Bicycle Touring The World: Bethany to Lancaster, Missouri, USA

My latest bicycle touring around the world update, cycling across the USA through Missouri. Bethany to Lancaster. 86 miles. The wind was back today, but behind me, blowing me along. It’s also been extremely hot and humid. It felt more humid than when I was in Asia, but maybe I’m not used to it anymore.

Cycling along today, I got pulled over by a state trooper. Great, now what? I thought. I’ve been good and have been cycling inside the white line, so he can’t be stopping me for that. He’d been seeing me on and off all day, but now he had to warn me! Warn me of a severe storm that was following me! And that I’d best find somewhere to stop.

He showed me the laptop that he had in the car. Because this area is in “Tornado Alley”, they monitor weather conditions. On the laptop, he had a satellite image of the area. There was a lot of red on it, which even I could see wasn’t good.

I asked him if there were any motels nearby. Being a bit unsure himself, he made a phone call to try and find out the nearest one, which was over thirty miles away. He didn’t think there was enough time to reach the motel, which might not have even been on my route. He suggested that maybe I should wait out the storm in the next town, ten miles ahead.

You Never Know What You’ll Find

I arrived at the next town, or rather, a garage just outside. As I stood under the garage canopy, awaiting the storm’s arrival, I noticed a campsite just behind it. I ummed and ahhed whether to continue and try and reach the next town or stay here and camp. Eventually, I decided to stay and found a nice little spot underneath a corrugated steel lean-to and a tree. I was worried about hailstones, but the lean-to would protect me from them. Luckily, they never came!

I had just managed to pitch my tent when the storm hit. It got dark, the wind got up, and the temperature dropped! There was loads of thunder and lightning with heavy rain. Thankfully, I’d put my guy ropes out, which I don’t usually bother with. It was pretty hairy stuff for a while, and I think that maybe we were on the edge of the main storm.

There are no facilities at this campsite, so I had to wash with wet wipes. It’s a long time since I’ve had to do that. But for two dollars a night, who cares. And besides, the garage has a little café, so I don’t even have to worry about cooking. I can also buy a beer in there!

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring The World: Maryville to Bethany, Missouri, USA

My latest bicycle touring around the world update, cycling across the USA through Missouri. Maryville to Bethany. 57 miles. Short day today after being mistaken for a tramp! I’d just stopped by the road to check my map when a car pulled up alongside.

A woman in the car leaned out and handed me a foil parcel. “Here you go, sir, enjoy,” said the woman, “and if you need any more food, I’ve put my card on top! God be with you.” And before I could ask what or why, she drove off! The card that she had left had a phone number and an address of some homeless shelter.

Personally, I didn’t think I looked that bad. Okay, I hadn’t shaved for a few days, but I’d showered every day. And my clothes are washed every day. It must be my missing tooth, which I got back this morning!! I don’t tend to wear it when cycling, but maybe I should! That’s when I decided to stop early before getting arrested for vagrancy.

I was a little silly to stop early, as there’s hardly been any wind today, which I noticed right at the start of the day. When I saw all the locals lying down!?!

I saw a family of raccoons today, the first ones I’ve seen, alive, that is! I also had another herd of cattle follow me! I’ve also seen some Amish people in their horse-drawn carts. There’s a big Amish community around here.

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.

Bicycle Touring The World: Tecumseh to Maryville, Missouri, USA

My latest bicycle touring around the world update, cycling across the USA through Missouri. Tecumseh to Maryville. 98 miles. What a long and arduous day. I’ve been on detour after detour. The day started off well, despite still having that side wind. And I was all set for an early finish.

It was about ten o’clock, and I’d stopped off for something to eat in Rock Port. After finishing my food, I left, and just as I left town, I saw a sign saying Maryville 46 miles. I’d already decided that that would possibly be my stop for the night. After about three miles, another sign said road closed, follow detour, which I did.

The detour turned me directly into the wind and also gave me some pretty steep climbs. I was also lost. I didn’t have a clue where I was on these back roads. They weren’t on my map. Eventually, I found my way to this small town called Fairfax, which I had on my map. It also transpired that I would have passed through Fairfax had I not gone on my detour. I was now back on my original route, and there were only twenty-six miles to go.

Not Again

Eight miles out of town, there was another sign; this time, it said bridge out eight miles ahead! Back onto another detour. After much wiggling and winding on the back roads, I made it back onto my route. And then, with only fifteen miles to go, there was yet another sign. Road closed. Follow detour! The only trouble with this detour was that it took me back in the opposite direction to where I was going.

After talking to several locals in a garage, I decided to head for the road closure and pick up a track to get me around the road closure. The trail was hard going. It was gravel, uphill and into the wind! Eventually, I found my way to Maryville and finished cycling at about 7.30, feeling pretty knackered! And to top the day off, I swallowed my tooth. Hopefully, I’ll get it back tomorrow morning, though!!

Tour Information

It’s been years since I took this ride, but the memories (and the data) are all archived:

• Photos: See my photos on Flickr
• The route: View my journey around the world
• Videos: Check out my YouTube videos
• Tour page: Ride overview

Follow My Bicycle Touring Adventures

Subscribe to my blog and follow me as I continue to travel around on my bike. Plus, as a subscriber, you’ll be among the first to receive news and updates on future tours. If you’re enjoying the ride and want to fuel my next mile, you can always buy me a beer. And, of course, you can always follow me on social media: Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, X, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest. I’m also on Flickr, where you’ll find pictures from all my tours, along with regular photo updates that I generally publish each month.

If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page.