It is 6 a.m. and dry. Now it’s raining, just a short sprinkle. I unload the car to load my bike and gear. Nancy is shuttling me to Cape Girardeau, known as the Cape to the locals.
At the cape, the start of the GGT, I get my bike loaded and dip the rear wheel into the Mississippi River. Since Moe is also on the tour, Nancy thought it would be fitting to dip Moe’s back feet into the water. Moe does not feel the necessity.
Finally out of the city’s zig-zaggy streets, I was riding on small roads along the countryside. I reached the first gravel at mile 16.5.
The sky was dark in the distance, and I was soaked with rain after the first 20 miles.
I was riding on a small gravel road, almost out of water and hungry. A car was coming toward me and slowed to a stop. A young woman leaned out the window to ask if I was touring the world. I told her what I was doing. She asked if I needed water. Yes! She handed me two bottles and a granola bar. I arrived at Marble Hill and rode off course two miles to eat, drink, and get some supplies at a convenience store at mile 45. This is the first and only place on the route.
Now back on the route to my campsite, Trace Creek Campground, a primitive campground with nothing, no water, or facilities. I arrived as the sun was setting. I quickly set up camp and ate snacks for dinner. I only had two water bottles and wanted to save the water for riding in the morning. I finished a very hard 60.5-mile day. Exhausted.
