Two miles from 44 we saw our first trailer. A forlorn rusting hulk of a trailer. Someone looked out the window as we drove by. I guess this was a bit of a cultural shock for me. I hadn't realized how economically depressed the region was. The trailers we began seeing all had very similar characteristics - most were very old, very broken down, and there was literally tons of discarded junk littering the lots. I looked back at my shiny 3000 dollar road bike and thought "my bike is worth more than everything on this lot combined". We saw several of these trailers scattered down the road we were headed. Many of the "towns" we passed were nothing more than a couple of rusting trailers and a sign proclaiming the name. On the map these towns appeared to be as large as Eminence. What the heck had I gotten us into? The dual fangs of fear and panic pierced my skin.
The second thing that worried be were the roads. Highway 19 was narrow, hilly, and twisty. I had anticipated the roads being hilly, but on many turns we couldn't see what was just beyond the corner or over the crest of the hill. Cars roared by from the opposite direction at horrific speeds. I was really worried that we'd just be over a hill and a car would come roaring over the crest and not see us until it was too late. Many of the routes I had planned were on highway 19. Were the rest of the roads going to be like this? The fangs sunk deeper.
The third thing was that we saw no cyclists. None. Anywhere. Why I wondered? The roads were all marked as being low traffic by the Missouri Department of Transportation maps I'd researched prior to the trip. Did the local cyclists know something about this area that I didn't? Suddenly a whole flood of "should have" thoughts spun through my head. Should have consulted with local bike clubs, should have looked for towns with at least a bike shop. By this time I was a nervous wreck.
Then we arrived in Eminence. Population 548. Large by the standards we'd been seeing. There were a couple of restaurants, a county court building, and four or five motels. We found our motel and warily checked out our cabin.
First sign of relief - the cabins were on a very scenic wooded lot and were wonderfully clean and large. Inside they had a refrigerator, two queen beds, a shower, TV, lounge chair, and a table with a couple of chairs. The inside resembled a very large motel room more than it resembled a cabin room. The pictures and floor plans on their website were accurate. I'd definitely stay here again. Indeed, of all the places we saw to stay in Eminence this was by far the best setup. By this time I had begun to feel a little (very little) better. H and I unpacked all of our gear and after exchanging concerns worked up the courage to go for a ride.
For our first ride we opted for a small 30 mile loop from the cabin in case we had to bag it because of unsafe roads, unsafe drivers, rabid dogs, and all manner of other little terrors that were running through my panic wracked head by that time. I do not remember the last time I was this scared to ride my bike.
In short the ride was fantastic. We took 106 west out of Eminence up to SR E and went south. Thick forests bordered the hilly route. There were a few well kept trailers and homes along the route but most of it passed through large trees and small streams with the clearest water I've ever seen. Pavement surfaces were a little rough but not crumbling and riddled with pot holes. The drivers we passed were absolutely the most courteous drivers I've ever encountered. When they saw us they'd slow and wait patiently until it was absolutely safe to pass and then gave us plenty of room when passing. Most drivers either passing us or coming toward us smiled and waved.
We went down SR E to route 60 - which turned out to be a fairly busy highway. There was a large shoulder but it was in pretty bad shape. Some of my routes used large stretches of 60 so I made a mental note to drop or reroute them.
We came back up 19 into Eminence and cruised into the parking lot of the motel. H and I both felt a lot better after the ride. We went in to town to get a bite to eat and then did a bit of bike maintenance before watching a movie and then turning in for the night.
It's funny how we get impressions of things and let them build a reality that we cling to, only to realize that the foundation those impressions are built on are not based on reality at all. Fear and panic are often built on weak and false foundations. Facing the fear often exposes the foundation for what it is - a mental construct based on misconceptions and false impressions. Facing it squarely crumbles the foundation and marginalizes the fear.
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