I'm in Lebanon, MO at a Holiday Inn. I'm not staying here but they kindly let me use their wireless internet access as I could find no internet cafe's in town. I'm actually staying at a campground about 10 miles north of Lebanon on the Gasconade River. Yesterday took me through most of eastern Kansas which, from Wichita on, is actually pretty nice to look at. Green, gently rolling hills. Lakes, rivers and the occasional oak tree made for some pleasant riding. Spent last night at Toronto Lake campground. I was the only one there. Apparently, I just missed 10 inches of rain in the area. The lake was so high, they had to close the road closest to it. Toronto is the only town I've been to so far on this ride that did not have a way to get on the internet. Nevertheless, it is not without its charms. The only place in town that was open for dinner was called Courtney's Place. Courtney is a real sweetheart and a hell of a cook. She opened the place a year ago and features excellent Italian fare. I had stuffed manicotti. The marinara sauce used tomatoes instead of sauce and was laced with home grown basil. It was accompanied with asparagus in a red pepper and walnut sauce. Throw in a drink and the whole thing will set you back a whopping $8.95. I recommend that you guys in the Kansas City area, about 120 miles away, consider riding down there for the day. Tell Courtney hi from Sidecar Mike.

Kansas was an adventure in gas mileage due to the almost constant and brisk south wind. The good news is that, due to the heavier flywheel, I was able to cruise in 5th gear at about 60 mph and 2500 rpm. The bad news is that I got my worst gas mileage for this trip, 22 mpg. Today, I tried 4th gear at 2800 rpm around 52 mph. This brought me up to 28 mpg, a marked difference. Today's ride said goodbye to Kansas and hello to Missouri. Almost immediately, I was greeted with the characteristic limestone mountains that the state is known for. Surprisingly, the humidity it is also known for was absent. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Stopped for lunch in Nevada, MO just across the state line before continuing on to my destination for the day. Had dinner at an amazing place in Lebanon called Dowd's Catfish House. All the catfish, shrimp, chicken, ribs, okra, hush puppies, cole slaw, potato salad, beans and tomato relish you can eat for $13.99. The catfish was exceptional.

Tomorrow begins the actual start of the Lewis and Clark Trail portion of the ride. I'll stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to mark the official start before continuing on my way up the Missouri River. Really looking forward to this part of the ride. I'll be doing a lot of stopping at Lewis and Clark points of interest where I expect to be taking a lot of photos. The bike's still running fine although the air horn fell off in my hand today while I was trying to adjust it. I have to take the compressor off to fix it so it will have to wait until I have the time. No big deal. Otherwise, things look good. Knock on wood, the electrical gremlins haven't caught back up with the bike yet. I did have to put about a half pint of oil in the bike today, the first oil I've added in the two weeks I've been riding. Also, had to put some air in the rear tire. It was down to 36psi so I bumped it back up to 40. Plus, my highway peg was starting to vibrate loose. These are the kind of problems I can deal with. Let's hope it stays that way. Talk to you later.