Day 30, Tuesday, May 20

Hamilton, Missouri to Rochester, Missouri

It was hard to leave the B&B. That bed was just too comfy. (I don't know about John's Thermarest.) But we got up, made coffee, had showers, and packed our bikes. We were underway at 7:15, only a little later than usual.

The sky was dark and intimidating to the west, but there was no rain in the forecast so we were not too worried. It didn't matter anyway: we had to make some progress. 

Thirteen miles into the day we rode into Cameron. For the first time in a while we finally found a place to have breakfast. Cameron is big enough to have a Walmart, too, and it was on our route. That was our next stop for snacks. We knew we would not be seeing anywhere to buy calories for a while. 

The riding was difficult. We were headed mostly due west, directly into the wind. Worse than the wind was the endless rolling hills. The descents were never enough to let you recover for the next several hundred feet of climbing. And the mental toll is intensified by how far you can see. Sometimes you top out on a climb and see three or four more hills in the next mile or two. Disheartening does not describe the feeling you get. 

By mile 30 we were in Marysville. The morning was cold, and we were starting to get a few drops of rain, so we were happy to take a break at Lot Community Coffee. The proprietor was knowledgeable about local roads, so she took a look at our route. She told us how to avoid a few gravel roads near the end of our day without adding much mileage.

The remaining 20 miles to Rocheste were just one climb after another on narrow state roads. Just before our campsite there was a Dollar General, so we stopped for a cold drink and a snack. Then we finished the half mile to our campsite. 

The camp for the night was Rochester Falls Access on the Platte River. Apparently there are some falls there, but with all the recent rain they were not visible. I realized I had been lost in the grind of the day and failed to take any pictures, so I took this one of the swollen Platte from the bridge on US 169 near our camp. 

The campsite could have been better. It is flat, grassy, shaded, and protected from the wind. All the sites have picnic tables. Unfortunately there is no electricity to charge a device, and no water. There is a vault toilet, but the toilet is disgusting. One of the sites was left covered with trash despite the dumpster 20 yards away.

But it was free, and 50 miles from our last stay, so it served it's purpose.

We walked up to Dollar General to find dinner. We had a meal in our bags but we always like to keep one in reserve. Tonight's delicacy was Dinty Moore Chicken and Dumplings and Stella.