TransAm Day #22 Marshfield, MO - Golden City, MO
TransAm Day #22
June 16, 2018
Marshfield, MO - Golden City, MO
86 Miles
Ride Time 6:59 Hours
Tour Total Miles 1589
Last night I did the RC hammock sushi roll sans goose down in the Marshfield City Park Pavilion. It was pretty toasty out, so I didn’t use the silk bag or insect netting until it got cool in the middle of the night. There was a lot of traffic noise from nearby route 66 and a dog seemed to bark forever.
Becky showed up after dark and I had saved her two slices of pizza. We talked for awhile and had some good laughs. Becky is a computer IT consultant from London. Her family has no idea that she’s doing this trip, and she’s not going to tell them until she gets home. If of my readers know Becky’s family, please don’t spill the beans. She’s never done any bike touring, but she’s an avid backpacker. Her original idea was to hike the Appalachian Trail but the TransAm sounded more interesting and provided a better taste of America. She’s got a three month visa, and described the trip so far as 'churches and a lot of white people'. She asked me if I was awed by the vast space to either side of where we currently found ourselves on the map. I went to college in neighboring Iowa, so this is still somewhat familiar territory for me. Out west is when things will become new. Like me, Becky is a vegetarian in civilian life. We both intend to go back to our dietary ways once our trips are finished. We talked about white lines and rumble strips, and we bitched about the styrofoam cups at all the convenience stores.
Becky was still in her tent this morning at 5am, when I rode off. She later texted me that she departed at 8am, a new record for her. There was considerable sprawl to the west of Marshfield, near I-44, but it wasn’t long until I was back out in the fields. I rode 20 miles to a Kum & Go in Fair Grove for breakfast. I had an egg sandwich, a chocolate doughnut, an orange juice, and a large machine-made cappuccino. The locals sitting there were talking about the race track and roofing work. Steve walked in right as I was leaving. He had spent the night at the Marshfield Holiday Inn.
For the past three days I’ve passed three eastbound racers doing the TransAm Bike Race. They started June 1, and have already pedaled 2700 miles to get to where I am. They carry very little equipment strapped to their bike. I was fortunate to meet eastbound racer Steven from the UK. He’s doing 220 miles a day and his best day was 299 miles. He sleeps in a bivi bag, which I believe is something like a contractor’s bag. I warned him about the dogs in Kentucky.
I ended up seeing about a dozen racers today. At the time of writing, the leader in the velomobile is already east of Afton mountain in Virginia. I passed him three days ago. I definitely think my Brooklyn neighbor Gary should do this race.
I stopped at a store in Walnut Grove and the nice lady said that I didn’t have to pay for my lemonade. It was 9am and already hot outside. I talked with a woman who was interested in cycling. She wanted to ride the big BAM this year but they’re busy right now cutting hay.
I’ve been passing giant rolls of hay for over a week now and haven’t described it. There’s a lot of cattle around these parts, and farmers grow grass for them to eat. The most efficient way to provide year-long sustenance is to clip the grass once its waist high, and roll it up into enormous logs. It’s all done by machines towed by tractor, and it’s a considerable amount of work. The rolls are six feet in diameter and about six feet long. Their shape is held with nylon netting. Sometimes the logs are stored in barns, but often they remain out in the field frequently covered in plastic. The hay is fed to cattle in large corrugated steel feeders.
There were 14mph headwinds out of Walnut Grove. I was proceeding due south, and the prevailing plains wind patterns are out of the south. Once I turned west, I still had a cross wind, and it was challenging to make good time. Wind is going to become the next challenge.
I met a trio of cyclists on the side of the road, Andy, Pam, and Tom. I had met Andy back at Al’s hostel in Farmington, and had run into him earlier at Ash Grove. He's cycling from Maine to San Diego to raise awareness for Glioblastoma. His blog is at: astoutride.org
Pam and Tom are from Acadia, CA and are doing the TransAm eastbound. They have a car and are self-assisted. I still don’t understand how this works. The route must be crisscrossed by one of them at least thrice. They are staying in hotels, and are pedaling extremely light. They told me about an eastbound cyclist named Ashley Sharp, who was hit by a motorist at 11pm in Kansas. The rider is apparently ok, but their bike is damaged and they are currently staying with a bike mechanic in Pittsburgh.
My maps are beginning to look like grids, which suggests that the landscape is flattening out. The roads and highways appear to be spaced out every mile, creating square mile plots of land. I swallowed my first bug today. 🐞 The corn here is up to my head.
My last stretch into Golden City had a northern heading, meaning that I had a tailwind. I rode 20mph, and my destination was Cooky’s Cafe. I’ve been hearing about this place and it’s fantastic pies for the last hundred miles. It lived up to its reputation.
I joined Andy at Cooky’s, and our waitress must have brought me twenty refills of lemonade. It was blistering hot outside. Steve eventually showed up and joined us for lunch, followed by delicious slices of pie. Afterwards we pedaled over to the city park, where we’ll be spending the night.
I regret to inform my readers that because of a scheduling conflict with my Great Plains team and the Father’s Day Weekend, I will not be making the pilgrimage to the Charlotte Cohen Kansas City homestead. I had been looking forward to that.
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