Rumble Strips, and other “interesting” observations

Eldon – Lebanon, MO, via Lake of the Ozarks

There’s a lot that goes into deciding where we go each day. Where are we ultimately heading? (Mexico border, for now). Do we have an intermediate destination? (Little Rock – where are friends Gunnar and Maria live). Is there something we want to see along the way today? (Lake of the Ozarks and environs). Are there towns or other lodging roughly the right distance (50-70 miles) away and in the general direction we want to go? Is it going to rain – meaning that we would probably stay in a hotel or Warm Showers (an app for bikers to stay with other bikers)? Once we find a general direction and destination, are there roads along the way that are not too busy? Are all, or at least most of, these roads paved (can be very difficult to figure this out definitely . . .).

Today we ended up choosing a route that would take us to Lebanon because Lebanon was basically the only town that was roughly the right distance and direction and had lodging that would work with the rain that was forecast overnight. It also generally worked with the idea of going through the Lake of the Ozarks area. In the end, we chose a route that had a little bit more Lake of the Ozarks but also, probably because of that, a little bit more in the way of busy type roads.

Ended up making for an interesting day. 

Interesting in that passive-aggressive Minnesota sort of way. 

Interesting, meaning that – for some of our non-Minnesota readers – it wasn’t all good.

No beautiful bucolic scenes on abandoned country roads. 

Let’s just say that we spent a lot of time focused on the narrow strip of pavement that constituted the “shoulder” of most of the byways we traversed today. 

And what is with the rumble strips around here? Perfectly placed to leave basically no room to bike. Not shallow gentle-warning rumble strips either. These are for-real rumble strips – seems like they are about three inches deep. Super fun to bike over. Literally feels like Old Dan and Little Anne are going to vibrate into pieces . . .

Fortunately, we had a few sections of divided highway with a nice big shoulder to break up the rumble strip sections. I mean, there was still a rumble strip, but we didn’t have to ride on it. We were just comfortable listening to and feeling (like in your bones) – the semi-tractors going by at 70 miles per hour . . . I swear one of them came with such a whoosh of wind that we felt like we were going to be blown off even the wider shoulder . . .

Oh, and I shouldn’t forget to mention that, what with this being the Ozarks and all, this was by far our hilliest day yet. Or the late start – because it was raining a little this morning. Or the temperatures; I thought yesterday was our last hot day, but today was pretty bad as well . . .

So by the time we rolled into Lebanon after 70+ miles of riding we were about done. And let me tell you, Lebanon is not an uplifting place. We intentionally biked through downtown just so we could check out the restaurants and shops and stuff, but I’m not sure there was a single place open. I don’t know if it’s Dollar General – which we saw a lot of today – or Walmart, or just the general lack of money around here – but boy, this town looks depressed.

That’s enough complaining for one day. 

No, it wasn’t a highlight reel day, but it really wasn’t a bad day either. Some great views of Lake of the Ozarks. A lot of Wisconsin Dells type of kitsch. Some nice people – always nice people. And we didn’t get rained on. What’s not to like?

I did want to make one observation. You can skip this next part if you’re squeamish – because it’s about roadkill. No, there will be no necropsy. It’s not that bad . . . But if you feel about roadkill the way I feel about shots, you might want to look away. (That’s my general rule: they can give me a shot, but I DON’T want to see the needle. And this summer there were lots of needles because of all the vaccinations and the lyme’s and all . . . So I did lots of looking away. Diana, by the way, thinks that I am a complete wimp in this department . . . But, of course, that is just one of many departments like that . . .)

Alright, that’s a big enough trigger warning. 

The thing is roadkill is a pretty good indication of what part of the world you are in. Minnesota is all about raccoons and deer. The U.P. of Michigan: lots of porcupines. Iowa: lots of opossums – which makes sense – kind of the bottom-feeder of roadkill. Illinois seems to be about skunks. It bears noting that I’m kind of a fan of skunks. There is just something about the smell of skunk that I kind of like. Brings me back to my childhood or something. But I’ve been developing a theory that skunks might really be more associated with river areas generally than with Illinois. Just turns out that the areas of Illinois we went through had lots of rivers (the Mississippi and the Illinois in particular). Will have to do more research on that . . .

Today we started moving into a whole new jurisdiction of roadkill. Lots of armadillos. Those are strange creatures. You just don’t see armadillos – alive or dead – in Minnesota. 

So I guess we know we have made some progress anyway. Been through several jurisdictions of roadkill – with some unknown snakes starting to appear as well . . .

Tomorrow should be better biking. We are heading past Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood home, but other than that we won’t be going through a major tourist part of the state – which should mean smaller roads with less traffic. 

We’ll see. 

But we are still expecting some rain, and it sounds like we have several hilly days coming up. But hopefully we find some good roadside barbecue because it seems like we’re getting into that part of the world.

Which brings me to my last observation for the day. We went out to a catfish place for dinner tonight. Pretty good. Complete with hush puppies – another new experience for me. Diana said they are supposed to be kind of like corn dog breading at the State Fair. Maybe – but I kind of feel like I need to give them another chance . . . Because the Lebanon, Missouri version were basically nondescript balls of batter. 

Putting the actual dinner aside – on our way out a few Amish/Mennonite/Pennsylvania Dutch (?) families were coming in. What is with these people? Guys walking around all self-important in their polo shirts and suspenders. The women in their uncomfortable dresses and bonnet things – carrying a bunch of children. And then, when they leave – another such couple was heading out at the same time as us – the guy clicks the button in his pocket and the minivan beeps open. 

What?!? 

I know this has been a theme with us – but we just can’t figure it out. 

Tomorrow’s mystery . . .

Reader request: suggestions for foods we should be trying – or avoiding – as we head into the South . . .