Jeff’s Missouri Bicycle Trip Report - 05/21/09
Day 4 - Afternoon
I really enjoyed lunch at KFC - many trips to the buffet, drink
station, and ice cream machine. I finished the last of my soda outside, where I
could see the bridge, but still was not sure exactly where to get on. Turns out
it was down the road right in front of the KFC. 
At 2:30 p.m. I was on
the approach. 
All the bridge
cable lights are numbered! 
Missouri! If
nothing else, I made it to Missouri. Now, if only my route on the low land
between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers wasn’t flooded, I would make it to
Machens - the start of the Katy Trail. I was so excited that I missed the
turn off to a short trail I meant to take that parallels the highway. The
highway’s shoulder was wide, so it didn’t really matter. North of West Alton - a
detour. At least it was a detour and not just a “Road Closed”. 
Actually, my planned route was along the detour. The only
problem was, all the extra detoured traffic along this route with minimal
shoulder. At one point I was going to pull off the road to let a car go by, but
a dog was waiting for me. I kept going a little ways. The car driver was very
patient, but not the motorcyclist behind him who yelled at the driver as he
roared by! I was glad when the traffic detoured back to Route 94, leaving me on
a no traffic road. That gave me time to take a picture of the power plant from
the south side. 
At 3:52 p.m. I arrived
at the Machens trailhead. It’s sure in the middle of nowhere, hidden behind
still used railroad tracks. (See the west view of the power plant?) 
I
was very happy. No more hills or traffic issues (for a while)! 
A
train passed while I was there. 
There wasn’t
too much time for celebrating. I had to get to somewhere where I could sleep for
the night - hopefully Augusta. 
The trail isn’t
complete between Machens and Saint Charles. I’d routed on roads to bypass the
incomplete sections, but to save time, just went on through (I’d read that it
was possible). 
At 5:22 p.m. I
took a short break at the present start of the completed trail. There appeared
to be a lot to see in Saint Charles, even along the trail, but my GPS’s
indicated that if I kept moving, I might just make it to Augusta before dark.
One problem, however, was that I kept stopping to take pictures. 
I thought the way
this business accommodated the trail was clever. 
I was making good
time, but my PN-20 was crying for new batteries. I decided to change them while
riding. Big mistake! At 6:41 p.m., just past Amrein Road, I crashed. 
The palms of my hands took the worst of it. That’s when it
occurred to me that smart bicyclists wear biking gloves! The front basket bent
some, but all the rear luggage stayed on. I parked and bandaged up my hands, all
the while thinking how that idea saved time. Sunset was at 8:14 p.m.. I’d be
pushing the trail rules (“not open after dark”), but figured it wouldn’t be
completely dark by the time I got to the campground. It was 8:40 p.m. (and
pretty dark) when I left the trail to walk my bike up the steep hill to Klondike
Park. I read the self check-in procedure and rode around to find “the best”
campsite, settling on “Basic Camping” site B8. 
While setting up
the tent, I realized my right knee took a hit during the crash, since I couldn’t
kneel on it. None-the-less, it was a beautiful night, and I was glad to be going
to bed. Received a few more emails from the ferry company, so figured I’d
better let them know where I was. Subject:
ferry
Date: Thursday, 5-21-2009 10:50 A.M. (forwarded to me
at 12:42 p.m.)
From: Calhoun Ferry Co.
Thursday May
21st We will keep the Winfield Ferry open today until 9 p.m. tonight. The
river is dropping but the water is not receding off the road at Golden Eagle,
there is about 11 inches of water on Hwy B and 6 inches on the ferry road. We
will stay open at Golden Eagle for truck traffic only. The Mississippi River
at Winfield is at 29 feet and is forecast to drop 2 feet by tomorrow. I will
send out a new report tonight for tomorrows schedule. Thank You, The
Calhoun Ferry Company Subject: FERRY
Date:
Thursday, 5-21-2009 6:56 p.m. (forwarded to me at
8:49 p.m.)
From: Calhoun Ferry Co.
Thursday, May
21st. The Winfield Ferry will close tonight at 9 p.m.. The Golden Eagle Ferry
will be open at 5 a.m. tomorrow with 2 ferry’s operating. The water on the road
should be gone by tomorrow morning. They had about 4 inches on Hwy B tonight and
it was receding fast. Thank You, The Calhoun Ferry
Company Subject: Re: FERRY
Date:
Thursday, 5-21-2009 11:02 p.m. (sent to Tahdra at 11:02 p.m.,
forwarded to ferry the next day at 9:20am)
From: Jeff on
bike Thanks. Your reports allowed me to plan. I crossed this afternoon on the
Alton bridge. Jeff Email sent to support team: Subject:
Day 4 - Missouri!
Date: Thursday,
5-21-2009 11:27 p.m.
Up at 6:15 a.m. Motel breakfast. Bought new tire and tube.
Installed and left at 9:30.
Buffet lunch at alton at KFC, 1:25. On bridge at
2:30.
3:52 p.m. at Machens - start of katy!
Took spill at 6:45 p.m. - bike is
OK!
Palms of hands took worse of it.
Note to jeff : stop bike to change
GPS batteries!
8:45 p.m. at klondike park in Augusta.
77 miles
Moving
8:53
8.8 average
Max speed: fast. Pn-20 says 111. Not that fast!
Tires,
tube $19.99
Lunch $7.86
Camp $10
Jeff
Day 4: 78 miles
in 13 hours, 7 minutes = 5.9 mph.
Spent: $19.99 (tube, tire) + $7.86 (KFC
lunch) + $10.00 (camping fee) = $37.85.
Previous Installment Next Installment
| 
