Oklahoma is not the only place where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

Day 2
Foristell, Missouri to Mexico, Missouri
69 miles

A few days ago it was in the 100's and today when we woke up it was in the 50's.  I am so glad that we brought our cold weather biking clothes.  On top of the cooler weather it was also a very windy day which made it feel even colder.  When we left Foristell,  we knew that the first 10 miles we were going to have quite a few "hills"  to climb.  I think we psyched Tom out pretty good, because after those 10 miles he said they weren't as bad as he thought they would be.  Tom rode with us for 25 miles today.  Then Susan took a turn and rode until lunch.  

It was so windy, it blew Susan's helmet off.  After lunch, we rode on a horrendous section of highway.  There was no shoulder, there was a lot of traffic going 60+ miles an hour, and the wind was blowing very hard, head-on.  A few miles down the road we heard sirens and pulled over.  Several emergency vehicles passed by us going back the opposite direction.  We called Tom and Susan to have them look at the map to see if there was another road to take.  They had just passed a very bad accident on the road we had just come down.  They were actually worried about us.  We quickly found an alternate route, which added a few extra miles, but we felt it was worth it. 

By the time we arrived in Mexico, we had ridden 69 miles today.  We were pretty excited that we rode that far, especially with the hills and wind.  Even though we rode that many miles today, it is our second longest ride ever.  We have actually ridden 70 miles in one day last summer on the Katy Trail.  If we had realized we were so close to breaking our record, we would have ridden around the block a few times before stopping for the night. 

We are staying at the A.P. Green House Bed and Breakfast.  We all have aching knees and as soon as I finish this blog, we are going to get in the hot tub. Tomorrow we will head to Moberly and it will be a short 40 mile ride.  We are praying that the wind will be calm or at our backs!