Hannibal, MO – Kampsville, IL
Now that’s what bike touring is supposed to look like. Bucolic scenes. Nice roads with very little traffic. Little towns every five to ten miles – complete with occasional grocery stores, gas stations, and, as we shall see, nice diners. And then a surprise campground right in town at the end of the day.
The only small bummer: the Kampsville Kreamery was closed. So no ice cream at the end of the day. Other than that it was a golden day.
There were, of course, a few parts of the day worth sharing – but in a good way . . .
Before I get to that, I wanted to take a moment to give kudos to one member of our blog community. Betsy T in Duluth. She read the post this morning, informed her husband, Chip – who used to work in a bike shop – and he sent me a text with the info I needed to fix the derailleur.
Five minutes this morning and now Old Dan is back in shape. He had a good day, never registering a complaint even though we covered some 62 miles.
On a related note, I woke up this morning with my nagging lower back thing worse than ever. I took the Advil Dr. Liu prescribed, but, more importantly, I decided it was time to start experimenting with adjusting my seat. I had moved it down and back last week. I feel like down was good – but back maybe was a mistake. So I moved the seat closer to the handlebars and changed the angle of the seat a little as well – so it is a little flatter to sit on.
I’m cautiously optimistic that the adjustments helped. Not sure if it was the Advil or the new seat placement, but I didn’t have any back pain until the last ten miles of the day. I’m hopeful that after a few days this nagging injury will go away altogether . . .
On a related note, toward the end of the day Diana let out a small cry of distress as we pedaled along. I guess her quad was hurting all of a sudden. We stopped for a moment and Diana mentioned that it had “popped.” That gave me some pause for sure. But, as per usual with Diana, she was undaunted. Her solution? Keep biking.
After we finished our ride in Kampstown – and after Diana digested the fact that the ice cream she had been looking forward to all day was not going to happen – she went for a swim in the Illinois River. While Diana swam I had a beer and a giant lemonade at The Pavillion – a big open air bar type place nearby. I think it cost $4.50 for the beer and lemonade combined . . .
Now, there’s a ferry that crosses the river here in town. Back and forth it goes all day. Diana, of course, swam across the river and back. She doesn’t need no stinking ferry! Ferries are for the weak people. Like people who take Advil for their pain . . .
Diana’s quad pain?
“After I swam it felt better.”
The other notable event of the day? Our trip to the diner in Atlas.
The place opened at 11 a.m. We arrived at about 10:50.
Within 30 seconds of our arrival we were talking to another patron who was waiting for the restaurant to open. Didn’t catch her name, but when I asked if she lived in the area I got quite a story.
She does live in the area now, because her step-children “took her house” and then her step-sister stole some land from her, and then another in-law tried to take a sweater she had bought for someone else, or something like that. It went on. But her in-laws were going to “find out who they were messing with . . .”
Eventually, mercifully, the restaurant opened. By that time the parking lot was half full. Old people were practically fighting to get in the place.
And this was when we knew we were officially in the South (do you capitalize South in this context?). Hush puppies and catfish fritters on the menu. And everything is so cheap. It was $2 for a side of pickled beets. I think my BLT was $5 or $6.
Super nice waitress. She designed the menu and explained that the tagline: ”Treat Every Day Like A Hoot” came from her. Apparently their family name is Owls and their Dad, who passed away a few years ago, used to call her sister Hoot – so the phrase has particular meaning to the family.
And good advice to boot!
Anyway, great lunch.
So nice to be back in a place where they pave their roads and don’t send everyone onto the one giant collector road so that there are no services anywhere else . . .
Camping tonight. We ended up scratching the Hipcamp idea when we found that there was a campground right in town overlooking the Illinois River, proving once again that Google doesn’t know everything . . .
Apparently this site is likely to be free for us because, according to the waitress at the Pavillion next door, the person who collects the money rarely bothers to come collect. Which is understandable, I guess, because there is no one else here . . .
Dinner? Pork chops, potatoes, cole slaw, and carrots. Diana has become like my dear Grandma Frances – who used to steal all the sugar, ketchup and other condiments from restaurants she would go to. Her purse would always be bursting with the stuff . . .
