Well it finally had to happen. This morning walking up the 77 in Benton, MO, my replacement plastic wheel leaned up in the air to appease the cart handle, now smothered in duct tape. A jolt of vibration from every wheel rotation with my left tire now flat. The little orange flag being blown by the strong constant gusts of wind repeatedly whipping my left cheek. At that moment I decided it was best to move on. I am now in Cape Girardeau, MO… my cart still sits there on the side of the 77. I left him behind. As I walked away I thought “some people just weren’t cut out for life out on the open road.” I have a new, better cart waiting for me at the post office here that I can pick up today. I am spending the next two nights at rental apartment that overlooks the Mississippi River. I am going to enjoy these 2 nights after the last week. I have gone about 850 miles and have entered my seventh state. It seems that everything I expected to be difficult has been easy for me, but everything I did not see as a major issue has crippled me. (Weather, cart) How did I get here?
Ok so after my last update I was in a park on Easter Sunday in Martin, TN. I was unable to get into a dugout to keep out of the rain. I waited for everyone to leave and set up my sleeping pad next to the picnic tables under a big awning. A cop woke me up by tapping on me. He said it was ok if I sleep there, “I was just seeing if you were alive.” He said. I was. Thanks. Rain was expected the next day, but I was optimistic I could at least make it the 14 miles into Kentucky. I was dead wrong. 2 miles later every step I took was submerges in water. It came down fast and hard. It was almost comical how overmatched I was. I found a motel to stay in that night. The Eagle Inn. The only other guests of this motel appeared to live there. When I went to get the Wi-Fi password they were all getting high together.
The next day I was eager to get back on the road and head into Kentucky. Everything felt off that day. The shoulder disappeared. My headphones broke so I bought some new ones. I was going through that stage where they just don’t quite fit in your ear yet. I was continually starring down two big dark clouds above the road ahead of me in the distance. My fate. I felt like they were starring back at me, laughing. Taking pleasure in my struggle. This night I was once again woken up by a cop, and once again he was very nice. He approached my tent and we chatted. I told him what I was doing as he gave me the once-over with the flashlight. He then realized I was not wearing any pants and moved the light quickly back up. We sat in silence for a moment, but eventually he asked me another question. He never broke character. What a champ. However, he did inform me that the bridge I was headed for had been closed. This meant I had to take a detour heading southwest to Hickman, KY in order to catch a ferry across the Mississippi. The next day I did just that. At the start of the day I was 65 miles from Cape Girardeau, MO where I had my new cart shipped. I walked 35 miles that day. When I stopped for the day I way 68 miles from Cape Girardeau. I had lost ground.
Finding camping spots has become increasingly difficult in Missouri. The land is so flat and open with few trees. I didn’t feel very comfortable in my spot the first night here so I hit the road again around 4 am. Eager to see something, anything. The first 30 miles or so into Missouri I did not see a car, or even a person. I finally got to Charleston. I was so hungry I walked into The Dugout Bar and Grill and devoured 2 burgers, a basket of fries, and about 70 oz. of Mello Yello. I was chatting with the table next to me. They were curious about my travels. “Where ya goin with that bike a yours?” they asked. They were nice people and actually paid for my gigantic meal.
Last night was a tough one. The 20 mph winds mixed with thunderstorms is usually not the best weather for camping. The best I can describe it is it felt like there were about 6 guys outside my tent. 5 of them just smacking and shaking the entire tent while one guy repeatedly dumps buckets of water on me. Needless to say my place for the next two nights is a bit nicer. This town is one of my favorites already. A ton of brick buildings built in the 1800s. A great view along the Mississippi. I also got to see a few places from the movie “Gone Girl” which was shot here. The Bar he owned in the movie is a block away from my apartment.
I am looking forward to resting this weekend as well as preparing my new cart for success. The states become larger from here on out. I am 350 miles from Kansas City, MO which is my next destination.
Side note
When I originally replaced my tire tubes, I had them put that slime in there to plug up leaks. When the tire began to spill out air, the slime began to squirt out as well. I was already not having a very good day at this point, then my tire goes flat. As I’m thinking this a crisp squirt of slime shoots out of the tire and into my face. Things can turn on you rather quickly, but hoping that everything can get better just as easily is what keeps me going. 37 days, 850 miles 7 states so far, a lot more to come.