More on the River

April 3 Sunday

We are currently staying in Cape Girardeau, MO. We have ridden just past Ware, IL about 15 miles to the north. High winds are expected today. We may not ride. It might be a work on taxes day. Yesterday was another day of many flats. The rear tire is worn out and the nearest bike shop was in Cape Girardeau. We now have a new tire. Even with those problems we travelled about 85 miles yesterday. A big day for all the time spent fixing flats. At the end Bill put the only patched tube that wasn't leaking in the rear tire. It took Ir fine and pumped up to 90lbs on the travel pump gauge. The gauge may not be very accurate. It was just laying on the ground when the tube blew. Maybe God was telling us the riding day was done. I called Grace to come and get us.

There is a high school girls volleyball tournament in town. Must be 30 high school girls eating here where I'm drinking coffee and writing. Some of them are tall.

Yesterday was fun. We had wind at our backs most of the time. Great views riding along the river. Trains are frequent. And there is a fair number of barges traveling the river. Looks like commerce is picking up. Must be an improving economy.

Grace brought us lunch from McDonald's to a small park river side near Chester. So, at noon we had made it to where we spent the night. There was not much traffic on the roads. The road we were on had no shoulder and was narrow. But, the traffic was so light it was a pleasant ride. Lots of fixer up houses along the roads. We travelled by a large and old limestone mine. The bluffs along the river appear to be solid limestone. There is a big prison complex built up against the bluff outside Chester.

April 4, 2011

Three nights in Cape Girardeau. The storm started with strong South winds. We had ridden to a point North or McClure IL on the first. It was about 20 miles north of Cape Girardeau. That's where the tire blew. Then the next day the winds started. Grace drove us out to the continuation point on the 2nd and it took over two hours to ride the twenty miles back to the hotel. After the ride and lunch we worked on taxes. In a way it pays for the trip.

The storm came in behind the winds. The next morning it was raining hard and still blowing. More tax work. The rain died down some and the winds shifted to the NW. About noon we had Grace drive us back across the bridge and we stated south.

We were going to ride down the MO side but, the Ferry we were to use to cross the Mississippi into Hickman is not operating. Maintenance issue. So, we headed toward Cairo IL. Cape Girardeau is a prosperous appearing place. By contrast Cairo has died. Still promotes having over 1,500 people living there but appearances makes one wonder how the survive. It is sad to see so many grand old houses and other buildings in such a sad state of repair. All along the river from Minneapolis there are signs that economical decline has left many of the towns and their citizens living in the past. The world moves on and many have tried to cling to the past.

Yesterday we rode 56 miles and stopped in Columbus KY. This is the town Jefferson wanted to make the capital of the US. It failed by one vote. And, Casey Jones got his first job with the railroads.