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Wednesday/Thursday, August 20/21, 2008, Concord Hill Bed and Breakfast, Marthasville, Missouri
Today was the day we began our night ride, so we weren’t in any hurry to start real early. When we finally had finished eating and packing and were pedaling away, my back support on my seat gave way. So back to Walmart for some replacement screws. By the time we left, it was 11:30. The sky was overcast and there was a slight breeze against us, but not too bad. It was cool with a slight mist covering the ground, perfect weather for cycling. Trees and greenery were everywhere, almost a tropical feel to the place. Bunches of caterpillar nests in dense web-like cocoons were clustered in the branches all around. Nobody was on the trail, so it was ours the whole way to be as loud and entertaining as we wanted. Of course, Sarah is always entertaining on the back of Becky’s bike, dancing instead of pedaling, and John is always asking and talking about hysterical things. As the day wore on, I thought it would be best to buy more lights, so we stopped again at another Walmart and I bought a regular flashlight and one that took a 6 volt battery to tape to my bike since I was going to be the first one in line in case we hit something. The trail was so much fun for the group because it was safe to ride abreast and entertaining to listen to all the conversations along the way. At dusk we prepared for the night ride by making lots of sandwiches and putting Vicky, John, and Sarah’s bikes on top of the van. The rest of us headed out into the dark around 8:30. It had begun to sprinkle, but not too bad. It was a blast. I had four headlights taped our attached to my bike and the others all had one. Riding abreast and close together, we sent out quite a beam, making everything in front visible, and we never came close to hitting anything. For about 2 hours all was great. Then the rain came. And came. And never ceased. With our rain gear on, we were still getting wetter by the mile. At every stop under the shelters at every trailhead, we would eat, drink, and redo anything loose before heading out again. We didn’t take long stops after awhile because of the cold. Being wet all the time for hours takes its toll, even when riding. The only way to stay warm was to ride. After hours of riding in the rain, I got a rash, which wasn’t pleasant. By 4:30 am, all were soaked and sleepy. All the towns we went through were small and shut down for the night. So we decided to sleep in the warmest place we could find – a portapotty. It was made of cement and had a door. There wasn’t enough room for us to lie down, so we sat against one another and the walls. Surprisingly it didn’t stink, too bad, so we all fell asleep. We woke up after a couple of hours and the sky was light so we headed out, still wet and raining. To be continued…
I was very tired and sleepy, plus my handlebars had loosened slightly which made the steering a little unstable. We managed to go on to Treloar Trailhead and finished up our riding there. Gloria had met Maggie, who ran the Concord Hill Bed and Breakfast in Marthasville beautiful bed and breakfast, and she was willing to let us stay in the bed and breakfast for only $50, what a bargain, so we agreed. We were too tired to ride even though it was only a few miles, so we asked the local restaurant help if we could lock the bikes up under their porch for the night; they agreed. So we got a bite to eat there while watching some Olympic wrestling before going to Marthasville. The house was beautiful and Maggie was such a good hostess, we felt right at home. Some of the kids went in the hot tub. After my shower, I melted on the bed at around 7:00 pm and didn’t wake up until about 8:30 in the morning. I hadn’t slept so well in ages; I needed it too. All in all we had ridden 148 miles.