Home from the Bike Surgeon

 August 25, 2021

As most of you know we had an incident earlier this month. We were on our way to meet some friends for a mini vacation which included some bike riding among other things. We were about an hour from home traveling 70 miles an hour on interstate 64 in Illinois. All of a sudden our bike and bike rack came off the top of our car. It was truly a miracle that no cars were by us at the time. And, the strangest thing is, as it slid off our car, it hit the back bike tire and fell upright and slid across the traffic lanes staying upright the whole time. It came to a halt in the passing lane of the interstate. Clay was able to jump out of our car and get to the bike before it was hit by other cars. We really feel that God's hand of protection was on us that day!

(This was taken in June but you can see how we transport our bike)

After the accident, taking everything apart to fit in the trunk.

You can see how bent the back wheel is.

Now we had the problem of how would we transport the damaged bike and bike rack to a place for repairs. We had to unload the trunk of our Honda Civic, lay down the back seat, take both tires off the bike, shove it in the trunk as far as it would go. Pile the tires, rack and our luggage in on top and around the bike. Of course the bike didn't fit all the way in so we had to bungee cord the trunk lid down. Luckily the bike store we use for service was between us and our house, so we didn't have to go all the way back home. We left the bike with the Bike Surgeon and continued on our vacation, which now looked a lot different since we didn't have our bike. 

We had to cut out one bike ride in Kentucky but we were able to rent single bikes (their tandem rentals we broken and they are having trouble getting parts to fix them) on our planned ride in Ohio.

 

Little Miami Bike Trail, Ohio

As it turns out, there wasn't much damage to our bike. We had to replace the back wheel and tire and the handlebar tape on my my handlebars. (We figure we did that damage when we were shoving it in the trunk) Ironically those are the two things we had done earlier this summer. We feel really blessed that we still have our trusty tandem bike! Ready for more adventures but nervous about transporting it now. We'll have to use our truck as the bike rack is toast!

KATY Trail 2021

May 16-21, 2021

KATY Trail 6-day fully supported Tour

Clinton, Missouri to St. Charles, Missouri

235 miles

Happy 20th birthday to our bike! Before our bicycling vacation we took our bike in for a complete go over to make sure it was trail worthy. Several items needed to be fixed and we have gotten to the magic age that many parts are no longer available. Had to have some things custom built. It's sad to say but we may be looking at replacing our bike sooner rather than later.

Before leaving, the 6 day weather forecast was not looking good. High percentage of rain forecasted every day of the trip. Since I am a fair weather rider, this had me concerned. 

We met our group at the KATY Trail parking lot in St. Charles, Missouri. Including the 2 tour guides we had 4 men and 4 women on this trip. Three of the women are named Kathy/Cathy. It makes it very easy for everyone to remember the womens' names but it is very confusing when someone asks a question to one of the Kathys.

The first day was the hardest because of the weather. And, as stated above, since I am a fair weather rider I can confidently say it was the worst weather day I have ever bicycled in! We got over 4 inches of rain and we were drenched and covered with mud by the time we arrived at the hotel for the evening. The hotel had a water hose on the side of the building to wash everything down. There was quite a line as we weren't the only tour group staying there that night. For the rest of the trip most days we had some sprinkles or light rain but it never lasted long. We were very fortunate for that!

By the way, when we arrived at the Clinton trailhead to start the trip, Clay found a painted rock. We picked it up and kept it. Look what it says...... So guess who we are blaming for the rain!

This is the fourth time for us to ride the complete trail and it was the first time that we are staying in Jefferson City and Hermann because both are on the South side of the Missouri River and we have never crossed on our bike. Both now have very nice protected bike lanes over the river. In Jefferson City three of our grandkids were waiting in the hotel parking lot for us to arrive. We had a great visit with them!

Crossroads Bike Tours did a fantastic job, we were very spoiled all trip long. All the lodgings were fantastic and the food was superb! Already want to ride the KATY Trail again!