DAY 14: MISSOURI!

157 km (98 miles) - total: 1926 km (1196 miles)

Carbondale Il, to Farmington, Mo

Today will always be the day when I crossed the Mississippi river on my bicycle. It will also be the day when I entered Missouri and also the day I visited Chester, the hometown of cartoon character and hero Popeye! And, as a footnote, I will remember this day for being a very tough one indeed up and down the Ozarks hills.
It started with a perfectly easy ride from Carbondale all the way to Chester, the last town on the Illinois side. Once again I found myself riding through beautiful open countryside, very similar to the kind I saw yesterday. There isn't much variation of scenery in Southern Illinois but that doesn't mean that what you see is repetitive. Far from it actually. Long fields of wheat crops, green farmland, long fences, cattle, horses, trees, corn, tobacco and other crops that I do not know. It is very relaxing for the eye and for the spirit. Fortunately the roads I cycled on weren't much used by cars which made the ride relaxing and silent. This morning, what was even more encouraging was that I was riding on flat terrain and I was making good progress. I was so absorbed in the scenery that I missed my turn and realized only later so I took a deviation to double back and ended up doing 10 extra miles! I reached Chester by 12. This town is a sort of shrine to Popeye, Olive and all the other characters from the cartoon. The town is very small and has a two-street downtown area filled with statues, paintings, graffiti about the celebrated cartoon star. At the western end of town here comes the Mississippi. I took a long look at the bridge over the big river. A long steel construction and underneath it there is the abundant river with trees lining the banks. Just like I imagined it. I saw it once before in New Orleans but that was different. This is open land, there is nowhere to hide here. The river is unprotected, raw, real. I looked at it. The waters were swirling and muddy. And darkened, menacing, heavy, thick, brooding, absorbing.

I thought about this great waterway which has been used for commerce and for fighting. Everything came down this river, coal, food, cotton, timber and weapons, lots of 'em. To defeat the Confederate army, to annihilate the natives and to supply bandits and outlaws that made riches in the South and the West. The river is life. Its chant is slow and poignant. It is soulful and passionate just like the music that originated from its shores, the only music that can fully capture loss and love: blues. Its tune is slow but restless, its sound sexy but defeated. The river contains the blood and the sorrow of the conquests that have defined America. In the dead of the night mainly, they navigated upstream slowly and relentlessly, at the cracking of fire woods and by the somber light of candles and fires. From the golden age of the steam boats to the first beat of jazz carried upstream by those who had been slaves. Mark Twain could not get enough of it and wrote adventure stories about life in and along the river. The river flows, rolls, cuts through, divides and connects. Its significance, cultural, historical and financial will never cease to amaze.

I felt extremely satisfied with my progress having come this far from the Capital all the way to the shores of the big river. The bridge had a a two-lane narrow road with heavy traffic and lots of coal trucks which made my crossing interesting as vehicles behind me could not pass me. It was also windy so I held tight onto the handle bars the whole time. After the edgy ride on the bridge I was relieved to be in Missouri, the 4th state of my trip.

My first 10 miles of Missouri followed this morning's trend - flat and fast. However, soon enough I was conscious that I was pedaling towards hills - which rose immaculately from the farmland ahead of me. These hills proved to be really challenging. A lot of the gradients were steep, making for slow, hard work. I don't think I was psychologically prepared for them either. It felt frustrating to suddenly slow down so much after such a quick morning. About 10 miles before Farmington, to add insult to injury, it began to rain quite heavily. Being in the middle of open farmland and steep hills, there was nowhere to shelter and also considering that it was 4pm I had no choice but to press on. Rule number one: never get stuck in the middle of nowhere when it's dark. Rule number two: always carry enough water with you. I got to Farmington by 5pm, soaked to my core, having cycled almost 100 miles from 8am this morning, making this a very tough day indeed. A hot shower never felt better. While I feel tired, thirsty and hungry I am happy to report that my legs feel surprisingly well. I was thinking of taking a day off tomorrow but, barring bad weather, I might push on and then take a rest the day after tomorrow. I've had a look at the route and I only have two days left of hills before the terrain flattens out to lead into the Plains of Western Missouri and Kansas. And I can't wait!



Illinois farm


Hillbilly land!


It was nice to see one of those again, I hadn't seen a bike route sign since Virginia


Flat terrain finally! Not for long though...


Chester, home to Popeye


Popeye statue


Here it is! Check out the narrow lanes and the big truck on it!


Chester bridge over Miss.


LL and Miss.


Mississippi floodplains


From the hills I turn around to take one last shot of the Mississippi floodplains in the distance. These hills were incredibly steep!


Missouri Ozarks