Day 6: Sunday

Tm: 4:16:48
Dst: 55.23
Avg: 12.9
Mx: 34.2

I woke up and headed for the continental breakfast in the motel shortly after six o'clock.  Then I headed out to find the Catholic church for Mass at 7:30.  I got a bit lost on my way, but did arrive in time for Mass.  When I arrived, the priest gave me an odd look.  I was dressed in my t-shirt and goofy-looking (but lightweight) North Face pants.  Because he stared, I introduced myself and explained what I was doing.

The church is circular, with seating 270 degrees around the altar.  So people were facing me in the pews, and staring at me (or maybe this was my imagination).  I looked a bit unkempt because I hadn't shaved in a few days and had an odd biker sun tan.  So I didn't fit in with the Sunday Mass crowd, though I was welcomed of course.

At the end of Mass the priest pointed me out, made me stand up.  Everyone clapped at the sight of this grungy looking seminarian.  I felt quite self-conscious.  This did break the ice a bit, however.  I visited with people after Mass.  One guy, an ex-cop, told me horror stories about cars hitting cyclists (thanks!) and one woman gave me $5 cash (I wasn't begging, but thanks!).  As I left the church, I noticed a man checking out my bike, which was chained to a light pole.  We visited for a while and he supplied me with brownies from the bake sale at the parish.  I felt more welcome after talking to some of the people.  But so much for being an anonymous guy in the pew.  Perhaps a dozen times I heard, "Be careful, we need men like you!"  I will be as careful as I can.

I finally got on the road at nine o'clock or so.  By that time the wind was already up, but the weather was otherwise perfect.  The road looks straight on the map, but it seems really curvy on the ground, and HILLY.  There was no useful shoulder to ride on the entire way today.  The shoulders were either very loose gravel or nothing but a steep ditch.  I could almost never see a quarter mile in either direction.  There were a lot of blind spots where I pulled off the road so cars wouldn't hit me (or other cars because of me).  There were stretches where I did this three times in a minute.  It got VERY OLD.  I did not like these roads at all.  After the Katy trail, these stop-n-go, climb-and-descend roads are killing me.

On the upside, I tried to take it easy today.  I stopped at the Confederate Memorial State Historic Site near Higginsville.  There was a farm and community for injured and disabled veterans of the civil war there.  A big park was built to honor the confederate soldiers, and the Lion of Lucerne monument monuments in the cemetery were quite impressive. To see the original statue that inspired this monument (and to read about the event that it commemorates), visit Wikipedia by clicking here.

I took advantage of a park bench in the shade (near the picture above) for perhaps an entire hour.  The weather was great, and I wasn't in a hurry.  I stopped at McDonalds to get some food before making the last push for Lexington.

Once in Lexington, I checked into the Lexington Inn.  I realized after checking in that the place looks to be in tough shape on the outside.  They are fixing up the rooms, so a lot of work is going on.  The room was only $49 and it was newly remodeled, so I can't complain too much.  But there were a few problems. First off, the room reminded me of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  I went into the bathroom to shower and discovered only a tiny washcloth in the towel rack.  I laughed aloud as I envisioned Steve Martin trying to dry off.  That movie rocks.  Anyway, I called for more towels.  Soon I discovered the hot water was controlled by the "cold" knob and vice versa.  And I had to strip the insulation off the cable connection and re-wire the coax connector, which had been busted off, in order to get cable television.

After a while I walked to Subway for supper.  Lexington is not pedestrian friendly in the "business district."  There are no sidewalks.  I walked through yards and on the busy highway.  At first I investigated going to the Sonic for supper.  But the Sonic is ONLY a drive thru, and it had no tables at all, outside or inside.  So, Subway it was.  I'm beginning to think that Missouri dislikes pedestrians.

Tomorrow I'm shooting for Smithville, about 70-80 miles down the road.