My plan on day one was to leave Clinton mid-morning and arrive in Sedalia by mid-afternoon. This first night would be the motel night. I had camping planned for two nights and one night in a DNR bunk house.

Here I am at the Clinton Station.

I experienced a smooth ride for much of the first day. I hit a spongy section of trail between B Highway and Green Ridge. This also happens to be the section with the highest point on the trail at 955 feet. You can see the rise, but it’s not much of a grade really — unless the trail is spongy and you’re dragging a trailer. This section got difficult and demoralizing fast. A few questions sprung to mind as I slogged through: How long will this last? Will my knees hold up? Will I die here?

So I was pretty wiped out by the time I reached Sedalia. And I was wondering if I could really finish. Rain had soaked the region for the better part of two weeks, and more was forecast. What if the rest of the trip had large sections of spongy trail.

Day two was scheduled to be the longest of the five at about 60 miles — Sedalia to McBaine. And the 25 miles between Sedlaia and Pilot Grove is the longest stretch without services. Two things went my way: First, the trail was damp but firm. Second, the dreaded sink hole had been “fixed,” so the trail was open. I made it to Pilot Grove in good shape averaging 12 miles per hour.

After lunch I continued on to Boonville where I crossed the Missouri River. I had about 22 more miles to go when the rain hit. I decided to stop for the night in Rocheport at a Bed & Breakfast (Katy Trail Bed & Bikefest). It rained all night.

The next day the DNR warned that sections of the trail east of Rocheport could close at any minute. I decided to call it quits and try again another day. I left the trailer in Rocheport and headed to Columbia — up the fitness trail spur — to be rescued.

The good folks at PedNet in Columbia gave me a place to hang out. I had lunch with Robert Johnson, the PedNet director of consulting services (and frequent commenter on Carbon Trace). That was a fine end to a day that started out rough.

I had about a 16-mile ride ahead of me to get to Columbia — in the rain. That’s not such a big deal. And, without the trailer, really not too bad at all except for flood debris on the trail, including large hunks of wood, standing water, and several large areas of mud up to three inches deep.

I thought it might get better as I got closer to town, but about two miles from downtown I had to pass under a bridge where the creek had flooded the trail.

This wasn’t so bad to get through except that by this  point I was really just over the whole thing

My wife arrived by mid-afternoon. I had plenty to tell her about what I’d learned and what I’ll do differently next time. Here are a few highlights:

1. I have a lot of experience camping by canoe. So I had a want-it-take-it mentality because, well, in canoe camping if you want it take it. The canoe can handle it. Not so bicycle trailers on chat. I don’t own lightweight camping equipment, and that’s really what you need.

2. Soggy conditions + trailer = pain.

3. Next time: Bed & Breakfasts all the way!

4. Padded saddles are great. And I had a nice squishy one. But I’m used to the Hobson. Next time: a padded Hobson.

5. Plan fewer miles per day — 40 seems about right to me if you’re carrying only personal items.

Video coming soon…

Technorati Tags: bicycle touring, cycling

I’m also slowing down. A little extra speed during the colder months keeps me warmer. Now, a big dose of lazy keeps me cooler.

Further, I make wardrobe changes in the spring. I break out my nylon and cotton shirts. I’m especially fond of the fishing shirts made by World Wide Sportsman and Columbia available at Bass Pro Shops.

Technorati Tags: bicycle culture, cycling

A wintry mix is on the way — due by noon. Yuck.

But not to worry. I wear on of those wonderful Carhartt jackets that are large and roomy to accommodate layers. This thing laughs off wintry mixes.

Technorati Tags: walking, weather

Yesterday I read an interesting essay on one of my favorite blogs about the virtues of walking. Some people apparently assume that a walker is in some distress, i.e. in need of a car or in need of rescue. Jason Peters writes:

The change in private behavior that I should so like to see I see nowhere. The price of gas does not alter behavior. The threat of a warming planet does not alter behavior. Illness and obesity do not alter behavior.

Mind you: it’s not as if there’s no generosity in the world. I’ve been offered rides by floozies and pansies and concerned citizens who think I’ve been mistreated by an unreliable car. But I don’t seem to have inaugurated the transportation revolution I had hoped to launch back in 1996 when I first decided that I would live within walking distance of all the places I need to be.

Many of my colleagues live in my neighborhood; all of them belong to the great mass of air-perfumers who motor by me each day. All of them want something done about global warming.

There’s quite a bit in that nugget to comment on. But I want to consider an assumption and its serendipitous intersection with my life this morning.

That’s the scene from my office window this morning. My daughter and I walked to school. It’s snowing. I don’t like riding my bicycle in the snow. And driving — with the whole parking hassle and then walking from a far-off lot –  would actually take longer to traverse the 3/4 miles from home to work. Plus, I’ve never purchased an MSU parking pass.

Near the intersection you see there (National and Grand) a lady driving a Prius — a complete stranger — pulled to the side of the road to offer us a ride.

I used the opportunity — incorrigible pedant that I am — to talk to my daughter about assumptions. This person, I said, assumed we must be having a lower-quality experience than she.

At first my daughter was offended by my remarks — thinking that I was questioning her motives. No, she’s obviously a lovely and caring person to risk offering a ride. I’m simply questioning her assumptions.

I told my daughter, “It is my assumption that the world would be a better place if more people assumed that driving a car is the lower-quality experience.”

Technorati Tags: walking, weather

The spring semester began today. There’s snow on the ground, so I’m on foot. I just don’t like riding a bicycle in slippery conditions. Not that walking is any safer. I had to go downtown for a couple or errands. On the way back I nearly got left-hooked in the crosswalk at Kimbrough and Walnut. And along Walnut another driver pulled across the sidewalk in front of me blocking my way.

But, hey… they were driving automobiles, which in this culture means: Don’t even think of messing with my most important convenience.

Otherwise, it’s been a nice day to walk. Sunny. Temperatures above freezing — kinda like Florida last week I can’t want for this snow to melt.

Technorati Tags: walking, weather