We left Bluffton before 6:30 a.m. to ride back to Rhineland to have breakfast at the Trailside Bar and Grill. On the way back Tom lost his pedal and had to try to Pedal with one leg. Tom went next door to an auto garage and they fixed his pedal. We had a nice breakfast together and then took off to get to Hermann for them to catch the train to get back home. As we rode by a cute house with an inviting front porch some people yelled at us to come up and have coffee with them. Too bad they had a train to catch! Shortly after that Tom's pedal fell off again. We got to Hermann an hour early so we went to a coffee shop and had scones and coffee. Then we waited with them at the train station to say goodbye. Bob and I looked around Hermann because it is set up like a German Village. Anja it made me think of you and being in Germany. Hermann is known for its great Vineyards. We had some ice cream before we left Hermann. We had to take a spur from McKittrick to get to Hermann. On the way back over the bridge I heard a strange noise and knew immediately my tire was losing air quickly. I looked up and there was a gas station so we pulled over to get off the highway. We found glass in my tire. After being delayed we got back on the trail and we saw a great horned owl but of course we are unable to get a picture. Around Treloar we hit gravel and stone on the trail. We were unable to ride through it and I had to pull my bike a ways so we went out on Highway 94 for 2 miles and then we were able to get back on the trail. We had heard there have been many places on the trail that have been washed out due to rain in flooding. The repairs tend to be rough. The whole time along the Missouri River we had seen nothing on it and finally we saw a barge. The locals told us the river has been too high and flooding for anything to be on it. After talking to another local we heard about a caboose that served food and had camping but he told us it would be closed by the time we got there. I was so excited to see it was still open when we got there that I ran up on the porch to check about camping. The owner thought I had to use the restroom because I ran up there so fast. We had great food and the frogs sang us to sleep in harmony. We went 38 miles to Marthasville. It was sunny and 78 degrees and lows in the 50s. That makes for great sleeping weather.
We woke up early to get to North Jefferson to meet Sandi. We actually fit everything in her Pacifica! She is an amazing woman. When she told us she was 70 I would have never guessed it. She races bikes and had many amazing stories. Maybe that's what I'll do when I retire. She drove us to Rhineland to meet up with our friends. We had a little bit of time to kill so we had breakfast with her. She would not take anything for giving us a ride but we were finally able to pay for her breakfast. She asked us to just pay it forward to another cyclist in need because people have helped her out along the way and she understands. After she left we rode to the church where we were to meet Tom and Terry. They had taken us in to their home last year after meeting us at a convenience store. We said we would meet next year in Hermann. They drove 2 hours to Kansas City and then took the train to Hermann and road to Rhineland where we met them. We walked up a hill behind the church and sat and looked out at the View. It was gorgeous! We then rode back to Bluffton where they had rented a cottage. We had a great night of Fellowship! We only Road 19 miles after getting a ride in the car. It was more important to us to meet up with them then ride every Mile and miss our time together. It was sunny and in the upper 70s
May 30th and it's our 30th anniversary! What an adventure it's been. We saw more bridges, tunnels, Turtles, deer, lizards and snakes. We are supposed to meet some friends tomorrow who we met last year along the trail. We could make it, but it would be later in the day. When we got into Hartsburg we were looking forward to going to Dotty's Cafe which we had seen on YouTube while we were watching about the Katy Trail. We would have a nice anniversary meal but no, it was closed. We went to a bed and breakfast which was also closed but there was a number to call and I left a message. He never called back. The restaurant next door was also supposed to be open but you guessed it, it was closed. We had one option left, The Hitching Post bar. We went in there and started asking around about where the camping was and if we could possibly find a ride. We found out we could camp for free in the gazebo. One guy offered his pickup but he had a cab on his truck and our bikes wouldn't fit. I went to look at the board by the trailhead because someone told us there was sign with rides posted. It wasn't there. When I came back to the bar, Bob was talking to a lady and her son. She was there to pick up her son because he had had bike problems. She had a 2017 Pacifica and after doing some measuring we thought we could make our bikes fit. The bar didn't have any food except for a small Frozen cardboard Pizza. Happy anniversary dinner! We planned to meet Sandi the next morning 10 miles away in North Jefferson. The Gazebo was very nice and there were restrooms across the way. We rode 37 miles. It was sunny and 80 and the low was in the 50s.
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