to Windsor: day of the eclipse - Racpat RTW 2015-2017 - CycleBlaze

August 21, 2017

to Windsor: day of the eclipse

The Katy Trail turns southwest from Franklin. Our original plan was to leave the trail here and start heading northwest to bypass Kansas City to the east. But with all the eclipse mania and the increase in traffic we have decided to stay on the trail until Windsor and then pick-up the Rock Island Trail. This will take us closer to a large city than we really want to be, but it also keeps us off the roads for two more days. Riding with no traffic is pretty nice.

The big thing today of course is being in the path of the moon’s shadow as it travels across the United States. Franklin is right in the middle of the full eclipse zone and as we head south we will slowly leave it. We have decided on a somewhat later start and only go as far as Clifton City to see see the eclipse. Much further south and the length of full eclipse gets shorter fast, or we would not witness a full one.

So we sleep in a little, then pack up and head for a restaurant in Boonville, just across the Missouri River. Our new friends Chuck and Sue drive there just a little before us and get a table. Things are busy today; many people have come here to be in the path. Boonville is hopping with people claiming prime eclipse viewing territory in the parks.

We get on the trail and head towards Pilot Grove. The trail leaves the Missouri River here and it is a long gradual uphill. After a break it is on towards Clifton City. At 11:45 the moon starts to block out the sun, but there really is no way to tell, unless you look at the sun. We have the cardboard protective eyeglasses that Anita gave us and can see the curved outline of the moon slowly eating away on the sun, starting in the upper right corner. We stop every couple of miles to see the progress.

About halfway, in a very remote section of the trail we come upon a father his daughter and a son-in-law, walking down the trail and pushing their bikes. The daughter has a flat tire and they do not have a patch kit or spare tube. Rachel stops first, and even though Patrick is in a hurry to get to our eclipse watching site, there is no question that we cannot not help them. It takes about 20 minutes to patch the tube, re-inflate and re-install the wheel. The family lives in Pleasant Hill at the end of the Rock Island Trail we are riding tomorrow. They give us their email and we might connect with them once we get there. Either way, it never hurts to build up some good road karma.

When we arrive in Clifton the moon is about halfway across the sun, but still no noticeable change in how light it is. This is surprising. We find that the “dusk” we were expecting does not happen until the very last moment when only a minute sliver of the sun is still exposed. Full eclipse starts at 13:11 here, we have just enough time to eat our ham and cheese sandwich and talk with Tom and Vicky from St. Louis whom we share a picnic table with. The place is pretty quiet.

We take photos of the big moment, but we were told to make sure to pay lots of attention to what is happening around us. First of all, the start of dusk is much later than we expected; maybe only thirty seconds before the sun is totally blocked. As the sliver of sun gets smaller though, the shadows get much crisper. Even with only a sliver remaining, it is still impossible to look at it without the glasses. Our sky is not completely clear, but the thin layer of clouds barely obscures things. Then all of a sudden it starts to get dark, we hear the cicadas starting to croak. The sun’s light is only visible as a bright ring around the black moon. The sight is amazing and unforgettable. "Now I understand why they say that even a 99% eclipse does not compare to a full one. It really gets dark!" Patrick says. But barely two minutes later a bright spot appears on the right side of the eclipse and just like that it is daylight again and it's over.

No need to dawdle any longer, we say our goodbyes to Tom and Vicky and head out. We are not quite halfway for today. We had hoped to see Mart Jarman from “Our Everest part 2 - pursuing some unfinished business” at Clifton City, but expect to now run into him between here and Sedalia. But no luck, we cannot figure out how we missed him. In Sedalia, we refill our water bottles, the sun is at full strength again and it is hot. We find some cold drinks at a gas station. The last part is tough, the trail is a little hillier and we actually pass the highest point on the trail at 955 feet. After that we get onto the Oglala plains and it flattens out a bit. A secondary highlight of the day is that on two occasions we see a B2 planes pass over. The wing shaped bombers are stationed at the nearby Whitman Air Force base.

Then a whopping downhill of about 65 feet to Windsor. We barely notice it with the headwind that is blowing strong. In Windsor, we have dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Our Katy Trail map shows camping at Farrington Park in Windsor, but when we get there at around seven pm there is no campground. There are large picnic shelters though, and since the weatherman has warned for severe thunderstorms tonight we set up under one of them. It is now dark and nobody has shooed us away so we think we are good. It is hot and humid tonight. Our ceiling fan is humming away and keeping it just bearable inside. The storm is supposed to bring rain tonight, but also cooler temps.

We meet another touring couple on the bridge across the Missouri.
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Mural in Boonville.
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Another mural in Boonville.
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Boonville train station.
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We meet another turtle on the Katy Trail.
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Passing by grain elevators on the Katy Trail.
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On the Katy Trail.
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We meet the Stoppelman family on the Katy Trail.
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Old railroad signal post.
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Getting ready for the eclipse.
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It is not until the sun is completely covered by the moon that it gets dark. A few stars come out.
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And then it is all over, as soon as the sun creeps from behind the moon it gets light again. We are amazed by how little of the sun is needed to completely illuminate our side of earth.
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Riding down the Katy Trail.
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We reached the highest point on the Katy Trail!
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Old telegraph pole along the Katy trail with threatening clouds to our west.
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Sunflowers along the Katy Trail.
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Sunflowers along the Katy Trail.
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Stormclouds are gathering.
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Another old telegraph pole along the trail. This one still has its glass insulator.
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Caboose in Windsor.
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A B2 bomber banking low over Windsor.
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Today's ride: 101 km (63 miles)
Total: 37,777 km (23,460 miles)

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