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Tough Ride to Louisiana!
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Saturday morning, with an early departure from my Best Western hotel in Hannibal, I encountered the first rain riding of the trip. No disappojntment about that; rain has become preferred to temps in the upper 80’s. Due to COVID, my complimentary breakfast consisted of a grab bag, which had some fruit, and a couple small pastries, and a small bottle of water. In addition, I had filled my water bottle with ice water. I knew that wasn’t enough water, but surely there would be a place to get more water before I left town. Wrong: the only place was a boarded up filling station. I should’ve turned around before leaving Hannibal to get more water; next time I will.
Rt. 79 is listed as a scenic byway on the Missouri roadmap. In this regard it does not disappoint. Between Hannibal and Louisiana it rides up and down the bluffs along the Mississippi. The rain stopped after about a half hour, and the sun came out and began to bake the land. The hills were many, large and steep. Even in my lowest gear I had to dismount and walk the bike in places. The elevation change was over 300 feet on the largest ones. On a training ride west of Madison, a single 300 foot climb and a couple 200 footers was considered a full workout.
My only source of energy was a package of licorice, that I had stashed in my gear before leaving home. The route was scenic, with several pullouts for scenic views which I took advantage. Finally, very thirsty and hungry, 30 miles later I finally arrived in the river town of Louisiana. My toughest day of the ride so far, or perhaps a close second to day 2.
Miles: 33
Ave. Speed: 7.1 mph
Elevations: High 845. Low 459*
* overall trip low elevation
Beautiful scenery!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics Mark. Didn't know you were retiring. Congratulations! Plan to keep watching this awesome adventure you're having, thanks for the great blog. Dave Nelson
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