Warsaw, IL – Hannibal, MO
Okay, so our suspicions were confirmed. Iowa really has some shortcomings . . .
First biking in Illinois and we immediately had a much better riding experience. From Warsaw we headed to Quincy along a road that generally follows the river. Super nice. Very little traffic. In the shade thanks to the bluff rising just to the east of us – so the sun was blocked as we went. And paved. Did I mention that it was paved? Perfectly smooth!
There is just no way that road would have been paved in Iowa.
So that alone made for a good day.
We flew to Quincy. Super nice.
And then Quincy was super nice as well – mostly . . .
We found the central square – where, apparently, the sixth – and, as the Quincy-ans tell us, the most important of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, took place.
We looked around for a place to eat, but we kept striking out. Two bakeries – closed. Two coffee shops – closed. It’s Saturday at 11? What gives?
We finally went into a more fancy coffee place that was actually open, but their lunch option was avocado toast.
Avocado toast? Are you kidding? Under normal circumstances I really wouldn’t consider this anything more than pretend food. But after biking 32 miles already – with 25 more to go for the day – there was no pretending. We needed real food . . .Or at least I did. (Diana can subsist on sunshine for weeks; she’s like a solar panel or something . . .)
But the coffee shop did serve one useful purpose. When we asked why everything was closed they surmised that it might be “the boil order.”
“What’s a boil order?”
”You have to boil the water before you can drink it or use it . . .”
I’m thinking that after my “swim” in the Mississippi yesterday I totally understand such an order . . . Should probably be a permanent thing for cities getting their water from the Mississippi below Wisconsin if you ask me . . .
I guess they were doing some work on the sewer or something and the water intake was contaminated . . . Solution? Pump all the water out of the whole water system and replace it with “good” water. Despite all this, apparently the boil order was only through this afternoon – but we left Quincy before then. So it was effectively all day for us . . .
Anyway, we ended up finding a great farmer’s market, bought some sourdough bread, some Amish cheese (which apparently is just regular Swiss cheese – but made by the Amish), some homemade summer sausage, and an heirloom tomato. We used the remnants of yesterday’s butter, and had a wonderful lunch in the park.
Talked to some locals who gave us great advice about must-dos in Quincy and the best way of biking to Hannibel. At their recommendation we ended up enjoying some time in the Lincoln-Douglas Museum across the street (we were the second people to sign in the guest book for the week), and then biked by a block of grand old houses that were apparently built in the first half of the nineteenth century.
As we left town I realized how thirsty I was. Because of the boil order we hadn’t been able to fill our water bottles, nor had we found any open stores. Fortunately, we found some nice fellow bikers (also something we rarely saw in Iowa), who invited us back to their place for some freshly boiled water, and, when we politely declined that, instructed us on how to find a gas station where we could buy some water. I was a little nervous that the gas station would be out of bottled water because of the boil order, but all was good. It did start me thinking about Mexico though and having to purchase all our water. Going to be a new experience . . .
Okay, now that we’ve introduced the bikes I think we need to talk about Old Dan. I know I bragged about changing the rear derailleur cable the other day. I’m very impressive, you know.
But that’s old news by now . . . The day after I changed the rear derailleur cable the front cable started to go as welll. The obvious solution: change that cable too. Easy-Peasy. Except I can’t figure out how to release the cable at the derailleur – because the Shimano GRX derailleur we have on these bikes is so fancy that it can’t be bothered to be user friendly. So I can’t find the set-screw . . . Aargh!
And my backup plans have, thus far, all failed. Can’t seem to find a relevant YouTube video. My Phone-A-Friend solution also failed. Dave didn’t answer, and Craig couldn’t remember how his GRX derailleur worked either.
I managed to limp along for a few days by backing out the limit screw (I think that’s what it’s called). But whatever is breaking with my cable is continuing to break more. Last night I took the limit screw off altogether – for fear it would just fall off on some gravel road – and the derailleur worked for a while this morning. But it must have stretched more or whatever, and now I’m back to a one-by.
Two more days and we should make it to St. Louis – and, presumably, bike shops . . . Until then Old Dan will have to continue to limp along – unless someone can provide a useful comment to help me solve my puzzle . . . (By the way, as I recall, Old Dan frequently came up lame because of a thorn or something – so this is all very Where the Red Fern Grows . . .)
But back to our trip. Two historical places in one day. First, Quincy – which was, our friends were quick to point out, at one time the third biggest city in Illinois. And then, Hannibal – where Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was from.
Turns out Hannibal is fun as well – in an Old West town sort of way. We arrived at the visitor center at 3:47 p.m. Within 32 seconds Diana identified the 4 p.m.-Mark-Twain-River-Cruise as something that we should do. The cruise was only about 1.5 miles from the Visitor Center . . .
