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Day 25 - 32 Coast To Coast 1999 by Eric K. Andersen (click on images to see larger pictures)
Day 25 Carbondale, IL The
bike shops, which are across the street from each other, didn't open until
10 so I found the nearby library and sent an e-mail. I went back to the
shop, got what I needed and headed towards the river. After a nice downhill
to the Mississippi floodplain I headed north towards Chester.
Here I experienced the first strong headwinds of the trip. They slowed
me to about 6 miles an hour for several miles. Then I crossed the Mississippi
at Chester, the birthplace of Popeye. There is a statue of him at
a park overlooking the river. I crossed the river on a tight, long bridge
with no shoulders and when I got to the other side I opened a card a friend
had given me. He had instructed me to open it at this point in the
trip. It contained a great message about life's challenges and the
words inspired me and gave me further resolve to complete my journey.
As I was going up 
and down the eastern bluffs of Missouri, I had my first dog scare.
There had only been a few instances so far where dogs ran barking up to
me, but none of them were threatening. As I was coming down a hill,
a pack of 5 dogs started running towards me. They weren't just barking,
but were growling with a fierceness I hadn't heard before. They were running
so fast that they ran right passed me and had to turn around to catch
me. I could hear their paws scraping on the pavement. I heard a
shout and they backed off as I started up a steep hill. I had heard about
the "Chase dogs of Kentucky" and had missed seeing them since
Tennessee apparently is more civilized. Now it was time for the
dog days of Missouri. Total Miles: 62
Total Miles: 48
into Ellington, I met my first riders going coast to coast. There
was an older 
gentleman
who had started in San Diego going east and a couple on a tandem going
west. The couple called themselves "The Tandem Teachers".
Hob and Deb were from Connecticut and started their trip at the beginning
of the route in Virginia. They had just finished lunch, so we made plans
to meet later that evening at a campground in Eminence. After lunch I
passed another rider going east bound. He had started in Colorado
and was going to Florida. Later, I met up with the TT's at the campground.
It was a dumpy place with rocky riverside sites and dirty bathrooms.
Since we came in late the office wasn't open so there was no one to pay.
A note said to go to a nearby house and the person at the house told me
to come back in the morning. Total Miles:
70
Day 28 Eminence, MO We
snuck out of the campground early in order to avoid paying since the place
was such a dump. The TT's left ahead of me and as I approached the
owner's house, one of their dogs that I met the night before started
following me. 
I
felt a tug on the trailer and I looked back to see the jaws of the big
black dog latched onto the the plastic lid of the trailer container. I
yelled back "no!" and he let go after putting a small hole
in the lid with one of his teeth. On the route we stopped at Alley
Springs and then "The Dragon Lady's" House. She is
known for letting bikers camp on her lawn. She recently purchased
the property from the original "Dragon Lady" and has continued
the tradition of making bicyclists feel welcome. There are many people
along the route that open up their homes to bicyclists. The TT's wanted
to camp in the city park in Houston.
They had heard rumors of mischievous kids in town who rolled automobile
tires through the park at campers tents. I opted to avoid a restless
night and got a motel room. The TT's did the same. (Later I heard that
the kids were still up to their old tricks). Total
Miles: 43
Day
29 Houston, MO I traveled with the teachers
again today. We stopped for lunch in Hartville where the waitress
looked like Drew Barrymore. We took a break at a store that was
very "Deliverance". Some old men were playing pool and
drinking beer as we sat on the porch of the store/bar/poolroom with our
snacks. A lawnmower under repair dripped gasoline onto the wooden
deck. The long bearded owner slowly started to warm to our conversation.
We were definitely out of our environment. That evening I camped in my
first city park. Many small towns along the route allow bikers to
stay in their parks and will even open up bathrooms and sometimes showers
for them. A local cyclist stopped by the park and chatted with us.
Total Miles: 69
Day
30 Marshfield, MO I wanted to ride on historic
Route
66 which passes through Marshfield,
so I said good-bye to my riding companions and headed towards Springfield
on the old road. We planned on meeting each other the next day in Golden
City. There were only a few reminders of days gone past: an abandoned
drive-in movie theater and a few motels in town. I explored Springfield
for a little while and then refound the route heading out of town.
I got a cheap motel room just off the interstate and had a great and also
cheap meal at the restaurant. Total Miles:
52
I got into Golden City at lunch time and went to Cookies, the only cafe
in town. It was Sunday and the whole town was there after church services.
The line snaked out the door. While waiting in line, I met Ralph and
Alan who were in the area looking for rare plant species. They invited
me to join them for lunch. I had a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes,
green beans and of course apple pie ala mode accompanied by interesting
conversation. Ralph generously picked up the tab. I met the town undertaker
who happens to run the bicycle hostel in town. He even gave me the
keys to the door. As my new friends were getting ready to leave Hob
and Deb appeared at the door. 
I
quickly got them to take the empty seats at the table. After another
slice of pie (Hob ate a slice before and after his meal) we found the hostel
just around the corner. The hostel was a complete house including air conditioning,
TV, washer/dryer, kitchen, two beds and two couches. It was a bit
musty, but we had the whole place to ourselves for just nine bucks a piece.
Later that evening we went back to the cafe for another round of chicken
and pie. That night back at the hostel I got a chance to catch a Knicks
play-off game too. Total Miles: 45
Day
32 Golden City, MO It was raining again this
morning but it cleared as usual. Just as we crossed the border into Kansas,
we found a long, black dead snake lying on the road. Hob picked
it up and we posed for pictures. It was Memorial Day and when we got to
Pittsburg,
Kansas there was disappointedly nothing going on. Every window in
every store in every small town has posters of upcoming events. They just
never seem to occur when you are in town. We got rooms at a motel, took
a dip in the pool, went to see "Star Wars" and ordered a pizza
which we had delivered poolside. Vacation time. Total
Miles: 39
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