Day 28 - Easley, MO

I woke up sweating in my tent, a sure sign of a blistering day to come. We had breakfast in Hermann and jumped back on the Katty trail, the longest rail trail in America, by 10:30.

For the first time during the trip we rode together for the whole day, taking turns drafting every 2 miles. This is a much more efficient way to ride and you can noticable feel how much easier it is to keep a 20 mph pace in a head wind when you are riding just behind another bike, with large saddle bags hanging over both axles.

Truth be told I didn't like riding in this style and much of the day felt like work. The task requires a fair amount of concentration. You have to keep a close eye on your wheel when your drafting and when you are in the lead you are thinking about pace or obstructions in the road. I prefer to stop as I please and let my mind wander on the trail, evident by the two occasions I bumped into Ryan's tire.

We had about 15 miles to go when a knocking sound came. In an instant we heard a loud bang from Ryan's rear wheel. The tire had blown out in spectacular fashion. A large rip found it's way through the tred of what we thought were indestructible German kevlar tires.





We back tracked a hundred feet to Cooper's landing and found by far the best camp ground we've been too. It sits right on the Missouri River, has a shed and garage for a store and lounge and picnic tables and a fire pit out front. 20 or so people were out enjoying beers and big plates of food from a Thai truck, listening to a balladeer on a guitar. It didn't take us long to decide to make this our stop for the night.





Coopers started out as a bait shop 30 yeas ago and slowly turned into an outpost for hippies and creative types. They have live music four nights a week and once a year host an Eco-art festival. Interesting characters abound. Jim a glass worker, stays here the summer and is hoping to start a local music label. He also has a movie script in the works where Cheech and Chong meet Jay and Silent Bob for the first time here at camp. Ginger began helping out around here after her husband passed and cooks a delicious breakfast on the weekends.


Bob, a travelling nurse walks about camp followed by his family of geese. In the winter time I'm told you can spy eagles hunting along the shores and watch the ice floes slowly build until the river is entirely frozen.

At camp we met Rick, a 55 year slender architect with neat gray hair and glasses. He got a kick out of our cross country stories and became intent on helping us out, treating the flat tire like a puzzle to be solved. He offered to give us a lift to his house where he thought he might have a spare, so we jumped in his van with his with his wife Debby and he began to tell us he story of his house, how he bought the 27 acres in 77, started with 500 square feet and continued to add to the house and grounds for the next 33 years.

We pulled up to a grand cedar shingled lodge style facade. As soon as we exited the car, Rick giddy with delight began showing us the property. We him around followed a deck which went around the house passing two different 3 season rooms overlooking the woods. There was an outdoor jacuzzi inside a Japanese pavillion, walking trails he maintains twice a year, a fresh water pool, a 9 hole frisbee golf course, an outdoor shower he uses exclusively, a "get high" shed where he has "safety meetings" with his builder, and finally a miniature town he's created with old structures he's accumulated over the years including a hog house he used to clean every week as a boy growing up on his parents farm. There was a saloon, hotel, post office, all no taller than 4, each holding more junk inside.

"Now for a quick dip in the pool and then we can fix that tire". Rick handed us towels, turned the flood light down, took off his clothes and jumped in. The temptation of a cool swim after a long day of biking won over the potential awkwardness and we jumped in too.

We got out and put our clothes back on. Rick remained naked. "I'm naked outside as much as possible" he explained. "My wife, kids and neighbors have grown accustom"

Rick got dressed and we went to his work shop to try and patch the tire. Ryan was at the bench and I was standing next to him. I turned around to notice Rick had gone down to is underwear.

Lightening flashed in the sky and the first few drops of rain fell. Rick put his shorts back on and gave us a lift back to camp.



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