The bag cole slaw came with no dressing. No problem. Diana just whipped out the various dressings and mayonnaise she had accumulated over the miles. Pork chops? Somehow she had some packets of honey mustard sauce to go with the garlic we have along for the ride.
My contribution? I found some wood, and started and managed the fire – complete with borrowing a grate from an old Weber grill that is just sitting around the campground.
I guess everything we need is here someplace . . .
The result? A delicious meal. And a great day. A hoot of a day!
Tomorrow? St. Louis.
Oh, and thanks for the tips everyone. Keep them coming!
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Diana & John's Biking Adventures 
Here are some essential core/lower back exercises you can do before your bike rides that take about ten minutes. I had such bad lower back pain in December, so I went to a back pain specialist asking for injections, and she recommended the book Back Mechanic by Stuart McGill, PhD. I am now 95% pain free after following his directions without injections or NSAIDS.
McGill Big Three…
If I was restricted to 15 minutes of exercise per day, it would be the Kettle Bell Swing.
“Forward On!”… Teddy Roosevelt, leading his first horse ride in ND.
Charlie M
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I can’t believe you’re getting to Saint Louis already! You’re awesome. Keep up the great work. I love reading the blogs. Yours, Torry Kraftson
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Good to hear from you Torry. How’s the summer going?
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Hi John & Diana…. Here are some easy lower back/core exercises that take about 10-15 minutes before your bike ride that will help relieve your back pain. I saw a back pain specialist in December with such severe pain that I wanted injections. She told me to read the book Back Mechanic by Stuart McGill, and follow up in 6 weeks. Now I am 95% pain free without injections or NSAIDS. THE MCGILL BIG THREE… The 3 Best Core Exercises [Do These Every Day]
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Train the Core the Right Way Dr Mc Gill
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If I was limited to 15 minutes a day for one exercise, this would be the Kettle Bell Swing. “Forward On”… Teddy Roosevelt, leading his first horseback ride on his ranch in North Dakota… Charlie Maternus
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Was just thinking I have to start doing this stuff. I’ll take a look. Thanks Charlie!
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I love reading your daily blog! I look forward to it every day now. I am so impressed by you guys!! Sarah Page
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Great to hear from you Sarah. It all goes back to early days with Jong…😀
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Glad you guys had a great day of riding and some awesome food! You deserve it after some early trials! Hope your back improves.
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Thanks Jon. Back is kind of meh so far today…
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Always such big smiles at the end of the day!! Thanks for sharing the big and mini adventures along the way! It’s fun to travel with you guys from afar! – Cuz Emily
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Gotta have a super day like that every now and then to balance out the frustrations! Please find ice cream today. Also, you guys are darling in the pix.
LB
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Ice cream. Yes! I try not to be too cute in my photos…😉
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A friend of mine took a couple months this summer to bike across Europe and biked across the US last summer so I sent him a link to your blog, which he is greatly enjoying. If you ever make it up to Grand Marais (you can stay with us!), I’ll introduce you.
I’m greatly enjoying the blog too. And I just have to say that Diana is the cutest thing with her pigtails and smile. Her spirit always shines. I can hear her laughing now.
Angie R
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Sounds like your friend was doing some fun stuff. Glad you are enjoying the blog. Fun to put it together when it feels are community at home is doing with us. And yes, love Diana’s pigtails. ❤️😀
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http://Another idea – if you don’t want to head west yet. Head down the river to Memphis. Spend a day or part of a day at hte Civil Rights Museum – it’s definitely worth it. Then Tupelo to catch the Natchez Trace – a fantastic bike route to Jackson and the deep sourth.
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Thanks JD. Tentatively planning to go west and then through Little Rock because we have friends there, but final decision to come tonight…
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You guys are a hoot! I love the blogs. Feel free to call-in sick for a day or two if the back is acting-up. I’m offering Steve, too, for a video visit if you need it. I’m sure all the good ice cream in St Louis will cure all. Especially if you put it on your back 🙂
Rebecca
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Dr. Liu has me doing some exercises now. I guess I’ll give that a week and see how we’re doing. If it’s persistent I would definitely take a consult! Off to see a a real St Louis student for a tour of campus! 😁
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Glad Old Dan is back in shape!
-Betsy T., Duluth (member, blog community)
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