Life on two Wheels and Journeys Back in Time

Jefferson City to Rhineland sees the KATY trail do a dance with the Missouri as it meanders across the several mile wide flood plain. At times we ride along its banks watching the murky current slink downriver. Other times the river is nowhere to be seen though you can always feel its presence as it dictates life in this neck of the woods. At one point in the trail we pass Standing Rock which stands as a silent sentinel to the rise and fall of floodwaters through the years. As early as 1903, and perhaps even earlier, people have used the rock to mark the high water mark of each successive flood. The most recent major event marked on the rock was 1993 so we are riding by at the 20 year anniversary. The flood water is both a blessing and a curse. For those who have built in harm's way the rising water can spell disaster to both individual homes and whole communities. For farmers however, the almost yearly inundation of floodwater brings a new layer of rich sediment that will help their soybean and corn yields compete in today's global food markets. Standing rock, as we pass by today, looks none the worse for wear and the peace and quiet as we contemplate the markings on the rock belie what can happen in this spot.

As we continue on our way the trail is marked with signs highlighting the travels of the Lewis and Clark expedition which traveled this river 200 plus years ago. We can only imagine what it looked like then, but I'd guess in certain sections of the KATY trail it probably doesn't look too much different. Of  course the Corps of Discovery didn't have a nicely graded bike path, let alone steel steeds to ride upon, but it's nice to pretend if just for a moment what this part of the country was like in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

This part of the country is rich in history. Last night sitting out on the porch of the B&B we spoke with the owner of the local pub out walking his dog. He pointed out that the house in which we were staying dated from the early 1800's. Our home State of Colorado didn't become a State until 1876 and   was a late-comer to the history that surrounds States to its east. Sadly people in Colorado don't really seem to know, or care much for that matter, about the history that the State does have but back here people seem to relish their historical past and a sure way to start a conversation is to simply ask about the local history.

Tonight we are staying in the Doll House B&B in Rhineland which is a converted farmhouse just off the KATY trail. Cold lemonade and fresh chocolate chip cookies awaited us when we arrived. We arrived just in time as once again the temperatures were starting to soar. The proprietor told us the heat index was 106 degrees. All I know is that I'm tiring of drinking gallons and gallons of water from plastic water bottles and a camel back "hydration system". When we are riding all our clothes are soaking wet from perspiration, from our shorts to our jerseys to the cycling gloves we wear on our hands.

This morning at breakfast (in my opinion the more important of the two B's in B&B) we spoke with another couple also riding the KATY from west to east. They were from Peoria, Illinois and had parked their car in St. Charles and hopped the AMTRAK train with their bikes to Sedalia (home of the wonderful Bothwell Hotel) to start their ride. They looked to be in their late twenties and acknowledged this was their first cycling adventure and that they had brought too much stuff and had already sent much of it home. 

As much fun as I still have on our cycling getaways I'm envious of them in that stage of just discovering where two wheels and an uncomfortable saddle can take you. For those of you who are cycle tourists you know it's not just distance or miles covered that I'm referring to. Cycling becomes a state of being when you are on a bike journey. A sore butt, tired legs and aching hands are not the things I'll recall next January when I think back to this trip. Instead I'll remember the steady whirring of the wheels beneath me as I pedal along a tree-lined path and watching my wife zoom by me as she high-fives the low hanging tree limbs above her head. And as I watch the Colorado snow fall outside my window I'll almost miss the near-100 degree days, lack of water, and no food along the route that's characterized the journey thus far. Almost...