First, the numbers for Stage 2: Total distance: 412 miles Total time: 32 hours over 7 days Average speed: 12.9 mph Ascent/Descent: + 19,338ft / -19,120ft (+218 net) Longest day: 76.2 miles, Springfield to Joplin (Friday) Shortest day: 30.1 miles, Marshfield to Springfield (Thursday) Worst day: Joplin to Vinita, 68.7 miles. (Given the headwinds, I …
Route 66, Day 13: Sooner
Jon and I cranked out the final 52 miles in what felt like a blistering pace, even though our respective tracking apps said we weren’t moving faster than 15 mph. Better still, on top of a nice tailwind, we also had several long stretches of wide shoulders, so we could ride side-by-side and talk. Even …
Route 66, Day 12: Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain
(And the wavin' wheatCan sure smell sweetWhen the wind comes right behind the rain) Yes, we are in Oklahoma. No, the ride today was not OK. Right off the bat, allow me to set the record straight: it may have rained yesterday, and the wind may have come right behind the rain, but we saw …
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Route 66, Day 11: Another little piece of my heart
“I’ll say come on, come on, come on, come on and take it!Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.” Yes, dear reader, we are in Joplin. It’s hard to describe today’s ride: like a lot of Janis’ music, it was all over the place, both beautiful and painful. It actually started last night, …
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Route 66, Day 10: Short and sweet
As planned, today was a short (30 mile) hop into Springfield, MO, and a chance to use the spare time to launder our clothes and prep for the final three days into Tulsa. During this morning’s ride, I think I figured out why motorists have been flying past us. (I can only assume that the …
Route 66, Day 9: Speeders of Lebanon
First, I should point out that while “speeders” rhymes with “cedars,” the parallel kind of collapses when you understand that the good people of this neck of the woods pronounce it “lə-BAN-un,” not “LEB-ə-nun.” Second, I should point out that the speeders in question were not me and Jon, although we did have a couple …
Route 66, Day 8: Rolla Me Away
“Gotta keep rollin', gotta keep ridin' / Keep searchin' 'til I find what's right.” - Bob Seeger, “Roll Me Away” Once we reached Rolla today, I had decided on the song title for today’s post. “Roll Me Away” has been on my cycling playlist for years, whenever traffic and road conditions permit me to pop …
Route 66, Day 7: Sullivan Travails
[I’ve decided to count the days on Route 66 without re-starting at each stage: six days in May, and now Day 7.] The day started out perfectly… and ended rather well, but there was a bit of unscheduled drama along the way. Jon’s red-eye from PDX to STL via DFW arrived early. I picked up …
Keep on rolling.
[A minor homage to 1970-80's mid-western arena rock icons REO Speedwagon, who made a couple of small fortunes on two songs starting with "Keep."] On Monday morning, Jon flies into STL on the red-eye, and we set out for Stage 2 of Route 66: St. Louis to Tulsa. The route runs essentially parallel to the …
Erie Canal Day 8: The finish line
The forecasted storms arrived a little later than expected, at 3:00 am instead of 2:00, but the late start didn’t matter much: it was still raining steadily when I got up at 5:15; when I walked through the mucky field to carry my duffel to the truck; when I returned to the campsite, rolled up …
Rideworthy 