to Klondike, MO

Today was probably my worst day so far. To begin with, I ha promised to buy Corey breakfast at Waffle House, but I told him the wrong location, so he didn't find it. Then there was the rain, which started just as I was leaving Malinda & Corey's and continued all day without stopping. It was a colder rain than I've ridden in before; my hands and feet got pretty numb. Then it turned out that the jacket I got from Malinda's coworker is just a windbreaker, not a raincoat. My shirt got completely soaked, so that every time I stopped riding I got chilled. As long as I kept going I was OK. The Katy Trail had of course turned to mud and got all over my bike and trailer.

When I found out that I had overshot the campground -- because they had taken down their sign! -- I decided to risk going back on the road rather than the trail, but the road turned out to be hilly, curvy, and without shoulders, so that was a stupid move. And the campsites were all flooded, with only one or two well-drained places to pitch a tent in the whole campground. In the end I decided to sleep on top of a roofed picnic table at one of the campsites. This is working pretty well so far, but if the wind picks up I'll be in trouble!

distance: 33.1 mi