Of course, that is just par for the course for us. We can just never get to a boat on time. But, fortunately, it’s all downhill from the Visitor Center to the dock.
We made it. Last people to board. In fact, they had already locked the gate when we arrived.
Boy was it nice to enjoy some air conditioning at that point. (It was a nice day of riding, but by the end of the day it was HOT – like south of the Mason-Dixon Line HOT! Are we south of the Mason-Dixon Line yet? I don’t know, but it feels like it . . .)
We learned all kinds of things on the voyage. Like how there is a big touring ship docked in Hannibal right now that is heading up to Minneapolis, Minnesota. And how the Mississippi starts in Minnesota at Lake Itasca and you can walk over the Mississippi at that point. (As Minnesotans I feel like maybe we should get a discount on this whole cruise thing. After all, we know more about the “good”parts of the Mississippi than any of these “southern” people . . .)
Interestingly, the captain didn’t mention anything about the family that had set up tents and stuff along the river. The kids were swimming in the river on some type of inflatable (yes – the same river that I have now forsworn ). And we could see what we presumed to be the dad walking back to the chaotic encampment with a big fish he had caught. I guess I thought it was a little ironic to pretend all of this didn’t exist when Mark Twain spent a lot of time writing about the nineteenth century version of people like this . . . And the cruise was supposed to be celebrating his accomplishments.
Tomorrow? Another hospitality challenge. No hotels. No campgrounds. No grocery stores. Fortunately we found a HipCamp (a campsite provided by a private party through an app we have on our phone) that is about where we need to be in order to reach St. Louis on Monday.
We’ll see how that goes . . . Look for us half way between Hannibal and St. Louis if you never hear from us again . . .
As we approach the “Rome of the West” (apparently this is one of St. Louis’ nicknames . . .) any advice on what to do and what to avoid would be appreciated.
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Sounds like good times in Illinois-better food and roads already. Bummer about the derailer- hope you find a good bike shop soon. If you find an REI or outdoor store before Mexico, maybe get a small water filter like a Sawyer that attaches directly to your water bottle in case you can’t find bottled water…likely you have one already. Jon.
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Yes. Illinois is better for sure. Iowa set a nice low bar. Figured out derailleur this morning thanks to another subscriber’s advice. And we have over of those water things in the bottom of the pack – waiting for Mexico…
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While you’re in the US, it might be worth trying to buy a a mini UV light to sterilize tap water in Mexico. We did that and no tummy problems. Keep on trucking along.
Kang
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Good idea. Or friends Leslie and Tom told us to buy one as well. It’s currently buried in the bottom of the pack, but with no batteries for now. I deemed the batteries too heavy to lug all the way down there…😀
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The Budweiser Brewery has a free beer garden after the short tour, it was worth my time. The horses might be there.
The WashU area has some nice metro parks, otherwise I have heard much of St. Louis is a small.
If you’re willing to take an extra day to visit the Cahokia State Park across the river in Illinois, a different perspective of early American history.
https://cahokiamounds.org/
Charlie Maternus
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Thanks Charlie. Super helpful!
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The Rome of the West! Awesome.
LB
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My neighbors of twenty years just bought a beautiful historic home on Grove Ave in Quincy, 1 mile from the Mississippi, just as we are here! AND an old actor/director friend of mine and his wife live in Hannibal. I could have hooked you up with some water! Hope you get your derailleur fixed (and why is this a French word? Are the French known for their cuisine and bike manufacturing?) Millie is a Treeing Walker Coonhound – and I’m sure it was WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS that piqued my interest in the breed. My 6th grade teacher, Miss Benson, read us the book out loud, little bits every day, and at one point she had to stop and hand the book to a student to read because she was crying so hard. Loving living through your travels. – Ann Michels
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Love this. Quincy was a great little town for sure. And we really enjoyed Hannibal as well. Good to know Millie is a coon hound. 🐶
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More thoughts on St. Louis…. For the Budweiser Bear Garden, since Budweiser is in a conglomerate, they serve multiple FREE craft like beers.
https://www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/dredscott.htm
Around the Gateway Arch, I see the historical Dred Scott decision courthouse is closed for renovations. However, an easy walk from there is the Gateway Arch. Looking east through it, you will see remnants of MN, a Cargill plant on the river, with the name Cargill on it.
St. Louis has pleaded with Cargill to relocate , but it’s still there.
East St. Louis in Illinois is an eyesore.
Charlie M
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Perfect. Thanks Charlie. This is great
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Hi John, John Owens here. I found you on facebook and am now getting your daily posts. Thanks! You and Diana are brave souls! Good luck and safe travels!
