Washington to Council Bluff Lake

Click the map for route details

Leaving Washington
What a beautiful morning in Washington. The storms that moved through over night thoroughly cleared the air and replaced the oppressive humidity of yesterday with an inviting freshness calling everyone to ride their bikes and promising adventure. Onwards into the Ozarks!

Washington was soon in the rear view mirror, but did not leave my mind so easily. Instead, I was puzzled over something I had encountered the night before over dinner and to which I have not yet been able to find a satisfactory answer.

What is the point of handicapped parking at a restaurant that does not want you to leave your car?

Through Sullivan
The county roads, largely devoid of traffic, took me on a twisty route past many little settlements to Sullivan, which I had hoped to reach yesterday.

The open road ahead in Missouri

In many towns here, the dead outnumber the living

Gilbert cleans Sullivan

Once in Sullivan, I stopped at a Walmart Supercenter to pick up some chocolate milk and a banana, a pit stop I do not care to repeat. The chocolate milk is as far away from the entrance as possible, and in a Walmart Supercenter that is a long way. The banana is at the other end. The floors are slippery, especially if you are walking on them in cleats, which are designed to be used on bicycles only. I got a great deal on the milk, and an even better deal on the banana, but I could have gotten both in one tenth the time at any gas station. Well, it was surely another interesting sociological experiment, as the entire town of Sullivan seemed to be gathered at their Walmart this afternoon, and I was certainly the topic of much debate, muffled and behind my back, of course.

From Sullivan it is only about thirty miles along state highway 185 to Potosi, but what a thirty miles it is. The Ozarks, which I remember crossing with some dismay from West to East in 2002, have not changed much, and while it had been hilly even on the way to Sullivan, it was starting to get to me. My nickname is not chicken. Well, take a look at the elevation profile through the link above. See that nice flat section? No? Oh, that's right. There is no flat section. Anywhere. Anywhere at all. All day. 11,226 feet of climbing and 12,448 calories burned. I was getting pretty tired by the time I made it to Potosi. Pictures, as always, do not do the grades justice, but here are some impressions from the ride anwyay.

Missouri, show me non-graded roads

Riding along Pea Ridge

An innovative approach to dealing with America's second-favorite pastime

Above 1100 feet, pine trees take over

Missouri opens up

What you want to see at the top of a climb

What you don't want to see at the top of a climb

My thoughts exactly at the top of every one of these hills

Potosi
Potosi is the seat of Washington County and was organized in 1813 by Moses Austin, who had come here as early as 1797 after receiving a Spanish land grant to mine for lead. Famous residents include Stephen Austin, the "Father of Texas" as well as a state supreme court justice and governor, both active in the early 19th century, though. Mining is still very active here, as evidenced by the heavy truck traffic on the way into town. The town itself is not much to behold, very busy with traffic, but run down in many places, with seemingly abandoned buildings even along the main strip. It feels run down in a way a carribean island or a mediterranean country might. What is it about warm climates that makes people care less about junk and dirt?

By the way, if you are in Potosi, a town of 2,662 residents, and wish to worship a christian god, you may choose from one of the following members of the Potosi Ministerial Alliance: Church of God, United Methodist, Gospel Tabernacle, First Baptist, Potosi Presbyterian, Potosi Pentecostal, Springtown Baptist, St. James Catholic, First Assembly of God, White Oak Grove Baptist, Crossroads Christian Fellowship, Potosi Southern Baptist, Breton Creek Baptist, Pleasant Hill Christian.

I was so tired after I had eaten in Potosi that I decided I could do another twenty miles to a campground ahead, but not another 53 miles to the next campground after that. A good choice because it was not getting any flatter.

Cameras really don't do the grades justice

And then there was still the issue of the dogs.

Dogs
Dogs are of course everybody's best friend, just not the biker's. On my way out of Potosi, which lead past many residences (more on those later), I was already struggling just to make it up those ridiculous hills. Each of the residences, however, is likely to be the home to at least one, usually several dogs. Normally, that is not a problem, for they are easy to outrun, but the road was facing up, and I was at this point only able to go about 6 miles per hour, a brisk walking pace at best. No way to outrun any dog, not even a Chihuahua.

While it did slow me down even more because often I had to stop and negotiate with a dog or two, it was actually quite enjoyable and finally gave me a chance to shoot some footage of our four-legged friends. Like this fellow here, who is doing an admirable job chasing me:

Just doing his job

Barking dogs are good because they announce themselves before the come at you, and they are not very likely to bite you anwyay. It's the quiet ones that are dangerous. If you cannot outrun a dog like the one above, simply stop, but do so suddenly so as not to give the dog a chance to chew up all your tire before you are fully stopped and can engage them. Once you do, they are usually docile in comparison to before, often fearful of even little noises and may trail off after barking some more. Remember, dogs that bark don't bite. It's true, usually.

Hired or fired?

After all that, it was a pretty quick ride at mostly over 1300 feet to the campground, in Mark Twain National Forest, by Council Bluff Lake. 100 miles even, enough for today. Good night.

Camping by Council Bluff Lake

Road Kill Tally
As anticipated, Mr. Armadillo joined the race today, albeit carefully. We expect bigger things in the coming days. Meanwhile the turtles are slowly picking up their pace, also as expected. This fellow was very much into the competition, but I moved him off the road because nobody would have counted him after I passed through. He protested, hissing at me angrily, but did not have a choice in the matter.

Ready to take one for the team

1. Racoon: 78
2. Opossum: 28
3. Skunk: 20
4. Deer: 16
5. Frog: 15
6. Cat: 15
7. Groundhog: 13
8. Squirrel: 11
9. Snake: 8
10. Turtle: 8
11. Mouse: 7
12. Bunnywabbit: 7
13. Fox: 3
14. Mole: 2
15. Dog: 2
16. Porcupine: 1
17. Chipmunk: 1
18. Armadillo: 1

• Bird: 89