Day 31 St. Joseph, MO to Chillicothe, MO   90 miles and 3462 feet of climb

It was in the 70s and humid this morning when we left St. Joseph, MO bound for the town of Chillicothe, MO.

The entire day was filled with rolling hills and lush green farmland. I must say that the state of Missouri is beautiful. It could be Connecticut where I grew up, or Moraga, CA, close to where I live now in California.

We were rolling along on beautiful back country roads this morning when we came upon a road closure due to a washed-out bridge. After consulting with the construction crew that was working on the bridge, we headed down a gravel road for about 3.5 miles until we intersected with another county road that had a functioning bridge to take us over the river and back on to our prescribed route. The rest of the ride was very enjoyable, although it was hot and humid. We passed a horse and buggy - there are many Amish folks in this part of Missouri evidently- and some of the riders stopped for lunch at a small Amish bakery and cafe. They said it was wonderfully tasty.

I rode most of the day with the Brits and Mark, our staff bike mechanic. All are delightful riding mates. Mark is a solid rider and pushes the pace, which works for me ( most times). We talked a good deal about skiing as we rode together this afternoon. He's an avid skier, and he lives in Colorado. I have no doubt that he is a fabulous skier.

We beat the support van to the hotel so consequentially I had lunch at McDonald's while I waited. My quarter pounder with cheese was supremely satisfying.

Mark was kind enough to remind me to bring my bike down for some gear adjustments. As we rode together today, I mentioned to him that there was a very minor problem with my shifting. That just goes to show you the level of professionalism the guy has. Then right after Mark made the adjustments on my bike, Jake, our newest staff member, announced that he wanted to clean the drive train on my bike and he proceeded to do that. These guys are so on top of things. Neither guy had to do those maintenance things on my bike out in that heat today, but they did.

At the route wrap today, Mike from Ohio presented the British National Cycling Team- Masters Division with these tee shirts shown in the picture below. This was to commemorate the upcoming fourth of July celebration. The shirts read, "Happy Treason Day- Ungrateful Colonists."