Charleston to Cape Girardeau, MO, May 25

This was a great day, not only because it was only about 50 miles, AND we had tailwinds again, AND it was flat again, but also because I had a visitor. John drove out to see me, after visiting Car Henge and Chimney Rock in Nebraska (the start of the Oregon Trail). He showed me photos of both. I'm only interested in seeing one in person!

The murals in "the Cape" as the locals call the town, are quite impressive, and the town itself is charming. John and I had dinner at the Royal N'Orleans. I didn't take any pictures, as I didn't want to waste any time getting to town to see John, but John took some, and he has a much better camera with him.

Judy and I rode as fast as we could all day, so we arrived before John and went straight to the bike shop. It doesn't bode well for Bike Friday that the only cyclists in the shop for repairs were three of the four Bike Friday riders. However, the bicycle shop was great. The staff was great and even the customers were helpful. With the help of Larry (a local cyclist who offered us rides back to the hotel and joined us for dinner) and another customer, I got my seat adjusted properly so now my leg doesn't hurt. Thanks to the bike shop guys, my brakes work again! I bought a new pack for the bike, as I was tired of playing pack mule (and replaced my BRAND NEW jacket that I bought for the trip--the zipper broke the second time I wore it). Now, instead of a rack and panniers and a hyrdation pack, I have just one pack with everything in it. Of course it was made to hang on a person's back, not on the back of a recumbent seat, so I spent some time figuring out how to strap it to the bike. (Thank God for the StrapAll velcro straps that I use for just about everything!)

It was great to have John here, and I slept better than I've slept for the entire trip. Felt almost like home!