GreatPlains2012

Day 15

Wednesday, 27 Jun 2012
Boonville, MO to Jefferson City, MO
56.5 miles, 4h47m, 11.8 mph
Elapsed Time: 6h33m, Max speed: 32.1mph
Total Climbing: 493ft, Max elevation: 781ft
Total mileage: 954.0

I rode only 56 miles--mostly on the Katy Trail--to Jefferson City. That means I got in early enough to walk around town and and see stuff. That means I had time for a long dinner. That means I'm pretty tired now.

This part of the Katy Trail follows the Missouri River, so it's basically flat. It's all about grinding out the miles and not running out of water. It was hot today. Here's some pictures.

This is the extent of my mechanical failures so far. When I turn hard to the left my right foot
hits the little flap on my fender. It's busted. Since I have seen nary a drop of rain, it has not been a concern.

They say Boonville Station looks the same as it always has.
Apparently Boonville is named after a couple of Daniel Boone's sons.
That doesn't explain the spelling.

Crossing the Missouri River. Someday the Trail will cross that railroad bridge.

Just outside of Boonville. This should be the last Santa Fe Trail sighting. This is where it starts.

Long hours of nothing to do but take pictures of myself riding without a helmet.

High voltage monkey bars in the playground! Awesome!

The Trail often runs right along the Missouri. There are lots of signs
praising Edward Jones, the investments guy. He put up a lot of the money for the trail.

Each access point has one of these deals with lots of useful and historical information.
They've really done a great job with this trail.

You can kind of see the Roche Perche natural arch there. This used to be a big
reference point when traveling the river. Now you can barely see it.

There was lots of Lewis & Clark stuff along here. There was a marker for every campsite
and for every place that one of the Corps of Discovery stubbed a toe.

The biggest problem with the trail is the dust. That fine, chalky stuff gets everywhere.
Even my camera's acting up. It might need to be washed.

To cross the Missouri at Jefferson City I had to ride up this crazy structure to get to the bike lane
they bolted on to the bridge.

The Missouri Capitol. The statute in front is Jefferson. They love him here.

And here's the Corps of Discovery, including their dog Toto...or Seaman.

I took this picture of a brass model of the battleship Missouri just to prove that
I actually toured the capitol building.

After my tourism I was pretty spent. So I had dinner at the penthouse restaurant at my hotel, and then retired to type this.

Linda is flying out tomorrow and I'll meet her on the road at some point. This is important because I plan an epic ride of over 100 miles to St. Charles. I don't know how realistic that is, but if I get an early start and just keep grinding I'll have a chance.

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