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Day 17

ANOTHER GREAT DAY...JUST BEAUTIFUL

Yesterday Tomorrow

ROUTE: Topeka KS to St Joe MO

DISTANCE: 88 Miles

TOTAL CLIMBING: 2800 Feet

DAILY REPORT: Partly cloudy, high 75, 52 at departure, wind south 10.

Happy Cinco de Mayo. We were lucky again as the forecast called for a chance of thunder storms...it was beautiful all day. We started early to allow everyone to get in early. Tomorrow we have our toughest day so today we wanted to take it easy. Well, most of the riders took it easy...I rode with Jay and Andy...whew, they can fly. Sometimes I thought we even speeded up when we hit a rise in the terrain...so much for an easy day.

Our early start also let us beat the traffic out of Topeka. We ride right into downtown and pick up highway 24 to highway 4. The final miles out of Kansas are pretty tame with several long rollers to break the monotony. Even though we were on a highway, the traffic was fairly light and very considerate of our group. In Atchison we leave Kansas and enter Missouri over the Emelia Earhart Memorial Bridge over the Missouri River. The mighty Missouri was running bank full with all the rain over the past few weeks. Our timing was pretty good...last week we'd been wet for sure.

About 1 mile after crossing the bridge, we were welcomed by a Missouri state sign and of course we had to take the obligatory state line photo. After the photo we rode about 3 miles on rather tame Missouri flood plain before we got into the real Missouri hill country. We take county road HH through some beautiful rolling farm country to a little town of DeKalb (population 225) where we have our lunch SAG at the town square. We never have facilities there but today a nice lady, Lula Belle Mathews a resident of DeKalb, opened the community center for us to use the bathroom. We also set up the SAG under the overhang of the center to protect us if it happened to rain. Thanks for your wonderful hospitality...we'll call again.

The final assault on St Joe is rolling farmland with mostly corn that's usually about 6 inches high this time of year...but this year with all the wet, the fields were still idle still waiting to be tilled...and they will wait awhile after all this rain. When the challenge ride comes through here in July, the scenery will be entirely different as the corn will be over 6 feet tall by then and hopefully dryer.

Everyone got in before 2:30 today allowing them to get some much needed rest for tomorrow. Today's favorable wind really helped everyone down the road today and hopefully we'll have good conditions again tomorrow...we'll need it.

Tonight we said good bye to Jay...you all following this site may think we're having a reality show and eliminating riders every so often...not the case. He was only planning to ride to St Joe...sorry to see him go as always his infectious laugh keeps the ride in perspective. Good luck Jay and have a great racing season. Tune in tomorrow as we tackle our signature day to Kirksville. It's going to be a tough one, but I think they will do fine. See you then.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY
Hmmm, this tire is a different color than the one I have on the back...this is unacceptable! I may have to SAG today.	I can't believe Mike makes us play leap frog before we can start riding.
Under the direct tutelage of Jay Lewis, the usually quiet and reserved Sam has started to experience new horizons. Luckily, this is Jay's last day...but the damage may have already been done.	Barbara, do I have this thing on right? Or did I just find a flaw in this design?
Andy...did you miss a turn? From the looks of the grass in the background you must have had to make a minor route adjustment.	Miiiiike...don't make us ride anymore!
Missouri would be a big state if they'd flatten it out.	Another state bites the dust.