HOT!

Ok, tonight's post is a twofer; two days in one post.  I was just too tired last night to post anything.  I'm much better tonight.

I'll start with yesterday's ride.  It was a long, hard, HOT ride.  The day started out pretty warm, and it just got hotter and hotter as we rode.  We rode many miles at 110 degrees.  From about 11am to 5 it was 100 or hotter, with most in the 105-110 range.  Air temperatures were in the low 100s, but the air over the road surface was hotter.

We stopped pretty frequently to get something to drink, and that certainly helped to keep us hydrated.  I think we did okay and didn't get dehydrated, but we were wet with sweat virtually all day.

Traffic was okay; we had some fun roads in the morning and then got on Interstates for most of the rest of the day.  St. Louis was a little busy, but not bad.  I did miss our exit in St Louis, and it resulted in getting into a construction area with very slow traffic for a few miles.  The road we were on was elevated, so we got good views of downtown St. Louis, so not all was bad.

US 50 was a delight to ride.  Good road, wide and with good sweepers along the way.  Good passing zones, and low traffic allowed it to be very enjoyable.  We stopped in Jefferson City for the night and had a very good dinner at an authentic Irish Pub. 

A tough day, but a good day overall. We rode about 485 miles.

Oh, and the tire held air all day.  I monitored it quite often, and it did fine.  Tire temperatures were very high; 122 on the rear tire, and 109 in the front tire.  Did I mention that it was HOT???

Today, we rode the 62 miles to Sedalia, where the rally is being held.  There were some light showers in the area, so it was a good and easy ride on US 50 to town.

Got in town, and found the Missouri State Fairgrounds, where the rally is being held.  The fairgrounds are pretty large, spread out over a mult-acre site. 

We picked up our registration packets, and I headed to the No-Mar vendor, who sells and mounts tires.  They didn't have the tire I wanted, but did have one I like, so I bought the tire, went back to the bike, removed the rear wheel, carried it to the tire vendor, and had it installed.  A bit pricey, but not too bad.

I decided to keep the plugged tire and to have it sent home.  We found the UPS vendor at the rally and have it being shipped back home.  Expensive; over $40 just to ship a tire from Missouri to Clayton!  But I'll patch it properly and then use the tire as normal.  I just couldn't throw away a $150 tire.  It's just money....

We spent most of the day going through the vendors.  I bought something for my son.  Bought the bikini cover that I wanted to pick up.  Renewed my subscription to RoadRunner magazine, and went to one seminar. 

Oh, it was hot today; temps at 100 outside.  Cool inside, though, so we spent most of our time inside.  Plan to do the same tomorrow because it's supposed to be hotter.

I apologize for talking about the heat so much, but it's just overwelming!  Step outside and the sweat rolls in about 10 seconds.  I'll be okay, but just wish it were 10 degrees cooler.  Natives tell me that it's abnormally hot now, it's usually about 90 this time of the year.  Bad timing, I guess.

I'll close this entry for yesterday and today.  Probably won't blog tomorrow night because we'll be at the rally until later evening.  But I will on Saturday night.

Tomorrow, more rally, seminars, and winning tickets (I hope).