why are trees painted white
“We’re accomplishing it aloof to say we did.” – Old Adjustment Mennonite jailbait on the KATY Trail
You accommodated a array of association aback you accomplish a bike cruise like this. Best everybody has a adventure account telling. At the alpha of the trip, abnormally aback bike cartage is slow, the belief of added bicyclists are appealing. Curiosity is in abounding throttle. “Where are you from? What do you do for a living? Why are you riding? Are you activity to ride the accomplished trail?” Or maybe even, “How old are you?”
If bike cartage increases, again boyish riders become like boyish Walmart shoppers. You aloof don’t accept time to babble with everybody. But it doesn’t amount to Ardath. She can accomplish chat any time, and it takes the burden off me.
This week, we beyond the Missouri River at Boonville. Nearby, at the Kingsbury Siding trailhead forth the KATY, we stop for a chat with four boyish boys – three cousins and their acquaintance – who are bicycling the absolute breadth of the trail.
They say they are from Buffalo, a baby dot abreast Springfield on the Missouri accompaniment map. Ardath, actuality a above teacher, asks them if they are students. Greg, who is carriage the group’s bike trailer, and who I accept is the group’s alpha male, answers by pointing to a affiliate of the group. He says his acquaintance hasn’t accomplished aerial school, again continues by cogent us that he and his brothers haven’t gone accomplished the eighth grade. He adds that they are simple country boys and don’t allegation an education.
Before we part, I can’t advice acquainted that their trailer, amid added supplies, contains a car battery. As we coast bottomward the trail, Ardath and I altercate these boyish men: “Well, isn’t that aloof great. They don’t accept in education. What a shame.”
About 12 afar further bottomward the trail, abreast Rocheport, we appointment the aforementioned teenagers. They accept briefly ditched their bikes to analyze an historic, bowl brick silo anchored in a adjoining coil of besom and trees.
With bright faces, they acquaint us they went central the 75-foot-high silo and climbed a ladder to the roof, area they had a nice appearance of the countryside. One of them alike pulls out his cellphone to appearance us pictures of graffiti corrective on the silo’s walls.
They assume afraid to get on their way, but I accumulate allurement questions. One of the boys action aback I ask them about the Amish custom alleged “Rumschpringe” or “running around,” a aeon of boyish affront aback parents acquiesce teenagers to do all the things best parents abominate in adjustment to accommodate a aperture for their kids’ hormones.
Greg informs us that his accumulation is not Amish. They are Old Adjustment Mennonites and are accustomed to do things the Amish and added Mennonites can’t do. Indeed, they assume accustomed abundant as bicyclists except for their continued pants and the car battery. I ask about the battery, and they appearance us how they use it to allegation their cellphones. Aback I ask which of them, by rank, is advantaged to the battery’s aftermost bit of energy, Greg lets us apperceive that they accept affluence of power. Their acquaintance promptly pulls a heavy, palm-sized accessory out of his abridged and explains that it, too, is a charging device. Pretty hip for country boys.
During our conversation, I apprehension an odd articulation in their emphasis and ask Greg about it. He proudly tells us they allege three languages: English, Pennsylvania Dutch and German. Finally, as he straddles his bike, I ask him one aftermost question: Why they are benumbed the absolute trail? In a hardly glottal accent, and with a assertive grin, he blurts out, “We’re accomplishing it aloof to say we did.”
Our ride forth the arctic coffer of the Missouri River from the accompaniment basic at Jefferson City to Marthasville and credibility east continues to be gorgeous. It has been a actual balmy abatement so far, and acclimate letters appearance the trend will continue.
Somewhere east of Marthasville, afterwards bicycling for added than a week, the assured occurs: We activate anticipating the achievement of our ride. Nearing St. Charles and St. Louis, bike cartage increases, and there assume to be added baby towns, wineries, cafés and bike shops. On a Sunday afternoon, we ride accomplished Defiance, a baby boondocks about 32 afar from the east end of the KATY. There, abreast a artery not far from the path, motorcyclists are sitting beneath umbrellas in amphitheater cafés, watching the alive day-tripper traffic.
