May 21, Ride day 18
We crossed the Mississippi River and have now entered the West! We aimed for a big 90 mile day into the Ozarks but had to settle for 65 miles as we had storms around us all day. We hid out in a friendly stranger's garage for 2 hours waiting for one storm cell to pass. He had a music studio in his garage and was a huge Elvis fan. He was a bit disappointed when we told him that we didn't know how to play any musical instruments.
Didn’t make it to the winery in time as I hoped in the video, the rain started 5 mins after that ended!
May 22, Ride day 19
Today, we rode 70 miles through the beautiful forests and clear rivers of the Ozarks. A cool and overcast day made for perfect riding conditions. We ended the day in Eminence, a cute tourist town with lots of campgrounds and river rafting companies. This road, State Highway 106, was just perfect: few cars, nice rolling hills, several small towns to refuel. Maybe someday I can have a chance to go back and ride it again.
May 23, rest day
We hung out for the day at the campground in Eminence. The sun was supposed to come out and I was dreaming of jumping in the river. However, it was cloudy and a little chilly. A good day to be biking but we felt like we could use the rest and enjoy doing nothing.
We said goodbye to our friend, Mark, with a pancake breakfast.
May 24, Ride day 20
Now we have completed day 20! 1/3 of the route is now completed! We biked out of the Ozarks and into gentle rolling hills. We made great time on the 80 mile trek. Reasons in addition to the less hilly terrain were: Had an 5-10 mph tailwind, a nice cool day, and had rainstorm arriving at 3pm which gave us motivation. Unfortunately, the rain arrived at 2:20 which was a few miles from our town park camping spot so we arrived wet!
May 25, Ride day 21
We got in our 75 miles despite the challenges with the rain. We biked 30 miles in light rain and then took a 3 hour break in Marshfield to wait out the heavy rain. We got a nice hearty 2nd breakfast and Anita met us with the RV. Then Rog took an RV nap, Anita went shopping, and I did some work in a coffee shop. A productive rain delay! We started again at 2pm to finish the remaining 45 miles.
May 26, Ride day 22
It was a brutal one. A long slow day with lots of rain. A drizzle most of the day with heavy rain cells just circling around us. Got hit by 3 of them. We were able to hide for two of them, one was in a farm implement dealer (we got some coffee and gatorade while waiting it out) and the second we hid underneath a farm machine shed. And we just rode through the last one as we were only a few miles from our RV stop.
We met Mom for lunch in a must-stop cafe along the route. It was also the only place to stop on the 70 mile ride. Their speciality is pie, so we picked up one to go. One of the perks of traveling with an RV :)
- The Ozarks are just beautiful. The rivers are so clear and clean. The forests are green and dense. The roads are not nearly as challenging as the Appalachians or Blue Ridge so it made for a pleasant riding experience.
- Lots of rain this year! We got rained nearly every day on our trek through the state. Many fields were flooded. The locals said they were getting much more rain than usual.
- Worst drivers so far. Why does everyone drive like they are rushing to the hospital?
- Go back and ride highway 106 between Ellington and Summersville
- Go mountain biking in Ironton, I guess their was an Enduro bike race the weekend before
- Explore the Ozarks and Arcadia Valley. Some hiking, rafting, maybe even some horse back riding :)
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