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Hey John – Good to hear from you. Great to have followers back home. We’re having a great time. Take care. John
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I’ve sent out queries on your derailleur…will revert with advice.
Bill McK.
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drop a photo of derailleur and we can mark it up to and explain each screw. Friend of Bill.
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Hi John. You are an amazing storyteller and it is so fun following along with you and Diana. You went through my birthplace – Cedar Rapids. We drove through there earlier this summer as our daughter relocated to S Louis. Found a cute International Market with good food. And I am just headed home from St Louis now. I hope you enjoy St Louis. I can recommend the Zoo if you are interested in an animal adventure (took our grandson there and did kid activities). Otherwise some fun breweries to visit. We went to Modern Brewery after the zoo yesterday as it was close by. Good beer and food. Enjoy and safe travels!
ps this is JoAnn B.
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Thanks for the note JoAnn. Great to hear from you. Cedar Rapids was a fun town. We’ll have to think about the zoo. Looking forward to getting there!
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Loved the little video! It really helped bring to life what you are seeing. You sure are having lots of adventures! And you still aren’t far from home in the big picture. Keep having fun! Scott E
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Thanks Scott. Good to know the videos are helpful. Talk soon.
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John & Diana, I have already enjoyed reading about your early adventures and following along on your routes. What a team the two of you are!
I’m not sure what your planned route is from St. Louis, but if you are looking to head west and get off the roads for awhile, the Katy Trail stretches across most of Missouri and is well maintained. https://bikekatytrail.com/ It doesn’t follow a straight due west route, but you could ride it for awhile and then spur off where you like. You could start on the trail from St. Charles MO, and there should be several bike shops in St. Charles for any necessary bike (cable) repairs as well.
Another good resource for route planning in the US, if you aren’t already aware, are the maps available to purchase from Adventure Cycling Assocation. Lots of good resources on their website. https://www.adventurecycling.org/
Safe travels!
Eric Hedman
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John & Diana, I have enjoyed reading the early days of your adventures and following you along your routes. What a team the two of you are!
I’m not sure what your intended route is after St Louis, but if you want to get off the roads for awhile, you could take the Katy Trail across most of Missouri. It is not a direct west route, but it is well maintained, and you could spur off it to head more southward at some point. St Charles MO could be a good location to start on the trail as there should be several bike shops in St Charles.
Safe travels!
Eric Hedman
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Cool. Thanks Eric. Super helpful. We need to figure out where we might go after St. Louis, but for sure we need to head more west at some point. We’ll look into it – I think we might be going pretty close to the trail on our way to St. Louis tomorrow.
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John,
Another good resource, which you may already be aware of, is the Adventure Cycling Association for their US maps & routes, which you can purchase online, I believe. https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/adventure-cycling-route-network/
On their website, I see several routes identified out of St. Louis, including the Bicycle Route 66 westward. I’m sure there are several good options for routes, as you look to map out your next few weeks.
Eric
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You might not want to head west quite yet, but if you do – the Katy Trail heads west out of St. Louis. Follows the Lewis and Clark route on the Missouri. We did a road/bike trip a couple years ago. One of our bikes jumped off of the bike rack and we dragged it along the interstate for a mile or two – right to the exit to Hannibal. A super friendly bike mechanic in Hannibal repaired multiple boo-boos on the bike and we were able to do the Katy.
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Hey John (Old Dan),
Try this video for your front derail. Has section on installing cable and adjusting. Trick looks to be that set screw needs to be full out before installing cable.
https://www.google.com/search?q=sram+grx+front+derailleur+adjustment&rlz=1CAPUVO_enUS1093&oq=SRAM+GRX+front+derail+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgCECEYoAEyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigAdIBCDk1NTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b7dd58db,vid:ZdF8O-2UbZE,st:13
Good luck and may the force be with Old Dan.
Brad
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Thanks Brad. I had actually looked at a bit of this video but I didn’t end up going far enough in to see the relevant part. I think Diana was waiting for me and/or it was late in the day and we just wanted to be done… in any event, I think I’ve got a grip on this now. It’s good that Old Dan has a lot of friends…
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John, I love that you are breaking two derailleur cables within a week of starting your trip!! That has got to be a world record for the quickest derailleur cable destruction. What’s next? The bottom bracket? Rear wheel hub? Here is hoping you have some sturdy spokes!! Bring a few spares and a spoke tool — just sayin’…… can’t wait to hear what comes down the road next…….!! -BillO
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These bikes are four years old. I changed out the whole drive train, but didn’t change the cables. So it kind of makes sense that they have been going bad…😀
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