2015
Back in 2015 I was on the tourism commission in Canton, MO. When the Big BAM (Bicycle Across Missouri) came to us and asked us to be the end town for their inaugural ride, I was chosen to be the local coordinator. I designed a really neat finish to the ride, and had been looking forward to that day, but it rained so hard that the last day of the ride was canceled. We enjoyed the concert anyway.
2016
The next year the end was to be in Hannibal, so Savannah and I decided to ride it. We had never taken on a multi-day bike tour like this. We both bought road bikes and trained for it. I put together the camping gear we would need. I rode the Fuji with a rear rack, one pannier and fenders. Savannah rode her Felt with a top bar bag and a seat bag. It started in St. Joseph, where we saw the amazing Kris Lager Band. Sadly, I haven't seen them since. We stopped at Shatto Milk Company. It was fun, but lines were too long to get any ice cream. We got something for lunch I don't recall. In Hamilton we stopped at the Ninja Moose Brewery, where some guys we had just met bought our beers. I also learned about biking sandals from them. This was the first time I saw A.J. Gaither, an amazing one-man band who builds all his own equipment. Chillicothe had the nice water park that we swam in. That night featured the Final Mix Show Band, who played great funk. We stopped for a couple of beers in Bevier. Brookfield I don't remember too much about. I think I stopped somewhere to pee and got a nice rash on my leg. I still don't know what plant caused it, but I've had it again since. At one point, Savannah had to poop really bad. We passed a spot with a grain silo, which I thought was perfect. But she said no, she'd wait. Finally, the situation got desperate, and she had to blast through some high weeds and brush to get into a hedge row and do her business. That will teach her!
In Macon we camped at the Fairgrounds. I think Macon is where we met Matt and Deb. Some people camping near us were up late making a lot of noise. When we got up in the morning, Savannah intentionally stomped around to disturb their sleep. They were not amused. In Shelbina we camped at the lake, but we weren't allowed to swim, sadly. The ride ended at Hannibal. Stacey picked us up and we went home.
The first couple of days on that ride it was really hot. Savannah and I had trained in the heat and did not suffer any difficulty. Many dropped out or at least took the sag wagon for the day. Some people had crashed their bikes, and later I saw a guy with his arm all bandaged and in a sling, but he kept riding.
One night we had carpenter ants in the tent. Boy, it only takes one crawling on your face to wake you up. They're big. Every night after that we made sure to get all the zippers tightly closed. We also hadn't counted on the ground being so hard, making it difficult to set our tent stakes. Later I bought a plastic mallet to use on future rides.
My photo album from that month has some images of the ride: https://photos.app.goo.gl/qJ2obcuTUvq3YPNG9
2017
In 2017, the Big BAM was ending in Louisiana, MO, which isn't far from home. We decided to do it again. It started in Weston on June 11, where we met up with Deb and Matt again. They introduced us to Corky, who would become a good friend and riding partner. We ate and drank at this old speakeasy bar that had many floors, mostly underground. It was fascinating. Every floor had a different band, and you couldn't hear the others. One was an Irish folk singer who was hilarious. Another guy was right next to us while we were eating, playing an unusual type of folk guitar.
From Weston, we rode to Kearney and stayed overnight at the Jesse James Park and Amphitheatre.
June 12, we rode through Watkin’s Mill State Park, and after crossing the Missouri River, wound up in Lexington, camping next to the Civil War battlefield of the Anderson House State Historic Site. The campground was kind of in a hole in the middle of town. I think it was the athletic field of a school.
On June 13, we traversed the rolling countryside and ended at the Missouri Valley College in Marshall. I met up with Brian Nolan, a former colleague at QU. I remember one of the bands was Bones, Jugs and Harmony. There was another band that played bones too, and in the end they had both bone players on stage playing bone percussion.
On June 14, we crossed back over the Missouri river at Glasgow and spent the night at Rothwell Park in Moberly. I think it rained like hell that night, and our tent leaked. It was then I vowed to get a better tent.
