SpringfieldCyclist.com – Tracy Wilkins’ Cycling Weblog

Well, what do you do when you drive 3 1/2 hours to ride your bike and the weather turns cold, damp, and cloudy?  You ride, of course!

Our reward to ourselves for getting the eldest married off this past weekend was a two day stay in Rocheport, MO.  We took the bikes with the intention of spending a couple of leisurely days meandering up and down the Katy Trail.  We had an absolutely gorgeous day for the wedding, so we weren’t too disappointed to have it rain the day after.  It started raining on us just outside of Springfield, and rained the entire rest of the day.  With rain in the forecast for Monday and Tuesday, we went with the attitude that we would ride if we could and if it was too nasty, we wouldn’t sweat it but enjoy ourselves anyway.

We awoke Monday to a cold, gray, drizzly, cloudy day with the temperatures hovering right around 45 degrees.  We lounged around the Schoolhouse Bed and Breakfast for a good part of the morning, then decided we would venture outside and see how if the weather was as dreary as it looked.  It was….

We mounted up with a tentative goal of riding into Columbia for a late lunch.  As we headed up the trail, we found it in surprisingly good condition in spite of the rain the day before.  The last time we rode that section of the trail was in 2003, so we stopped often between Rocheport and McBain to re-familiarize ourselves with the sights of the trail.  At McBain, we turned north on the MKT Spur toward Columbia.  This trail wasn’t in nearly as good of a condition as the main KATY.  We encountered soft gravel, mud and muck, and a lot more people as we got closer to town.

After grabbing some lunch, we stopped at the Chocolate Factory for some nourishment, then headed back toward Rocheport at a leisurely pace.  We were in awe of how beautiful the trees along the cliffs between Rocheport and McBain were.  When you could see up a draw into the hillside, the hickory trees were fabulous looking! 

It was nearly dusk by the time we made it back to Rocheport.  At about that time, we noticed the skies trying to clear back to the southwest, so we had high hopes that Tuesday would be a little nicer.  We stayed comfortable enough, but it was really a dreary day! 

Tuesday morning didn’t dawn any better than Monday did.  Our plan for the day was to ride to Booneville for lunch before heading back to Springfield.  We had hardly passed through the tunnel at Rocheport when it started sprinkling on us.  We continued on for another couple of miles, then I called for a radar check before we got completely out of cell phone range.  I didn’t want to get several miles out and get soaked as cool as it was.  Unfortunately, radar didn’t show anything very conclusive, so I suggested that we should probably just turn around and go back.

Trooper that she is, Pam didn’t want to give up.  In her words, “we’ve been miserable before!”, so we continued on our way in the light rain.  Fortunately, the rain didn’t really get any heavier, but it never really went away all day. 

Just east of Rocheport, the trail moves away from the face of the bluff, so the riding isn’t quite as pretty as it is in the other direction, but there are a few places where you can see the forested hillsides to the north. 

After about 13 miles, we crossed the big bridge into Booneville and stopped for lunch at the Riverside Diner.  Afterward, we remarked at how unremarkable most of the local hole-in-the-wall diners really are.  They fill you up, but that’s about it! 

As we started the return trip, Pam enjoyed the long down-hill coast off the bridge.  After all, it had already been 50 miles since the last time we got to stop pedaling! 

We could tell that the temperature was starting to drop.  In our hurry to get out of town on Sunday, I forgot our ear covers, so we just had to deal with it.  Next time I’ll plan a little better.

We pulled back into Rocheport at 3:00 PM, which was exactly on the schedule we were shooting for.  We quickly loaded up our bikes, changed clothes and hit the road just as the rain started in earnest again.  It stayed with us for the first 100 miles of the return trip. 

In all, we rode 37.6 miles on Monday and a tad over 27 on Tuesday.  That’s quite enough for the weather conditions, the trail, and the bikes we were riding!

It was great to get away with my favorite playmate.  We had a good time in spite of the weather!

God bless…

TW