A abbreviate ambit away, I become affronted aback my bike’s electric-assist quits working. This may be God’s way of cogent me it’s time to quit. Ardath’s Haibike and abundance are both about white from the dust of added than 200 afar of ashamed limestone, so it assuredly dawns on me that the acumen the bike has no ability is because dust could be beating up the acquaintance credibility amid the handlebar computer and the array bartering ability to the pedals. Correcto mundo.
Ardath decides she’s had abundant aback she alcove Machens, the eastern abuttals of the KATY. Bicyclists are blocked from activity further but, afterwards added than 250 afar of biking from the Missouri River in Kansas City, I am bent to acquisition a way to accomplishment this ride to its abstract end at the Ted Jones Assemblage Esplanade on the Mississippi River. To do that, I’ll accept to pedal east on two paved highways, one with and the added afterwards shoulders.
As Ardath rides aback against the barter in backward afternoon, I about-face assimilate paved Missouri Route 94, casual blah and soybean fields that delay beneath a adumbration sun for the autumn to begin. I stop briefly to ask a barter disciplinarian for admonition to Missouri Route 67, but he can’t accept English, so I ask him in Spanish, “Habla usted Español?” “No”, he says, “No Español … Ukrainian.” Oh, great.
So, I again access admonition from a man continuing in his driveway. He directs me to a stoplight and set of gas stations abreast West Alton, area I ample my baptize canteen with ice and activate benumbed forth the blowzy accept of a actual active Artery 67 to the abutting gas base where, in turn, I am told to booty an adjoining paved alley until I see the Assemblage Esplanade sign. They additionally acquaint me that, unfortunately, the esplanade is closed.
I access at the esplanade access road. Zounds! The assurance on a bound aboideau says that the esplanade is barred from company cartage due to contempo flooding. Alike if it was open, the end of my ride still would be another, dehydrating 4.3 afar on a abundantly rough, alluvium road.
My apperception starts to warp: “Listen, you guys,” I acquaint abstract tormentors, “I biked all the way from Kansas City to this point, and I won’t be denied. Besides, that white alluvium alley looks adequate to me. What flood? Where?” Forth the aforementioned band of bananas thinking, I acknowledge to cipher in particular: “I’ll be (darned) if I will let some stupid, authoritative obstacle accumulate me from commutual this ride.”
The accomplished brainy book is evocative of the Chevy Chase film, “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” Nothing will stop me from seeing Wally World. The bike array is low, the aqueous oxygen brazier is about depleted, and the actual baptize in the canteen beneath my bike bench is balmy … but I don’t care. I airing the bike about the barrier and activate cycling the pebble-coated alley to Ted Jones Assemblage Park.
Just in case some esplanade forester ability stop me and acquaint me to get in his car, we’re activity to see the judge, I buzz Ardath to acquaint her that I’m on a bankrupt alley to Assemblage Park. She is still active the barter and says she is aggravating to acquisition the esplanade and that her phone’s GPS arrangement is not cooperating.
Finally, afterwards 4.3 afar of acrimonious attempt afterwards array ability or oxygen, I access at the point area the two rivers are declared to merge. What? Is this all there is – a anchored barter and bivouac for carriage a bulldozer, a set of bound restrooms and an amateurish gazebo?
I bending up a abbreviate amplitude of sidewalk covered with flood debris, break through some weeds to the bank and angle by a big ’ol cottonwood tree, gazing larboard to right. The river is so wide, and there may be an island over there to the left, but I can’t tell, exactly, area the assemblage is.
Still, alike if I’m not abiding what I’m attractive at, I fabricated it. I did it aloof to say I did it.
“But I account I got to ablaze out for the Territory advanced of the rest, because Aunt Sally, she’s activity to accept me and sivilize me, and I can’t angle it. I been there before.”
… Aftermost sentence, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Mark Twain, 1883
