Marthasville to Troy, MO

35 miles. This should have been an easy day, based on the low mileage. But for a number of reasons it was a tough day. First, we are both bruised and sore from the crash yesterday. We both bruised some ribs and tweaked a knee, in addition to having road rash. Second, we slept in our tent on the concrete slab of a covered pavilion, which was not horrible but not very restful - particularly because there were thunderstorms and heavy rain most of the night (we were very thankful we were under the covering; we stayed completely dry). We'd also forgotten how early in the morning the bird chatter begins, especially the jays who seem to live in a perpetual state of domestic turmoil. After a less than ideal breakfast at the Marthasville C-store (microwaved egg and sausage sandwiches and chocolate donuts), we then set out on a windy, cool day. And, of course, there was primarily a headwind most of the day. Fourth, we had to climb some very steep hills today as we worked our way out of the Missouri River valley and began to head north in a path roughly paralleling the Mississippi River. One rather long climb was so steep that we had to stop, get off and push the tandem and trailer to the top. We expected to have to do that at some point on this trip, but it would have been nice if it had occurred on a day when we were feeling better.

To top the day off, our rear tire just wore out about 5 miles from the end of the ride. The tread was so bare in two spots that the tube was actually bulging through the tread (we were amazed that the tube had not failed)! So once again we had to undertake the whole convoluted task of removing the rear tire. Fortunately, we had a spare tire with us, although once again a kind person stopped to ask if we needed help. (The sight of two people with all their luggage strewn on the roadside working on an upside-down tandem must be too pathetic for at least some people to ignore.) We got it fixed and finished the ride looking forward to a hot shower and a real bed to sleep in. Some days are diamonds and some are rust, and this was clearly one of the latter.

Old hardwar store in Troy

It's a very nice-looking town but I was too tired to take more pics.
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Missouri countryside

Between Marthasville and Wright City. This is typical of the scenery we saw all day, but the only photo I snapped during our ride.
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Hermann to Marthasville, MO

34 miles. It was an eventful day. We got a late start for a number of reasons, including another flat tire (the rear again, of course). Then, after we were back on the Katy Trail only a short while we crashed. The trail includes a series of "gates" that are intended to keep cars, ATVs, etc. off the trail. As you can see from the "Scene of the Crime" photo, the space open to allow cyclists to pass is pretty narrow. However, for a single rider on his/her own bike these are no big deal. But for the two of us on a tandem pulling a trailer (total length in excess of 15 feet), it's a different story. Two sets of handlebars, two pannier bags and the trailer have to clear a space in a straight line that is less than 3 feet wide.* Nevertheless, we had cleared at least two dozen of these without problems until today. Due to paranoia over avoiding another flat,
I was staring at the trail in front of me looking for sticks, etc. that might cause another tube puncture. We had been riding on the left edge of the trail where there was less loose gravel. As we cranked along this morning, I looked up just in time to see another gate. I tried to grab with both hands to hit the "sweet spot" between the two arms and almost made it. Almost. We hit the left arm and the impact pushed us down on our right side to a skidding halt on the gravel. Fortunately, our injuries appear to be fairly minor - I have "road rash" on the side of my right knee and elbow and that knee is stiff and a little sore. Penny did not get scraped up but has a muscle pull or tear in her shoulder and her right knee is tender too. The bike took a few dings (bent handlebar, loose front wheel spokes, front fender popped part way off) but was otherwise still functional. We had a first aid kit but discovered that we lacked anything useful in it (gauze, bandages, etc.) We were almost 20 miles from the next official Katy Trail trailhead (town where they at least have water and perhaps a small grocery), so we just dusted ourselves off and kept going. After almost 5 more miles Penny pointed out that our yellow safety flag for the trailer was missing. We assumed that it had come loose in the crash
And we had just failed to notice its absence in the process of putting ourselves back together again. So back we went to the Scene of the Crime looking for the damn flag (including passing through 2 more gates). When we arrived, we searched high and low but could not find the flag. There is a creek crossing just before the gate in question and it is possible that the flag went into the water. Or we may have forgotten to install it when we left Hermann (I called the place we stayed but they have not seen it). In any event, we rode almost 10 miles out of our way on bum knees and shoulders for nothing.

We had intended to ride to Marthasville today, leave the Katy Trail and continue on north to Troy, a distance of about 54 miles. But due to our late start, the crash and the additional mileage, we staggered into Marthasville quite late in the afternoon. Also, the forecast was for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and Troy was another 30 miles. So we decided to call it quits for the day in Marthasville. The only problem with that plan is that the only place to stay in town is full. The woman who runs it was very helpful though and arranged for us to camp at the town baseball field complex. We can pitch our tent (first use on this trip) on the sideline grass or, if the weather gets ugly, on a concrete slab under a covered pavilion. In addition, the same lady loaned us towels so we could take hot showers in the bathrooms here at the field. And they have Little League baseball going on tonight so we have free entertainment to go with our free housing for the night. You can't beat that with a stick!

*Many of you non-cyclists are probably thinking "why don't they just walk the bike through"? That, of course, would be the logical, rational thing to do. But if we were logical, rational people we wouldn't be undertaking this trip in the first place, now would we?