Sainte Genevieve, MO to Farmington, MO

We got a great night sleep at the Tiger’s Den Bed and Breakfast.  We got ourselves packed up, visited the tigers again and went to our scheduled breakfast time at 8:30.

We started on our way after checking the weather intently.  We knew we were going to get wet today and had our rain gear ready to go.  We were able to do our first 10 miles without rain and the hill continued.  Our second 10 miles we had a lot of rain all the way to Farmington, MO.  We heard a little thunder but did not see any lightening.  We got into Farmington and went for the first shelter we found which was a gas station.  We got a few snacks and figured out how to get to the hostel in town.

We called the local police, as the hostel has been converted from an old jail house, so it’s owned by the city.  As we left the Gas station it started pouring down rain.  It was like taking a shower minus the soap.  We went through town and found out we had arrived for the Annual Country Days festival.  We stopped to take some pictures and a we heard “Hey! Touring Cyclists!” from behind us.  We turned and got to meet Jeneen and Madi McEntire.  Jeneen said she loves talking to and welcoming cyclists into town since her husband, Brian, had done the TransAm in 2011.  She and Madi (who was also Miss Country Days Queen) invited us back to the park to watch the country concert later that evening.

We continued to the Hostel and met back up with Lisa and Melinda.  We were super impressed with the hostel.  There were 3 rooms with 3 bunk beds in each room, a main room  with TV, couches and kitchen.  Bathroom with 2 showers and 2 toilets as well as a laundry room.  The Hostel is called “Al’s Place” named after a local bicycle enthusiast who had passed away from cancer at the age of 49.

The “TransAm Cyclery” was across the street and Phil wanted to get a larger cog so he could more easily climb hills without too much force.  He was able to successfully do so and also get his broken pedal replaced with new pedals.

After the bike was done we went down to find our new friends down at Country Days.  We found them and met Brian.  We had a fabulous time with them under a white gazebo in the park.  It poured down quite a few times and then the sun came out.  We got a lot of tips and tricks for Brian about the TransAm and had a great time.

We said good-bye to the McEntire’s and headed back to the hostel.  We met Charlie there, a Eastbound cyclist and got to talk to him about our terrain ahead.  We decided we’re not looking forward to the Ozark mountains ahead.