Day 3 Henderson KY to Lake of the Ozarks MO - 360 Miles

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Well “Go west young man” is in full swing, minus the young part. Started the day in early growth wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Headed to the south and west. Spent time on route 46 and later 146 through Vienna and on to the Mississippi. Weather continues to hold out in the high 70’s low 89’s. Just about perfect biking weather. More on the weather in a moment.

Today the human and machine were not quite in sync. First a warning light on the headlight being out. A problem as you need to be seen. Assumed a loose connection as it somehow fixed itself. Thesymbol on the display was more concerning. In the modern world the bike’s maintenance manual is just a few swipes away. Low and beyond low oil pressure. Oil top-up and all is forgiven. Gotta love this bike- 71,000 miles of adoration even if it drinks more oil than it used to.

Speaking of miles, Boo and I reached over 1000 miles on the trip thus far. On another milestone we crossed both the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Can't help of think of Mark Twain when making the crossing. We should have reached his forest, but no sign of it. Not only were accounts of his death much exaggerated, so was the presence of his forest. It's there on the map. Spent quite a bit of time on gravel roads - not my favorite - trying to honor the American legend by visiting his forest, but to no avail.

The gateway to Missouri was Cape Giradeau, a town with a quaint old section on the west bank of the Mississippi. Found the Ebb and Flow, a bookstore and brewery pub. Life really does not get any better. Very Irish inspired. Moved west into Missouri. A state of rolling green fields and cows and interesting gum laws.

Farther west as late afternoon took hold there was a serious rain storm off to the north, but I was spared. For how long remains to be seen. Arrived exhausted in the Lake of the Ozarks. Each day I think about camping but then succumb to the cheap hotel. The Days Inn usually does not disappoint. The one in Osage Beach was on mark. At first I thought it was abandoned, but no the lights were just dim. Signs posted on the door indicated the elevator did not work and that you should take your shoes off because the carpet was new. Shoes off in a motel, you cant make this stuff up. Dinner was at the Wobbly Boots Roadhouse which made me think of Ozark and the drug dealing restaurant and bar. No sign of that.

At a bit of a crossroads having done some simple arithmetic. Covering 350 miles a day on back roads for me takes about 7-8 hours of riding. This leaves no time for stopping and sightseeing and chatting to locals. Besides, at the end of the day I am pretty tired. If I took the most direct route to San Diego from the Ozarks it's about 1700 miles. Via Mt Rushmore in South Dakota it adds another 600. While I am in no great rush, I am having second thoughts. We will see what thoughts emerge tomorrow.

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