Maybe Chopper's untimely demise brought us bad weather karma. Whatever the reason, we drove through a lot of rain on Day 2. We were in the saddle for 280 miles today and at least 220 of them were in the rain. But we're not complaining. After all, our readers are home working and we're not.July 3, 2004
Winona, Missouri, to Kirksville, Missouri
280 Miles

Maybe Chopper's untimely demise brought us bad weather karma. Whatever the reason, we drove through a lot of rain on Day 2. We were in the saddle for 280 miles today and at least 220 of them were in the rain. But we're not complaining. After all, our readers are home working and we're not.

Mao, treshomres2004's new mascot

The day started with a hearty breakfast at the local diner next door to the Rusty Nail Motel. At least Bo and Cleve had breakfast. Nelson apparently lives on Diet Pepsi, Coffee and ice cream.

We left the opulent Rusty Nail and headed north on Highway 19, a scenic highway that took us through more of the Mark Twain National Forest and alongside several streams of the Ozark National Scenic Waterways. At this point we were still in the dry and loving the ride.

Nelson carries a photo of his son, Bo Biddle, on his bike. Bo is a marine serving in Iraq.

Dry soon turned to rain and we stopped to don our rain gear. Riding a motorcycle in the rain is not that big a deal so long as you wear good equipment and slow down. It does require a lot more focus so it is somewhat tiring.

We made our way to Jefferson City, Missouri's capitol. After lunch there, we drove to Columbia, Missouri, and stopped at a local car dealership to pick up Cleve's cell phone, He forgot it when we left Nashville. Being the problem solver he is, he called his son-in-law, who is a car dealer, and asked him to contact a dealership on our route. Cleve's long-suffering wife, Jane Ann, then express shipped it to Columbia.

Cleve and Bo try to figure out Cleve's GPS

We left Columbia and drove another three hours in the rain and arrived in Kirksville, Missouri. Kirksville is the home of several motels, all better than the Rusty Nail. We found one that is near a restaurant and that offers high-speed internet access.

Tomorrow, we head north and leave Missouri behind. For our geographically impaired readers, that means we'll enter Iowa. Once in Iowa, our zig-zag route will take us to the northwest part of Iowa. From there, we plan to attack South Dakota.