before we leave for our ride. It was great having many of our family, friends , and of course. Father Kummer here to get us ready to roll.  I did want to go back to our original ride and update some of our reasons for doing this,other than just being a little crazy.  Our theme has been "do something for others,today." We hoped to make that part of our daily life,not just for our bike ride.  We also encourage everyone to think about that as your day progresses. We all have good intentions,but sometimes our own needs cover up the most simple ways we can help others. Before we know I it one day, one week, maybe even a month goes by and we realize we have missed out on a chance to offer ourselves to someone or some cause.  That is why we have added the "today" to our theme. Don't wait into tomorrow.

If you read back in our original blog you will also see that we are riding to remember and give thanks for four family members who made it through an accident. There were a couple of angels that didn't and we want to help others in their memory. To do that we have established the Michael Noel Magee Scholarship.  We have over $10,000 in the fund now and are working toward $15,000 to $20,000 within the next three to four years. 

During our earlier ride we found that so many times people along the way did something for us, rather than us doing something for them.  Those instances only strengthened our believe that most people in our world want to do what is right.  So we start this journey once again hoping to help others, but knowing that we will benefit from the kindness of others.  To keep our end of the bargain we have been reflecting on what we did while pedaling for hours everyday.  When the heat, hills, and wind seemed unbearable we often said many Hail Mary's and other prayers. Some were just to give us the strength to continue forward, but then we started remembering and praying for others that we new were in need. So we are offering to include people or situations that you may know who are in need in our prayers.  You may not feel comfortable posting something on this blog so feel free to email me     jdavis6k@gmail.com  We will be happy to include your requests in our prayers. 

I just checked the weather forecast for Jefferson City. It looks like low 80's and a chance of thunder showers for the first few days. We can handle that.  I will blog more on Wed. after our train ride. 

Keep us in your prayers. 

Peace

Jack and Mary Kay

Let's Try This Again

In 2010 Mary Kay and I began a bike ride from Denver, Colorado home to Plymouth, IN. We aptly called our blog and journey Spokin' Home.  Unfortunately after 1000 miles we had to stop our ride in Missouri.  Well after the birth of four more grandchildren (making it 20), a wedding, back surgery, and more kidney stones we have decided to finish the ride.  Some have asked if we are starting all over back in Denver. No way!  The word finish is key here.

On May 28th we will take a train from Chicago to St. Louis then another one to Jefferson City, MO.
We will spend the night there and on the morning of the 29th we will get back on the Katy Trail and start our ride home.  We have the first two days and distances planned, but then we will play it by ear. We know that the wind, rain, heat, and hills can affect our daily mileage so we will just see as our legs and bottoms wear out where we are each day.  I believe we will have approximately 550 miles to get us home.

We will miss our family and friends, but are really looking forward to this adventure.  We are so fortunate and blessed to be able to come home to our family.  We also know from our last experience that this time together - just the two of us - is a special time.  We know we will need each other's love, encouragement, humor, and faith to get us from one small town grain elevator to the next, until finally we will see home and Lawrence Lake.

We invite you to join us on our journey.  If we have Internet access we will post a blog each day.  For those who weren't part of our last trip, we invite you to look back on our blog to get a picture of the first 20 days of this ride.  Of course, the blog goes in reverse, so if you want to start at the beginning you will need to page back and the work your way forward.

Are we physically ready?  Probably not, but we will ride ourselves into shape. We quickly realized last time that it is extremely difficult to really be prepared for a ride like this. The weather and stamina are of course  instrumental in that, but the mental part of the ride is really difficult.  I believe we are more ready for that this time.  When you are hot, tired, and feel weak you tend to think to yourself, "Can I get up every morning for the next thirty days and ride another 50 miles in the wind and heat again?"  We answered that question the last time (with Mary Kay's positive outlook) and we will be able to do it again.  Hopefully, in 10 or 11 days after we start we will be back home.

Think about us on May 29, wish us luck and pray for us.