Monday, September 5th (Labor Day) Jefferson City to Hermann and questions that come to mind while biking

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Well, we are closing in on finishing the entirety of the Katy Trail. Today Lisa and I will do 48 miles as Pete and Betsy are sagging. I think whenever you say that you are sagging you should droop your shoulders down and drag your feet and look sad. Sometimes when we are riding we conjure up questions about things that pop into our minds. How many miles do the Manitou Bluffs run along the Katy Trail for example. Or what kind of turtle was that?
How do we manage to miss every town event from Florence, Oregon to Hermann, Missouri? What is the state bird of Missouri? Where is Pete's noodle? What will the next town look like? Will it have any stores? Or any buildings?  Did the town of Boonville get its name from Daniel Boon? Why is there a Boonville, N.Y. ?  How big are the Cicada in Missouri? Like the size of Hummingbirds? Sometimes we come up with possible answers to our questions; How many towns that begin with the letter "R" have we biked through since we started this trip? Possible answers: 
 a. All of them. b. None of them.  c. 55  d. Ask Pete. 

Today some of our questions were answered by the signage along the way. The Missouri State bird is: the Eastern Bluebird. We haven't seen any yet, but now we know. When we pulled into Tebbets, there were no questions. The answer however is; when a town is reliant on the railroad for all of it's commerce, and the railroad becomes defunct, so does the town. It is a sad reality.  In the town of Mokane they were tearing down the rides from a recent fair. We missed it by one day! I spoke one of the roadies who told me that they would be setting up in Augusta for the next weekend. We will ride through Augusta tomorrow. See what I mean?
The roadie was was super friendly.  We chatted for a while. He thought that we should ask the state to pay for our flat tires. There's another question: will the state pay for your flat tire if you get a flat on state land? He also thought we should do the Paul Bunyan State Trail in Minnesota because it's paved. I think he felt sorry for us somehow. I mean our bikes are covered in white dust...and we are looking a little motely...our clothes are all stained, our hair looks disheveled, our gear is ripped...Lisa has suggested more than once that I throw my bike bag away when this trip is done. No way! I have grown to like the way it kind of sags to the right. I think it helps to keep me balanced. Hey, If it rains on our dust laden bikes will all the gears freeze up from the cement that forms? There's another question.

Off to Portland! We had a nice picnic in Portland. My olive loaf is gone. Darn. Betsy thinks we should eat more fruit. It's apparently good for your skin. Is yoga good for your skin? That's another one of those questions. According to Betsy yoga is the answer. 
                                                                           My sagging satchel and dirty bike
                                                                Our picnic spot in Portland. Is this the town?
                                                                              More decorations along the trail

Off to Hermann!! We rode on pavement for the last 2 miles today. Wow. It was so smooth! I had forgotten about that luxury. Hermann was a really cute town! Lots of shops were open.
Lots of wineries, breweries and distilleries in Hermann! 

After depositing our belongings at the Wine Alley air bnb, we walked to town to shop and enjoy the winery before they rolled up the sidewalks. They have done such a nice job maintaining the buildings and catoring to tourists in Hermann. I bought some souvenirs, Lisa bought us a few pounds of chocolate at a bonafida chocolatier! Pete bought Wurst for dinner. So we got to to make lots of jokes about the "wurst" dinner ever...ha ha ha...but it was actually an excellent dinner!
Sous Chef extraordinaire!
This is the "Wurst!"
...But really tasty!
1/3 of Lisa's chocolate purchase...no wonder I can't lose weight...that question has now been answered....


After dinner we walked around the corner from our lodging to listen to live music. It was evening, the air was clear and warm, we were listening to music from our generation and questions were floating in the air...

There are still many unanswered questions, but we will strive to find the answers. Where will we find them? In Treloar? Or Marthasville? When will we find them? Tomorrow or the next day?

....to be continued....

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