It Will Be Okay Again (Pandemic) Tour

[vajrabond]

Hey y'all.

Time to start a new picture/ story thread for this one.

First road photo of the tour with the new smiley.

My panniers just gain more character.

Laying in the rain on the Natchez Trace on a hot day.

Amazing little view on the 50 miles of the Great Rivers South route I did.

Great lakefront camping I stayed in at Land Between Lakes on the Tennessee side.

Mandatory state line crossing photo.

Got to love a good bridge shot in the morning.

Old pirate murder cave at Cave In State Park.

A date with the Ohio River for lunch.

Third state of this trip so far.

This hill really sucked and I walked up half of it.

The TransAmerica Trail took me to the Tunnel Hill State Trail and I had to take a whole day to ride it.

Bridge crossing on the Tunnel Hill State Trail.

Crabtree Lake in the morning.

Pretty fun adventure so far!

I've done a few hundred miles again, but I'm going real slow. Staying in a lot of state parks and doing small mileage days. This ride might be life for a good while and it's a global pandemic, so taking time is the focus. I'm hoping to get to Missouri and do the Katy Trail as a second famous rail Trail of this trip and then I'll likely head north to get away from humidity.

If you're housed up for the pandemic and want to donate to my journey:

Paypal.me/bikepunky

I'll come back with more photos every couple weeks.

 

[SammiePa]

Love this pics! Thanks for sharing

 

[sheepflip]

Great photos! I gotta get pedaling west soon now that parks are opening back up.

 

[vajrabond]

Great photos! I gotta get pedaling west soon now that parks are opening back up.

Yeah, a good half have been ghost towns in the midwest. Still loud and ridiculous on the weekends though. In some cases.

 

[Deleted member 28930]

wauw nice pictures hope to get going soon also. i wish you good luck

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Thank you for sharing!

Awesome pics!

i started last month on a short road tour (pics posted in gallery). Planning another one soon!

 

[vajrabond]

Made it to St. Louis last night and going to take a night or two off to plan out the Katy Trail. Here's a few great pictures from along the way:

Overlooking the Mississippi River at Fort Kaskaskia.

Same spot, better view.

Not necessarily a bike route, but it wasn't bad.

Murphysboro Lake State Park.

Finally got my first flat after 3600 miles!

St. Louis Arch Park

Cool cycling bar in downtown that was closed.
Can't wait to cycle for a week without traffic.

 

[sheepflip]

Wow, 3600? A roofing nail got my rear tire last week after ~800 miles. If there are better socks than Darn Tough 1/4 cushion I haven't found them. Hope your week of no traffic goes great!

 

[vajrabond]

Wow, 3600? A roofing nail got my rear tire last week after ~800 miles. If there are better socks than Darn Tough 1/4 cushion I haven't found them. Hope your week of no traffic goes great!

Haha. I love Darn Tough socks. Finally have a hole forming after two and a half years of hiking/biking. Technically I had a valve stem flat once, but it was at a host house and not on the road so it doesn't count. I've still never had a puncture flat. But I'm running Marathons with tire liners lol.

 

[Deleted member 23824]

I am enjoying your photos and narrative. But I just gotta ask - how are you continuing to post if you‘ve deleted yourself? That’s the first time I’ve seen that. I actually hope you haven’t done so, as I said, enjoying this thread.

 

[vajrabond]

I am enjoying your photos and narrative. But I just gotta ask - how are you continuing to post if you‘ve deleted yourself? That’s the first time I’ve seen that. I actually hope you haven’t done so, as I said, enjoying this thread.

Haha. I think I might have deleted this account at some point, but when I signed back in it kept the I deleted myself tag. I kind of like it though. It's unique. Plus I delete myself in a lot of ways.

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

Keep sending the nice pictures!

 

[vajrabond]

no longer accurate content edit

 

[vajrabond]

Free to 5 dollar hostel empty on the Katy Trail.

Spent whole days along the Missouri River.

Best part if the Trail, but if you stop too long the mosquitos get you.

Guy I rode with for a couple days riding into a tunnel. Traded him much smiley face dry bag for a nice bluetooth speaker.

Àpparently the biggest Katy detour is to avoid walking over 2 inches of water...let's just say I did not detour.

Know you guys love trains.

Bridge view.

Old railway light on the Katy.

Tomorrow I finish the Trail and start on a new one. So far all the city parks have had free legal camping. Though the locals can be backwards and annoying.

 

[vajrabond]

Double post

 

[Crazy Hobo Johnny]

View attachment 56796
Free to 5 dollar hostel empty on the Katy Trail.
View attachment 56797
Rode with a guy riding across the country with no money for a few days and got some pictures of me.
View attachment 56798 Spent whole days along the Missouri River.
View attachment 56799 Best part if the Trail, but if you stop too long the mosquitos get you.
View attachment 56800 Guy I rode with for a couple days riding into a tunnel. Traded him much smiley face dry bag for a nice bluetooth speaker.
View attachment 56801 Àpparently the biggest Katy detour is to avoid walking over 2 inches of water...let's just say I did not detour.
View attachment 56802 Know you guys love trains.
View attachment 56803 Bridge view.
View attachment 56804 Old railway light on the Katy.

Tomorrow I finish the Trail and start on a new one. So far all the city parks have had free legal camping. Though the locals can be backwards and annoying.

Awesome pictures and stories! Wish I was traveling with you! Keep posting! Looks like a nice trail to bike on! CHJ

 

[vajrabond]

Yeah, I got my first two flats on it. Mostly flat and easy pedaling though. But overall the whole trail only cost me 5 bucks. Cruising the Highway to do the Frisco Trail as an encore and then taking a few days off to plan my way across the country.

 

[vajrabond]

Finished the Frisco Trail today. It was a little rougher than the Katy, but still doable on a loaded bike with decent tires.

The first few and last few miles, both in Bolivar and Springfield is paved.

Pretty thick gravel in a lot of it.

Prairie conservation area near Bolivar.

Bridge 13 miles in.

Took a nap at this old hobo jungle.

End of the Trail in Springfield.

Taking a train up to Chicago Monday night to escape this humidity and the red state hotspots.

 

[vajrabond]

edited due to bad links

 

[vajrabond]

Also, anyone thinking of touring: Be sure your tires are good or bring extras. It took contacting over 20 bike stores in separate weeks and finding each in two different states to have a set of Marathons. One touring tire per state isn't good odds with Schwalbe online being backed up a month. People have recommended the Bontrager H2s, but I haven't tried them. I'm sure you could make stuff work with tire liners, etc. But I've had great luck with kevlar lined tires.