Today I dedicated my ride To Marine SGT Dustin Johns from MO. Please take a moment to check out his inspiring story. He is a hero! He will receive his new home July 16th this year. I am so excited for him and his wife. Thank you donors for supporting Homes for Our Troops so that Veterans like Sgt Johns can have an adapted home to fit his current needs and give him his independence back. Thank you Sgt Johns for your service!
Missouri Missouri Missouri…… skipped writing yesterday. I didn’t really have much to say about yesterday but blah! My momma always told me “if you don’t have anything good to say than don’t say it”… so I didn’t. I was in a foul mood it seemed all day. My plans keep getting thwarted and it is annoying me. We got to Missouri and I got read to ride and took photos of the sign and everything but I just didn’t feel safe where I was at riding. I was totally off the Adventure Cycling Map route since I decided to drive to Omaha,NE to go to the CWS game. The tiny research on roads near the boarder where nothing like I expected so I packed the bike up and told Kelly to just drive in the direction of Kirksville, MO. When I got to some country roads I wanted to ride on they were in zero condition for cycling. Picture is below. My teeth would have fallen out of my mouth, not to mention my bum (which has been in quite a bit of pain from a saddle sore I have developed) wouldn’t have appreciated the ride that much either. So we tried another road and another… Then it started pouring. ugh. It just wasn’t my day. I was also sad I was missing my daughter’s birthday yesterday. We got to Kirksville after sunset and decided it was time to eat and celebrate her birthday. I forget the name of the place but it was good and the cake was even better. That lifted my mood. We then drove on to a Super 8 in Macon to spend the night and I did some better research to find a bike route to get me to the IL boarder. (Thanks Aunt Sandy)
Today stated off with a light breakfast at Super 8. They don’t do fancy here. The day’s adventure took me through some very hilly countryside. I remember as a little girl every time we drove somewhere there were lots of hills my mom would go “weeeeeeeeee” as we would giggle as we lost our tummies. I thought of that on many of these rollers. I do hope one day to ride all the way through this beautiful hilly, green state on the route I had originally planned to ride with Donita. I think that they are probably better paved roads than the roads I have been on today. I did enjoy the hilly hills but the bad roads had my teeth rattling. Poor Loco, my bike, was rattling so badly too that my iPhone fell off my bike twice and cracked my screen. It will now be a constantly reminder of how miserable these roads were.
On one of my fun downhills I spotted a little fawn off to the ride side of the road. I told him to stay there! but nope he ran across the road with his mom. I was relieved I was not too close to them to hit one. But just as I was thanking Jesus, that little fawn turned around and ran right in front of me. I slammed on the breaks and just missed colliding with her. I had to get off my bike and take a moment to regroup after that.
Kelly met me at a detour that was up ahead of me so we loaded the bike and went around it. I finished up in the town of Quincy, IL. I was looking forward to crossing the Mississippi on a bike, but the bridge didn’t allow for it. Thankfully Kelly was near so we loaded loco up and drove into IL. All in all it was a fabulous day. We got to eat at Chick’s on the River that faced the Mississippi River. We enjoyed fried chicken and a beautiful sunset. We drove onward to South Jacksonville, IL and I will start my day not too far to the IN boarder. My saddle sore is screaming at me. I probably am not going to get long mileage in do to it. This Holiday Inn Express is very comfy. Thanks Aunt Sandy for your donation to put towards a hotel. We really appreciate it.
Below are a some photos we hope you enjoy. Most are from Kelly. Thanks again for all who have supported us through your prayers, encouraging texts, and your donations throughout our journey. You’re the best! We appreciate you so much! Thank you also to those who have supported HFOT. Your donations to them help disabled vets, like Sgt. Dustin Johns, get a chance at reclaiming some of their personal freedoms in a new home. Many thanks!
