A July Ride

A July Ride

Missouri usually gives a couple of days each July that are just wonderful.  The temperatures are moderate the humidity low, the winds light. Yesterday was one of those days.  I took advantage of the opportunity and rode a loop north and west of my house.

I cheated, and had my wife take me to the end of the gravel road so I could take the road bike.  The road district is sure proud of it's grader.  They like to use it frequently.  Just about the time there is a path through the gravel, they grade it all again.  It is like riding on a pool table covered in marbles....I can handle it on the mountain bike, but it is a bit of a pain on the trail bike, and down right dangerous on the road bike.  It is a 2 mile stretch of gravel, but after that it is a series of paved roads with light traffic and friendly people, accustom to seeing people on bikes.

It was a wonderful ride!  The farmers are haying and harvesting wheat.  The corn is shoulder high, and with all of the recent rains the grass is green.  There is a diversity of flowers.My pictures do not do them justice, but the view as a ride are really nice.

I did break a spoke.  The second on the rear wheel of the road bike.  Last time was catastrophic, and the wheel was far from true, and made riding impossible.  I had not put the tools into the bag to handle the situation, so I was forced to call for a ride back to my truck.  When I got home I outfitted each bike with the minimum necessary tools to handle the possible problems while riding.  That proved to be valuable yesterday, when I was able to true the wheel and open the brake a small amount, and make the bike ride able.  I was about ten miles from home when it occurred,  which would have been a long walk.

I have not been stopped very often on a ride.  The most frequent problems have been flat tires, and after that broken spokes.  I broke a pedal once, which made a very bizarre ride home. It broke at the crank arm, so I was forced to pedal with one leg.  I rode a tour once with a man who only had one leg.  He rode a lot faster than I did, so I did not ride with him, and did not observe his technique.

I broke a stem once.  I was riding down a hill at some speed when I found the handlebars in my hands unconnected to the bike itself.  I was able to slow and stop the bike, but was more than a little scary.  Luckily I was close to home.  That was over 30 years ago, when drilling out parts to "lighten" them was more common.  I had obviously over "lightened" that stem....

On one tour I kept loosing the bolts that held my bag carrier to the bike.  I carried extra bolts and nuts.  I had even used lock-tight.  Managed to loose the same bolt three times.  Noticed it was always discovered in the morning as I prepped to ride.  After some time I caught a man taking them.  I mentioned this to the tour organizer, and it seemed like there were several people with similar issues, that suddenly stopped after the man was confronted.

I carry spare spokes, tubes, chain links, and the tools to repair if necessary.  What I don't carry is a shady cool place to repair the bike, so you end up on the side of a hot road in full sun, with sweat dripping into my eyes.  I see many riders without even a spare tube, or tire pump.  I guess if they have a problem, they hitch a ride or call someone.

With this being the second spoke I broke in the same wheel, it is time to replace all of the spokes.  I ordered some new spokes when I got home last night.  Most things on a bike have gotten cheaper over the years, that is not true of spokes.  They ranged in price from 55 cents to $1.55 per spoke.  I know that I am heavy, but I should not have an issue with broken spokes. Wheels take a lot more abuse when ridden fast on poor surfaces. This spoke broke on a flat stretch of smooth road.  I was not even making much effort at speed, just enjoying the view.

I think that I will change it to a three cross.  It is currently a two cross.  I use to build all of my wheels four cross, and also tied the crossings with wire.  When you tour you carry a significant weight, and some of the roads I faced in north Missouri were really abusive on wheels.  There is nothing like a hilly road, covered in cold patch road surface!  Abusive to the wheels and to your butt....

The last time I had covered this route there had been several dogs that paid attention to me, yesterday there were almost none.  I did meet a couple of other riders, which was unheard of ten years ago.  It shows that it is a lot more acceptable now than years ago.

Unfortunately even this relatively short ride did a number on my legs, tells me I need to be riding more!