On June 15, we rode through a covered bridge and Mark Twain’s birthplace at Mark Twain Lake, before camping next to Clarence Cannon Dam. We took a shuttle down the the spillway, where we heard the Kay Brothers play for the first time. Molly Healey was their fiddle player at that time, and they were amazing. I became a fan and have seen them several times since.
The last leg of the ride was interesting, taking us west. We came out just south of Louisiana and had to ride Highway 79 up the bluff. That was where I learned I was heart healthy, because if not I'd certainly have had a heart attack on those last two hills. Stacey picked us up in Louisiana. We left right away because there wasn't much happening. We got a flat tire in the Echo, and limped home on a doughnut.
A few pics from that ride are in this album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/t4jd31XNmuAtaGnu9
2021
In 2018 and 2019 we rode RAGBRAI instead of Big BAM. 2020 was the pandemic, so we made our own ride on the Katy Trail. In 2021, Corky and I rode the BAM. It was more of a Ride Around Missouri, making a curve through southeast Missouri. It was great for me, as I had never been to any of these towns. I had recently sold the Fuji and bought a Kestrel carbon fiber bike, which I rode on this ride. It was really great. Super light, and the Ultegra components made for smooth shifting and easy braking. It didn't have as low gearing as the old Fuji though.
I drove down to Ste. Genevieve and met Corky and Janet. We had a nice lunch, loaded my stuff into their car, then drove down to Poplar Bluff to camp. There were only about 150 people on the ride.
Day 1 June 14 -- Poplar Bluff to Sikeston, 69.3 miles, +761 ft
This was about the easiest 70 miles of my life. It was completely flat and we had a bit of tailwind. At one point we came across a guy who had is mower stuck in the ditch. Corky and the guy pushed while I drove because I was the lightest and have a similar mower. We got it out. We passed some rice paddies along the way. We ate at the famous Lambert's Cafe, home of the throwed rolls. It was really good, but a lot of food.
Day 2 June 15-- Sikeston to Cape Girardeau, 69.5 miles, +1377 ft
We found a road-killed armadillo, placed a beer can strategically in its grasp, and photographed it. We left it there for others to enjoy. We did the same later with a raccoon and a red fox.
Day 3 June 16 -- Cape Girardeau to Perryville, 52.2 miles, +3821 ft
Corky got into it with some guys who were holding up traffic by riding in the lane rather than on the generous shoulder. They all had little American flags in their helmets. We stopped at another covered bridge in Burfordville. At that point, Corky apologized to them. We found out later they were noobs. I found a road-killed rough green snake in one place, and a milk snake in another. Both were new to me. Perryville had a huge, amazing recreation center for such a small town. There was a big hill on this ride, and I couldn't quite make it up. I stopped and walked the bike, which I never do. This was definitely the hardest day of riding. Later that summer I bought a new cassette with some lower gears.
Day 4 June 17 -- Perryville to Farmington, 44.3 miles, +2583 ft
We passed through Knob Lick and drove by Big Dick's BBQ. Too bad it was closed. Maybe it was here that I heard the narrowmouthed toad in our campground, which was by a lake. Sounded like a baby wailing.
Day 5 June 18 -- Farmington to Ste. Genevieve, 42.5 miles, +2318 ft
We stopped at a winery, and it was very nice. Corky wanted to keep partying with some women (most of them lesbians) we had met, so he stayed there while I rode on. At one point I saw an eagle land ahead of me on the roadside. When I reached the point where it had landed, I found a dead cat. An old, dead cat. Janet met up with me at one point to make sure I was OK. When I got into Ste. Genevieve, there was hardly anyone there. They were still selling T shirts, but I thought they were too expensive. I was able to get a shower before I drove home.
Some images from this ride are sandwiched into the middle of this photo album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/GcZokDGK9GKqYvj97
