17-05-07 Day 29

Marshfield, MO to Summersville, MO

Blogging a day behind - we did not have access to Internet or WiFi last evening at our final destination.  Summersville, MO which provided one hotel, Rose's Green Roof Inn, with a total of 10 rooms at $50 for two people, cash only. 🙄  We were given lucky number 7, Rose left the key and instructions.  We left $50 in the envelope.  Met our needs for the evening 👌. Extremely limited dining and breakfast options.

Our accommodations for the evening.

We were surprised to meet two cyclists on our route yesterday who are riding cthe Trans America Trail to Oregon.  They have been on the road for 21 days, started in Virginia. Great to chat with them, we were concerned about road closures that we may encounter due to the flooding that occurred a week prior and were able to share our Trans knowledge with them.  

Fellow cyclists heading West, Ben and Ghee.
Gave us some advice for our travels east.

17-05-06 Day 28

Mt Vernon, MO to Marshfield, MO

So, our goal today was to get back on track with our map sets from Adventure Cycling - goal met.  We cycled 64 miles today to Marshfield, MO which has filled the gap to the Trans America Bicycle Trail.  On our original itinerary we were to arrive in Hartsville approximately 25 more miles, but there are no amenities for sleeping.  We will be adjusting our destination points over the next few days. Also, we plan to keep riding as the weather cooperates over the next few days to keep on track with mileage.

One thing we have come to realize is the difficulty of picking your way through the larger towns/cities is very time consuming. The map set and the cycle routes on line attempt to take you the most bicycle friendly route as possible, which means many turns and extra mileage compared to taking the most direct route. Thus, today we navigated our way through Springfield, MO.  This provided for an opportunity to take a 5 mile paved bike trail, which was nice alternative to the roads and traffic.  Prior to entering our final leg today we paused for "lunch" along a horse pasture before entering State Route 00 (Route 66) to Marshfield.

Bikes resting on the pasture fence.

With a shorter mileage day, there were other tasks to attend to as well - laundry and bike maintenence.  Traveling light means having to do laundry every 2-3 days.  Thank heavens for hotel laundry facilities 😆.  Today Karen changed out her rear tire with a new tire and tube which will hopefully last the remainder of the trip.  Randy had updated his rear tire a few days ago.  Checking chains, brakes, and cables is an ongoing process.

Hotel bike shop open each evening, new rear tire.

17-05-05 Day 27

Miami, OK to Mt. Vernon, MO

Happy Cinco DE Mayo from Missouri!

Today was a busy day for the cyclists.  Departed Miami, OK, then headed out of town incorrectly but quickly regrouped and made our way back on route by the time we reached Quapaw, OK.  We were excited to finally exit OK and make our way for a brief stint in Kansas.  Fifteen miles later we were entering Missouri. Now that's traveling!

Leaving Oklahoma and entering Kansas 

Leaving Kansas in less than 2 hours after arriving. 

Entering Missouri 

We did have the opportunity to speak to a fellow cyclists, Dave,  from New Zealand.  We happened to notice his bike at a local restaurant on our route and decided to make a quick stop to chat.  Exchanging information is always a treat. His destination today was Joplin, MO.

A brief visit with Dave from New Zealand 

We received one of our many box shipments at the Joplin Family YMCA. A Big THANK YOU to Lori Jones for being a valued part of our support team. It was great meeting her today and switching out our items. And a Huge thanks for shipping back some un-needed items to PA, and, the local knowledge route information.

Our new Y Family Friendly Lori at the Joplin Family YMCA.

Thank to Mom Montag for shipping our boxes and the wonderful note in our box.  We truly appreciate your support for this venture.

A love note from mom Montag 

With our destination of Joplin today, we completed our Route 66 course. Moving forward there is a slight lapse in map sets as we transition to the Trans America map set.  We are currently making our way onto those plans.  We will be adjusting our destination points on the fly for the next few days, so bear with us. As you can see by the picture below, using the cell phone to prep our routes can sometimes take us to less than desirable road conditions. We did some back road riding today and found residual affects from the major rains that were recently in the area.

Late afternoon water crossing on our way to Mt Vernon. 

17-05-04 Day 26

Tulsa, OK to Miami, OK

Yes we are in Miami, though not very glamorous.  Staying over in the Econolodge.  Had dinner at Kick Off Sports Bar and Grill, although I must give them credit the Pork Chop Entree was very tasty and more than I could finish. Very generous portions, even for a hungry cyclist. 👍

Town still experiencing some effects from the recent heavy rainfall in OK.

Creek running over the road on Route 10 in Miami, OK 

Today was a weather improvement from the cold overcast day that was our nemesis yesterday.  Although the North Wind stuck around to plague us on the road today.  We are heading slightly north to exit Oklahoma.  So today the winds were chilly out of the north.  Many miles of our travels were plagued with strong head winds that left us working hard in the saddle.  Especially on the last 20+ miles to our destination.  We arrived wind blown and fatigued.