A Simple Ride

It is a beautiful time to ride a bicycle.  I am lucky that there are several alternative rides available when I get to the end of my driveway.  Each can be modified in a variety of ways, based on my whim.

 

It is a pretty time of year in Missouri.  Winter was long this year, and it pushed many of the trees and flowers to green and bloom at the same time.  The redbuds are just starting, and the flowering pears are at peak.  I have not seen any dogwood yet.  I plant about 50 dogwood each year that I get from the conservation department.  About 60% survive for three years, when I think they should be able to survive into a maturity.  Most of these do not flower, but they do leaf out.  I understand that it takes about 10 years before they are mature enough to flower.  I am pushing beyond that event horizon, so should be able to see the result of my efforts.  I plant lots of other trees as well, mainly oak but I also try to plant trees that will provide food for the animals and birds.

 

It was good to see that the cows are out in the pasture....

 

 

I am sure they are enjoying the newly green grass....

I notice that the number of bee hives is increasing.  Not sure if that is because they are productive and he is building more hives, or if they have succumbed to what ever is killing bees and he has put all of the hives in one location...the fact that they are so close together would likely mean they are no longer productive, otherwise I would expect that they would be a bit aggressive toward each other.

Something was going at a house up the road.  I heard the sirens when I was on a parallel road, then passed the truck on my road.  I did not see smoke, so likely that means an injury.  Glad to have the active response, worry about what it means.....

Smoke and Fire BBQ

COMO Smoke and Fire BBQ

4600 Paris Road Columbia Missouri



 

 

Columbia is starting to get a lot of BBQ restaurants!  Not sure why we suddenly have such an influx, but it is welcome.  The newest addition is Smoke and Fire BBQ on Paris Road.  I noticed the sign after the new year, and got the chance to stop end of last week.  It is in a location that has had several restaurants in the last years.  It is certainly easy to get to from the north part of Columbia.  The décor is familiar from the previous restaurants, with some BBQ memorabilia added.

 

It has a varied menu, with limited BBQ offerings.  It has the BBQ basics, and it has lots of other options for any in the party that want something else.

 

 

 

I had the brisket.  It was cut thick, as thick as I think I have ever had it.  By weight, it is a heck of a lot of meat.  It has a nice flavor.  I prefer a thinner cut, but that is my preference.  Hard to argue with the choice when it is as tasty as this was. With fries and slaw and texas toast it is a nice meal for a price that would be considered middle of the pack.

 

I came a little before the lunch rush and it was easy to see that they were learning to handle a full dinning room.  By the time I left every table was filled, and staff were really straining to keep up with all of the orders.  I think it will be a bit of a learning curve to get the service up to expectations, it would help if they hired a few more to help.  That is not to say the meal did not come quickly, because it was really fast from entry to eating.  What became difficult was paying for it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Biffle’s Barbeque

Biffle’s Barbeque

103 NE 2^nd Street, Concordia,  Mo 64020

 

I was by Biffle's a little after the first of the year, and they had a note on the door that they were closed.  I was not clear if this was a short closing or a permanent closing.  It is certainly not my information to spread, so I am a little worried that I might have it wrong.  Still if it is going to close, I don't want to let it go unacknowledged.

Biffle's was a main stay of I70 since 1983.  Located at Concordia it was midway between Columbia and Kansas City.  At one point in my career I was located not very far from it.  In fact I was in that area when it opened.  Unfortunately it was also a time in my career when my salary and family obligations did not leave me much disposable income, so I was not a frequent visitor.  Over the years as I moved around north Missouri I often found myself traveling by Biffle's.  I tried to organize my time so that I could stop by a couple of times a year.  It became kind of a standard against which to compare other BBQ. 

It was a nice family restaurant.  They had a large menu, and all of it was good.  The service was helpful, but not overwhelming.  They could be very busy on weekends and when I70 was carrying a lot of traffic. 

