Jeff’s Missouri Bicycle Trip Report - 05/20/09
Day 3 - Afternoon
I couldn’t of had this flat at a better spot - a shady area was
just across the street. I left the bike on the road until I got it
unloaded. 
After I got the tire off, I looked and found what I was afraid
of - a rip in the tire. I also looked for a sharp object in the tire, but there
was just a very small hole. The pressure from the blowout must have blown out
whatever caused it - perhaps a Tazewell County cactus thorn! 
I decided my
only hope was to put this damaged tire on the front, and the front tire on the
rear. I had a new tube and tools. 
I’d read on
the internet about using a dollar bill to keep a tube from protruding through a
tear in a tire, so I tried that, along with putting only 38 psi in this
58 psi rated tire. 
I moved the bike
back on the road to load it, and started moving again at 3:15 p.m. I needed to get
my mind off the tire, so stopped to take a picture of flowers along the
ditch. 
At 4:25 p.m. I stopped at Witt Cemetery for a break. I called
Tahdra, who searched the internet for bike shops in Jerseyville and found one. I
called the shop for their hours. It was too late to get there today, but they
would be open tomorrow at 8:00 a.m 
Further down the
road I saw this field that had yellow plants of some sort. 
Approaching
Jerseyville, I decided to avoid the city streets I had previously routed and
come in from the south, where the motel (Frontier Lodge) was. I missed the
motel, according to the GPS’s, so turned around and finally asked directions
from a family sitting on their porch. “Right across the street.” (I was at the
side of the building, that apparently shares space with “Century 21”.) It was
7:25 p.m. when I met the motel manager. She was very accommodating, and provided a
secure place (the laundry room) for storing my bike and Room #12 on the ground
floor to stay in. I also found out that the motel manager had worked in the past
at Caterpillar (Building AD) in East Peoria. 
After a shower, I
walked over to Pizza Hut, a half a block away, arriving at 8:45 p.m There I had a
Supreme Personal Pan pizza, one trip salad bar, and a Dr. Pepper, paid for with
a gift card given to me before the trip by Jim and his wife Dianne. I very much
liked the picture mounted in the Pizza Hut entryway. 
Back at the motel I
had a cup of coffee from a one cup coffee maker (never seen one before) while I
tried to figure out where the bike shop was. Its address was “608 State Highway
16”. My GPS’s and the map in the phone book were no help. 
Another
ferry email: Subject: ferry
Date:
Wednesday, 5-20-2009 2:39 p.m. (forwarded to me at 10:18 p.m.)
From:
Calhoun Ferry Co.
Wed. May 20th We will remain open
tomorrow morning, May 21st at the Winfield Ferry. If the river falls tonight
we will move to Golden Eagle for the afternoon. The Golden Eagle Ferry will
remain open to truck traffic only, the water is about 12 inches
deep, Hopefully this will change by tomorrow. Thank You, The Calhoun
Ferry Company Well, that was the end of my hope for a ferry ride. I
also worried if the bike shop had the size tire I needed, whether roads in
Illinois or Missouri were flooded by high water from the Illinois River, and how
was I ever going to make it to tomorrow night’s destination. Finally I just went
to bed. These concerns could wait until tomorrow. Subject:
Day 3 - 23 miles on a dollar Date:
Wednesday, 5-20-2009 10:26 p.m.
Left at 9 a.m.
Rear tube blew at 1:55 p.m Took
tire with it. Switched tires and patched tear with dollar bill. Back on road at
3:15 p.m
Arrived at frontier lodge motel (jerseyville) at 7:25 p.m
Supper at
pizza hut after shower.
52miles total.
7:16 moving
29.1mph max
7.1
average moving
Ferries are closed. Alton bridge
tomorrow.
Jeff Day Three: 52 miles in 10 hours, 25
minutes = 5.0 mph average travel speed (includes flat tire repair
time). Spent: $6.64 plus $2 tip (Pizza Hut supper using gift card) + $54.63
plus $12 tip (motel) = $75.27.
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