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Day 25: {now at point "O"}
JUNE 29: Kirksville, Mo. to Trenton, Mo., 67 miles via State Route 6. Average speed for today, 11.9 mph. Total trip miles to date, 1,525.
Brought Jim Robertson’s van back to the dealership, hooked the bikes up with our trailers and got ready to set out. Then the skies darkened and the rain begun. We put only a half mile before ducking into a mini-mart and gas station (regular goes for, believe it or not, $3.71 a gallon in rural
Right next door was a huge tent loaded with fireworks in preparation for July 4. “You guys can stay here,” said the young pyrotechnic salesman, hurriedly covering his explosives with tarps. “I have a couple of extra chairs.”
Yeah, but what if lightning strikes?
“Well, we got a lot of fireworks,” he admitted. “They’re a huge deal around here.”
He was surrounded by all manner of bombs, skyrockets, Roman candles and “arsenals” – huge, five-foot high boxes of fireworks of all varieties. When I told him about California’s safe and sane fireworks, he conceded that Missouri’s are probably “unsafe and insane.” Not only that, but these huge fireworks tents are now most everywhere. You can probably see Missouri from three states away on the night of the Fourth.
Anyway, back to the ride. Our weather luck continued, the skies cleared and we set off for Trenton. There were some hills, but few winds and a cloud cover that kept temps down.
Not only that, but Ben’s bike ran like a clock. “Feels solid,” he said, conquering one hill after another.
Had a Mexican lunch in Milan, Mo. (not a good idea) and crossed the trip’s 1,500-mile mark near the barely existing town of Reger, Mo.
Bivouacked at the Knights Inn in Trenton, happy to be on the road again.
