Friday, May 15, 2009

Hermann to Marthasville, MO

34 miles. It was an eventful day. We got a late start for a number of reasons, including another flat tire (the rear again, of course). Then, after we were back on the Katy Trail only a short while we crashed. The trail includes a series of "gates" that are intended to keep cars, ATVs, etc. off the trail. As you can see from the "Scene of the Crime" photo, the space open to allow cyclists to pass is pretty narrow. However, for a single rider on his/her own bike these are no big deal. But for the two of us on a tandem pulling a trailer (total length in excess of 15 feet), it's a different story. Two sets of handlebars, two pannier bags and the trailer have to clear a space in a straight line that is less than 3 feet wide.* Nevertheless, we had cleared at least two dozen of these without problems until today. Due to paranoia over avoiding another flat,
I was staring at the trail in front of me looking for sticks, etc. that might cause another tube puncture. We had been riding on the left edge of the trail where there was less loose gravel. As we cranked along this morning, I looked up just in time to see another gate. I tried to grab with both hands to hit the "sweet spot" between the two arms and almost made it. Almost. We hit the left arm and the impact pushed us down on our right side to a skidding halt on the gravel. Fortunately, our injuries appear to be fairly minor - I have "road rash" on the side of my right knee and elbow and that knee is stiff and a little sore. Penny did not get scraped up but has a muscle pull or tear in her shoulder and her right knee is tender too. The bike took a few dings (bent handlebar, loose front wheel spokes, front fender popped part way off) but was otherwise still functional. We had a first aid kit but discovered that we lacked anything useful in it (gauze, bandages, etc.) We were almost 20 miles from the next official Katy Trail trailhead (town where they at least have water and perhaps a small grocery), so we just dusted ourselves off and kept going. After almost 5 more miles Penny pointed out that our yellow safety flag for the trailer was missing. We assumed that it had come loose in the crash
And we had just failed to notice its absence in the process of putting ourselves back together again. So back we went to the Scene of the Crime looking for the damn flag (including passing through 2 more gates). When we arrived, we searched high and low but could not find the flag. There is a creek crossing just before the gate in question and it is possible that the flag went into the water. Or we may have forgotten to install it when we left Hermann (I called the place we stayed but they have not seen it). In any event, we rode almost 10 miles out of our way on bum knees and shoulders for nothing.

We had intended to ride to Marthasville today, leave the Katy Trail and continue on north to Troy, a distance of about 54 miles. But due to our late start, the crash and the additional mileage, we staggered into Marthasville quite late in the afternoon. Also, the forecast was for severe thunderstorms this afternoon and Troy was another 30 miles. So we decided to call it quits for the day in Marthasville. The only problem with that plan is that the only place to stay in town is full. The woman who runs it was very helpful though and arranged for us to camp at the town baseball field complex. We can pitch our tent (first use on this trip) on the sideline grass or, if the weather gets ugly, on a concrete slab under a covered pavilion. In addition, the same lady loaned us towels so we could take hot showers in the bathrooms here at the field. And they have Little League baseball going on tonight so we have free entertainment to go with our free housing for the night. You can't beat that with a stick!

*Many of you non-cyclists are probably thinking "why don't they just walk the bike through"? That, of course, would be the logical, rational thing to do. But if we were logical, rational people we wouldn't be undertaking this trip in the first place, now would we?

Campsite in Marthasville

There will be Little League baseball played here tonight too. Bathrooms with showers to boot.
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For mature audiences only pic #2

I swear that we did not stage this or incite these turtles to mate on the trail.
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For mature audiences only pic #1

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The scene of the crime (crash)

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For mature audiences only pic #2

I swear that we did not stage this or incite these turtles to mate on the trail.
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