I forgot to mention in our previous posts about the dogs that we have encountered thus far.   Occasionally pesky dogs want to chase us, Randy the big dog at this point has a much bigger bark. I call him my big dog in the back.  He generally rides behind me with his flashing rear light.  When he barks (yells) the dogs tend to back off, keeping both of us out of harms way.

Tonight will be our last night in Oklahoma.

17-05-03 Day 25

Chandler, OK to Tulsa, OK

Tulsa? Yes, Tulsa. Our progress today was not what we had set out to achieve. Although the rain, and overnight storms, cleared by the time we departed, we were delayed by a few minor items that over the course of the day added up to a considerable loss of forward movement. From the onset we were looking at 50 degree air Temps, along with a constant wind battling us from the North, Northeast. At times the wind was directly in our faces and at other times slightly off to an angle. Either way it was fighting us, plus forcing us to stop for a brief warm up session at a convenience store (snacks and hot tea). In addition, as the day progressed, the wind speed increased as well. This always had a direct impact on our forward motion. Time off the clock.

West Coast bound, Route 66 bicyclist, Jeff 

Then we met up with a West coast bound, Route 66 bicyclist by the name of Jeff. Jeff started his journey in Chicago and plans to finish his ride where we began, The Santa Monica Pier. Of course we talked shop for awhile trading a few road trip experiences, knowledge, and cautionary tips. More time off the clock.

Then, of course the trip required selfies, especially when we see a very impressive Route 66 sign like this one in Tulsa. 😉  Did I mention this takes some time off the clock? And oh yes, as if the day was not challenging enough, Randy experienced a flat rear tire late in the day. That's right, more time off the clock.

So there you have it. With the loss of time and mileage, it will be time to consider plan C for tomorrow and the coming days.

17-05-02 Day 24

Hinton, OK to Chandler, OK

Great start to our ride today, beauteous day and Randy had a good nights sleep with no issues.  We peddled out this am around 7:45 am.   We planned to make up the miles from yesterday that we stopped short.  So our plan was a century ride.

First leg was to the town of El Reno, which was to be our destination last evening.  We had lots of rolling hills to keep those legs pumping and engaged.  A few miles before El Reno there was a gentleman parked along the road flagging us down to talk for a few minutes, we were a bit skeptical originally then he told us he is a friend of Craig Wolf.  Of course we stopped to chat with Craig's college room mate, Perry Bryan.  He decided to leave work and hunt us down on Route 66 and low a behold he did exactly that.  It was really great chatting with him for a bit.

Our surprise visitor this am, Perry Bryan

El Reno leg complete

After El Reno our next major destination found us picking our way through Oklahoma City which ended up being a bit of a challenge due road construction and croad closings. This forced us to do some back tracking and digging out the cell phones for rerouting.  What did we do before technology?  It took us much longer than anticipated.  We really did not start our last leg of the trip until after 3 pm - 40 miles remaining.  We made one quick pit stop at route 66 venue, Pop's (pops66.com).  All kinds of soda, plus food.

Soda Bottle sculpture at Pop's

Finally rolled into Chandler, OK, this evening at 7 pm.  Needless to say a long day on the road.  Rain in forecast for tomorrow. 🤔

Our little bungalow in Chandler 

17-05-01 Day 23

Sayre, OK to Hinton, OK

What a difference 12 hours can make when it comes to the weather.  Went to sleep with high winds, clouds, and awoke to no wind and gorgeous sunshine.  It was wonderful to finally be presented with some decent riding weather.

Although, the weather was cooperative this am, Randy had another bout with Montezuma's revenge overnight.  He was not in the best of sorts for our am departure.  Thinking we were probably going to have a short day in the saddle he did persevere and managed to get a second wind after lunch time.  Our goal was El Reno, which we fell short by 20ish miles, and ended up in Hinton.  Overall the is was still a good day, 87 miles and great weather.

Route 66 pavement has improved a bit to make the road conditions a tad more bike friendly.  There is still rough spots, but not compared to what we have cycled over in the previous states.   The towns we road through today on the 66 strip are more full of life compared to many previously. For those not so full of life it has been somewhat disheartening to enter the towns and see the buildings abandoned and decaying.

Entering Weatherford, OK, Route 66 strip

As stated above, we are just north of Hinton, OK, this area has a hotel, Love's Truck Stop, Chevrolet Dealership, and two Casinos.  We walked to one of the casinos for dinner hoping to get away from sandwiches, fried foods and Mexican entrees.  We were able to get cuisine that was a step up for our palates at a reasonable price.

Dinner destination and no gambling by these cyclists.