I can't believe they would be closing, but if true I will surly miss them!

Wavery Apple BBQ

Waverly Apple BBQ

700 W Walnut St
Waverly, MO 64096










I often choose to take the opportunity to drive from Kansas City by a route other than  I70, particularly when I feel that the traffic is going to be a concern.  One of those alternative routes takes me north, along HWY 24.  It is a pleasant route that takes me by wineries and apple orchards.  It also goes through a little town of Waverly.  On one of these trips I noticed a sign for a BBQ restaurant, and I made note that I should come back when I had the opportunity to eat. 

That opportunity came today.  I was actually on a road trip to Bethany Missouri, which is pretty far north, near the border with Iowa.  I needed to deliver a couple of machines to a repair facility. Since my other options were Florida and California, I decided Bethany was closer.  While a 3+ hour trip, my predilection to start early had me on the road by 6:00 in the morning, and I had completed half the trip and delivered by packages by 9:30.  It was a nice trip, started in the dark and watched the sun come up as I  drove roads that I am very familiar with.  North to Macon, west to Laclede, north to Milan, west to Trenton,  north to Bethany.  I use to take these roads at 70 to 80 miles per hour.  Not so much anymore. I do not like to take the same route on both sides of a trip, so after delivering the equipment I headed south on HWY 35, and quickly saw HWY 13, and made the choice to take the path south through Gallatin and Hamilton.  I punched in BBQ in to the GPS, and saw a place in Higginsville, which was on HWY 13, so it seemed like a good choice.  While I am anything but impulsive in life, I am impulsive driving, and when I got to HWY 24 at Lexington, I remembered Waverly BBQ. 

I was very pleased.  It is a clean restaurant, so common when it is virtually the only place to eat in town outside of Casey's.  It had a comprehensive menu, but it had true BBQ.  You can always tell when  you see a wood pile next to a well used cooker outside the restaurant.  This one was obviously not just for show!

This is an interesting restaurant.  Someone once told me (or I read it) that some people are interested in quantity, and care less about presentation and quality.  Others want quality, and still other care more about how it looks on the plate.  Waverly BBQ had a range in the menu, with less expensive items that were a plate full.  The BBQ items tended to me more expensive. But the quality was very high, and no slouch on quantity!

I choose the combo plate, with ham and brisket.  The slaw came from a jar, the fries were recently in a bag frozen.  The brisket was truly worth it all.  I also liked the ham!  The brisket was cut a little thick, but it was lean and well smoked and a wonderful flavor.  It came without sauce and did not need it.  The ham did have a sauce, and was nice vinegar tangy flavor.  I would expect the ribs and other BBQ sides were equally good.  It was clear, that this is cooked by someone who understands BBQ.

 

On one of those day trips that you set out on with the wife, head down HWY 24 visit some winery's buy some fruit from the stands, and make it to Waverly for some excellent BBQ!

Double Smoked BBQ

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469 Booneslick Road, New Florence, MO 63363

Not really a free day, but as close as they come any more.  I saw Friday on the calendar with no significant activities, and decided it was a good day to go out and about, looking for a new BBQ restaurant.  I first considered going toward the Lake of the Ozarks.  Wobbly Boot has moved to a new location, and there is a new BBQ that I had been told about.  Since it was going to be a nice day, I could even go to Ozark BBQ and eat out on the dock and look at the lake.   But as usual work intervened.  I needed to observe a student teacher.  Luckily it was to be first hour of the day and some distanced from Jefferson City.  I thought that I might just go on and swing by the lake after the visit.

 The weather has been hot and humid, typical for Missouri, but not typical of this summer.  For the most part it has been cooler and very nice.  I have even been able to ride my bike several times in August!  But the last three weeks have been the hottest of the summer.  I hold to the fact that in Missouri we need three weeks of hot summer.  Now that we have had it, it can cool off.

