38 Miles ridden – 2000 feet climbed – temperature 30C

The shorter day was very welcome as was a gourmet breakfast in an artisan bakery instead of stale raisin bran and bagels in the hotel lobby. We had a much later start at 9am which didn’t really matter on such a short day other than we started in higher heat. Of course we were all still up early as the sun rose:

Our route led quickly out of town into stunning countryside. The contrast between blue sky, green grass and the road seems more vivid than usual although it may just have been that after yesterday’s ride we started the day a touch de-mob happy. We did seem to see more abandoned houses and farm buildings today.

Just before our SAG stop we had a few miles on a major highway – not an Interstate but it did take me back to the sections we did on the cross-country trip. The SAG itself was in the city of New London in front of the very imposing Courthouse.

Sadly the rest of the city was, like so many other places we have been through, tired and somewhat derelict. The folks we met were very welcoming though and the local paper are doing a piece in the next issue about us.

The route from New London into Hannibal was quiet and lumpy – up and down like the lift in John Lewis – but the descent onto Hannibal was great until we hit the bottom where they had removed the top layer of asphalt leaving a nice bit of off-road for us.

Hannibal is a single-subject town – Mark Twain. I think that’s fair enough as he was a witty, literary genius but the ‘Mark Twain Chicken Shack’ pushes it a little far. Still I went to the Mark Twain museum and gallery where they have prints of the original Norman Rockwell illustrations for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (that’s 2018’s art gallery ticked off Sue!) and saw the obligatory Mississippi Steamboat replica.

“Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile” – Mark Twain