September 24: Ste Genevieve to Cape Girardeau, MO

Distance 71 miles, averaged 10.2 mph, ride time 6:57, actual time on road 8 hours 20 minutes.  Expenses $41.98

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Another short night for sleep but getting to know Jack and Mickey was well worth the late hour.  For breakfast Jack whipped us up an Energy Shake with fresh blueberries and a couple slices of toast.  I have to say the shake not only tasted good but it did keep me full and vitalized for today’s lengthy ride.  The Energy shake is one of the products Jack markets.

A bonus for today’s long ride I won’t have to carry all my gear as Jack and Mickey are going to Cape Girardeau to continue to help their son clean up and paint the new home he rented.   As it turned out it was more than a bonus it was a blessing.  On the road at 7:20 it was a repeat of yesterday as the temperature was down near 40˚, why didn’t I bring long finger gloves, arm and leg warmers?  Oh yea I remember why I didn’t, I’m traveling light as possible and besides heading south into warmer climate.  So much for that line of reasoning what I really need to do to cut weight is lose 50 lbs. but I love my food and beer and wine and desert and just about anything else I can eat that won’t eat me first.

On the way out of town I passed several homes from the 1800s and even one of the French constructed log cabins with the upright style of placing longs instead of horizontal built sometime in the 1700s.  It was really neat looking and as Mickey had told me folks are living in it.  Nearly 250 years old and still structurally sound.  The ride out of Ste Genevieve was equally as spectacular as the road was along the base of a bluff with trees and foliage still with green leaves, to my right open farm land leading up to the levies bordering the Mississippi River, the hills were gentle rollers for the Old Guy, birds and ducks waking up the morning with their calls to each other, the smell of fresh earth turned and made ready for the next crop to be planted.  The experience of riding a bicycle puts you in touch with Mother Earth that you just can’t feel riding in a motor vehicle.  Heck, I even forgot about the cold temperature.

Visiting with Patrick last night, I was looking forward to reaching the flats of the Delta bottom land where I’d be able to cruise along continuing to enjoy my commune with Mother Earth.  Of course to get to the flats I did have to climb a few steep Ozark hills which rewarded me with a final mile long downhill where I set Spirit free to run wild as an Indian pony had done in an era long ago.  Last look at my bike’s computer Spirit had seized the moment as we were doing in excess of 45 miles per hour.  I thought to myself, “Frank you did well naming your bike ‘Spirit’ as it sets my mind and soul free of the world I normally live in”.

As I rolled onto the bottomland flats I met two riders with fully loaded bikes coming in my direction as we intersected paths we stopped for a brief visit.  I learned they were riding the Trans-Am route to the West Coast.  I thought to myself these guys are getting started a little late in the season and are sure to run into snow in the mountains, I must be a real woozy as I’m cold at 40˚ and they are sure to hit zero or lower yet.  As we each continued on our own journey I looked around and realized this is the area where I crossed over from Chester, Illinois last year and had to climb the long hill I just flew down on Spirit.

Entering the flats I was ready for some easy riding but quickly realized something was wrong as I could only maintain about 12 mph average.  Finally, I stopped and checked the brakes to see if one was sticking, though I hadn’t used brakes on the downhill I just descended.  Nope the problem was a headwind and I wasn’t yet heading full into it as the road curved around I saw my speed drop to as low as 8 mph.  The eleven mile easy ride I anticipated vanished.  Are you ready for this, I actually was glad to get back into some hills as the downhill sides gave me a break of a full out continuous effort pedaling.   The wind shows no mercy and is harder on all bicyclists but especially on an overweight Old Guy and a bicycle weighing in excess of 100 lbs.  It sure spoiled my feeling of exuberance from this morning.

Arriving in Cape Girardeau I only had to detour one block off the MRT route to Patrick’s new home to collect my gear.  Patrick is a carbon copy of his dad in looks, actually I remember seeing a picture of him at his parent’s home last night and thought he was his dad.  Just like his folks Patrick was exuberant and pleasurable young man to meet.  After a brief visit and thanking Mickey and Jack once again for their hospitality and for lugging my gear today, with my panniers hanging out from each side of Spirit they would have acted like sails but instead of propelling me forward they would have caused additional drag Cape for me, I bid farewell and was quickly to Judy Cureton’s home, my Warm Showers Host for tonight.

Ginger, Judy’s dog loudly announced my arrival to the neighborhood.  She made such a fuss a neighbor, another Judy, actually came over to check what all the commotion was about. Soon as she saw my bike and me she knew Judy was going to host yet another bicycle traveler.  Judy C. came out the back door of her home about the same time and welcomed me to her home.  She helped me take my bike down into the basement of her home where she has a bike repair shop set-up.  Turned out Judy is an accomplished bicycle mechanic among other awe inspiring traits you will soon discover as I did.  After we had Spirit safely in her basement workshop Judy showed me around her two-story Victorian brick home which she is renovating on her own.  Well, she does have help with doing plumbing and heating chores but everything else she pretty much is doing herself.  The home was designed by her grandmother in 2004, they lived there until they passed then Judy’s parents inherited and lived in the home and now that they too have passed Judy inherited the home.  Did I mention Judy is 74 years old?

Judy Cureton legendary touring bicyclist

Over the course of this evening I learned I was in the presence of one of the true modern era pioneers of bicycle touring.  In 1976 when a mass group ride was organized to cross America in celebration of our USA Bi-Centennial Judy was one of the riders.  As a result of that monumental ride a touring organization was founded now known as Adventure Cycling, Judy is a charter and Life Member # 92.  I was enthralled, humbled and inspired with Judy and her stories of touring the world since that first crossing of America.  Judy has toured on six continents, she’d do the seventh and final continent if there were a bicycle trail on Antarctica.  This summer to celebrate her 74^th birthday she rode in Bhutan, Asia butts up against the Himalaya’s.  If you’ve ever seen pictures of a one lane mountain road hugging the side of a mountain with a shear drop-off of thousands of feet, that’s Bhutan.

Once again it was late into the night when Judy and I finally decided we’d better call it a day.  I have to say I would have loved to stay and visit with Judy for days.  She has huge scrape books of her many adventures over the last 36 years.  Totally amazing woman who at 74 is still going strong, may God grant her many more years and adventures.

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