After the observation I started to turn toward the lake, and instead turned north and east.  I found myself traveling through the back roads toward Frankenstein…..

I had never taken the time to drive along the river on the south side.  I had driven the north side many times, often associated with riding my bike along the Katy trail.  I had driven HWY 50, but never HWY 100 on the south side.  So I found my self driving east toward Herman.  I intended to eat at one of my favorite BBQ restaurants, Montague’s.  My timing was off and I was too early, a common problem of mine.

So I continued north, and ended up at Double Smoked BBQ at the intersection of HWY 19 and I70.  I had eaten there once before, on my birthday a few years ago.  I decided it was time to try it again.

I had the combo plate with pulled pork and brisket.  They did not have French fries, so I had the potato salad and cole slaw.  Double Smoked is a nice place.  Certainly not fancy, but it has “country charm.”  The people are nice, friendly.  I wish I liked the meal more.  It is a certain statement  when the potato salad was the best part of the meal.  The meat is good, and I expect it is well received by most people.  It just is cooked with a hotter sauce than  I find enjoyable.  I guess it is part of the “Double Smoked.”  The pulled pork was ok, the brisket a little tough.  You do not get tough brisket very often.  It is priced very well, and it is certainly a place you should try for yourself.

Katy Trail mm 169-162 McBaine to Easley

My wife and I took advantage of a beautiful late June day in Missouri to ride a nice section  of the KATY trail.  It is between McBaine and Easley through the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area.

McBaine is very close to the intersection of the MKT trail coming from Columbia and the KATY coming from Huntsdale.  The McBaine trail head is at the end of HWY K coming down from Columbia.  In college I use to really enjoy a ride down K then back up KK to Green Meadows Road.  A few years ago I tried to replicate the ride and found that the roads and terraine had changed so much that I could not even tell where I was once I got back into the subdivisions.  What once was a nice peaceful back road was now a road with significant traffic.  Lots of cars is not good when there is nothing on the side but a ditch.  They added a few more feet to the road bed a year ago, and it is better, but not great.

I did see an eagle along the trail.  It was sitting on a large rock.  As I tried to maneuver for a better picture it decided to leave...I should have taken the picture I had, not the one I wish I had!

This section of the trail also has a strong connection to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The KATY trail has many signs commemorating the Expedition, but this section was important because it was at the site of the natural arch.

There are several other interesting things along this section of the trail.

Missouri's own Boat Henge!

And the renown Coopers landing!

Coopers Landing is a nice place to camp, has good food and on occasion good music!

The trail has good scenery

This was an interesting spring that was quite remarkable in how loud it was!  It reminds me of when we were on our recent vacation trip.  We stopped to see Falling Waters, Frank Lloyd Wrights remarkable house.  I had always assumed that it was named because of the falling water that was under the house.  Instead it was the sound of falling waters that was always present on the property.  You could not get away from the sound.  I know some like the sound of water falling, and so do I.  I just don't appreciate that sound when it is constant.....

I do not know what the reason is but I have ridden the entire trail, and many sections many times, but have rarely seen snakes on the trail.  I often think a stick or weed is a snake, and it is not until I am on it that I realize that it is only a stick.  But I have seen big black snakes a couple of times, each was close to this section of the trail...

 This section of the trail is also where Providence Road ends.  A central road in Columbia, it was originally a plank road that ran from Providence on the Missouri River to the new community of Columbia, that I think was called Smith at the time....probably wrong on that, but it came out of the mind as if I was correct.... :) need to look that up...

There are a number of benches along this section of the trail....

John Drew has one of the best set benches I have seen on the trail.  It has a nice view, and is set in flagstones.  Good thing, since this portion of the trail near Coopers Landing is prone to flood.  In fact during times of high water the locals use the trail as the road, since the road is lower than the trail....

This bench has particular importance to me....

The high water this spring has just about made this bench inaccessible.  To the credit of the DNR this is the only time I have seen a bench that was not accessible....