Day 14. Clinton, MO

8:30 departure from Harrisonville with 1:30 arrival in Clinton. Very nice and easy day. We road along MO 7 which is a 4 lane divided highway with a generous shoulder for us in good condition. Traffic was fairly steady with weekend boaters/campers heading for Truman Lake but we dealt with it well. Because it was a shorter day we skipped buying a meal and just had PBJ's and chocolate milk at a convenience mart along the way. Mexican food and margaritas for dinner and then we crashed. We had 7 days in a row of riding not to mention 800 miles covered in the last 14 days. We're looking forward to having tomorrow off to rest and recharge. 

I've been in Clinton several times in the past for Katy rides but never veered away from the highway hotels and restaurants near the Katy terminus. Today we visited the historic downtown and were quite impressed with its vitality and energy. 

Angela enjoying a tuna sandwich and root beer for a light late lunch at "Hound Dogs", an Elvis themed themed retro diner off of the square.   I opted for the root beer float, uummmm good. 

Enjoying the town squares wonderful grass and trees on a great weather day. 

I'm dreaming about a miracle bicycle saddle that makes your bumb not numb!

Rick, the County Clerk came out of his office in the County Courthouse to greet us. (Maybe he was trying to decide if we were vagrants and call the sheriff or not!). He was very friendly and we chatted about about Clinton, the downtown area and where they were trying to take the city. Very nice guy and one of several that approached us and were friendly and helpful. 

This train depot, now housing the Clinton Chamber of Commerce was originally about 2 miles away. We were told it was relocated downtown to its current location after a catastrophic gas explosion at the Poague Building in 1972. 

I believe this is the Katy rail line but I'm not sure. It's no longer in use for sure. 

The plaque commemorating the deaths of the 3 who died in the building and the 5 who died trying to save them. 

Sam, runs the family Stihl equipment sales and service business in Clinton but as an avid cyclist also does bike repairs on the side, the only bike shop in Clinton. I stopped by when we first arrived in Clinton to see about getting our chains removed and cleaned in solvent along with the gears. He looked at them and recommended I could just wipe them down with WD40 and get them as dry as possible for the Katy Trail, 250 miles of crushed limestone gravel surface, and then it might be a good idea to remove them for a thorough cleaning. While we were there an older gentleman (meaning he looked older than me!) came in with a new Specialized Roubaix with a bent rear wheel. He was running the same Clement tires, tubeless, that I had and apparently the Katy did a number on them. 

Sam is no stranger to Colorado having ridden 6 Tours of Colorado, something called the Golden loop and various other road and mountain bike rides. He said if it wasn't for Kansas between him and Colorado he'd be there all the time. He also said he has 30,000 miles on the Katy Trail, and that he rarely cycles on the roads in MIssouri because of the drivers lack of tolerance. This is something Angela and I have noted since we got into eastern Kansas and getting more noticeable since we've been in Missouri. The Katy Trail will give us nice relief from the road traffic and a means to cross the state. We'll see what awaits us in Illinois and Kentucky. 🚲

I almost forgot a comment from Sam after learning Angela was my wife and cycling cross country with me, "I've been married three times and I never had a wife that would ride bikes with me."  Well Sam, you may be good at chainsaws and bikes but you don't know how to pick a great wife like I do!!