Day #30 - Kirksville, MO to Quincy, IL

76.2 mi, 2,270ft gain, 63-85F / humid with 10mph headwind

Isn’t the graph that looks like a huge downhill cute? Yeah, I thought so to until I rode it. Ha! It was just shallow enough slope to not really feel like a downhill after the 32 mile SAG stop. Maybe the headwind cut our 2% downgrade effects.. not sure, but that graph lies to you. Kinda like RWGps. Total elevation today was 2,270 ft.

Today I woke up to head to breakfast with my uncle Fred at the hotel. Aunt Kari & Fred came up yesterday to welcome me to Kirksville, MO. We had dinner near the hotel and caught up. Kari even brought me stone earrings of Grandma’s that are silver but broken.. I can’t wait to make them into something fun! They look like a green jade, but I’m not 100% sure yet. Have to get back to that when home.

Kari was our private support vehicle! We made a solid game plan of where to check in on route. The route headed to Quincy but there was an alternate route around 44 miles in for Fred to jump in the truck and head back home to STL. Fred happily chose to ride the toughest section of the ride! It must be a family mindset. So he tackled 1,400 ft gain, headwind, and no should riding like a pro. He has been training for this ride, tuned up his bike, and hopefully enjoyed the ride! I’m honored to have him join part of this wild journey! SO thoughtful of them to come up.

We were really treated to some wonderful field views today. We rode through tiny towns with populations of 250 to 525 people. We paused at a quarry to check in with Kari, really pretty limestones.

After Fred & Kari headed out I had about 35 miles to go, which I thought were downhill. If you’ve read this far you know I was a bit mistaken. It continued to roll gently towards the Mississippi River. We ended up on a smaller highway to cross the river, where I was a bit scared of riding.. but I made it across. I did my “hey, don’t hit me” arm flaying as I took the highway lane with no shoulder across the river. My gosh, can’t we do better for walkers and cyclists?

I then found myself in Illinois!? I can’t believe it. 8th state I believe! Whoa. Today also marked the 2,000 mile mark of the trip. Just wild.

The town of Quincy looks almost exactly like the area around SLU. Large brick homes lining tree filled streets. They look to be about 1800-1900 time frames. The large ones are quite striking with their stone work. If I hadn’t been tired, I would’ve gone to check out the museum we rode past. Next time?

Tomorrow is a large ride, 106 miles. I’m up wayyy too late writing this, but tomorrow night I’m meeting with family who are driving up from E’ville for dinner. It’s only a little over an hour away and the closest I’ll be to Edwardsville. I’m excited to see them, and it’s so nice of them to make the trip up. So tonight I redid my nails I order to have more time tomorrow and on my rest day to visit with friends and family. Might need a good coffee stop tomorrow.

Total mileage to-date:

2,025.8 miles

Total elevation gain to-date:

66,846 ft