Cannonball day eight: St. Louis, MO to Cincinnati, OH

Despite being up relatively late the previous night, I managed to get up fairly early in the morning, which was a good thing because day eight was going to be a long day. However, I soon went into a state of panic when I couldn't find the key to my Vespa! I looked all through my pockets and all over the room, but found nothing. I ran outside, expecting to find an empty space where my scooter had been, since our hotel was in a somewhat dicey area of town. Thankfully, it was still there right where I left it, but the key was nowhere to be found, and I had neglected to bring a spare with me. My pants pocket had developed a hole and I feared that I might have put the key in that pocket the night before, and that it might have fallen out as I was walking around the hotel somewhere. A feeling of dread began to sink in, that my jouney might come to an abrupt halt that morning, after I had retraced all my steps from the night before but found nothing. I ran into Peet outside and asked if he might have seen my key anywhere, and he told me that Rich had it - apparently I left it in my bike the night before and didn't realize it, so Rich took it for safe keeping! What a relief, because not only did I get my key back, but if Rich hadn't seen it, my bike might not have been there in the morning. I felt like I had dodged a bullet.

I opted not to go out for breakfast and instead had a hard boiled egg and a bagel (yes, I do eat my own kind) at the hotel's complimentary continental breakfast. After the rider meeting, I got showered and dressed, then loaded up the truck and went to gas up. Soon, I was back on the road heading east. St. Louis has gotten pretty rough lately, so instead of heading out through town, our route put us on the freeway to go around the east side. We got a heavy dose of fog as we crossed the Mississippi River. I switched on my custom fenderlight foglamp, however it was already pretty bright out, so it really wasn't all that helpful - I'll have to go for a cruise down highway 9 some cool fall evening to really put it to the test.

The ride through southern Indiana was relatively uneventful, with more foggy spots here and there, rolling through picturesque rural farmland. However, the lack of a good, hearty breakfast caught up with me and I soon began to feel very fatigued. I pulled off at the next gas stop after passing the checkpoint at the Indiana line, filled up on gas and got a small sandwich and a soda. After a half hour break, I felt much better and said a quick hello to Oz, who was pulling in to fill up on gas, as I was heading out. I made good time as I moved on through more of the pastoral countryside. On a side note, judging by the McCain signs and bumper stickers, the attitudes from guys driving jacked up pickups, and all the "In God We Trust" license plated, southern Indiana seemed to have the highest concentration of rednecks I had encountered yet. I really feel sorry for the people who live in such isolated parts of the country, whose world view is shaped by the narrow views of their churches, Fox "news" and Rush Limbaugh. One can only hope that someday they'll find a way to learn the truth about what's really going on in the world and be able to make up their minds based on real facts and actual information, instead of the lies and twistes half truths they're spoon fed today.

Anyway, the day's long ride contnued on and eventually I crossed the border into Ohio. The damage from Hurricane Ike became more evident along highway 50 with uprooted trees, landslides, and debris along the riverbanks. On a more positive note, there were a number of charming old buildings and beautiful steel bridges, plus some surprisingly scenic views of the city, as I got closer to Cincinnati.

I was truly beat when I finally rolled into the Days Inn on the east side of town, and after checking in and unloading my gear, I went to the main hotel next door to meet up with the other riders and turn in my timesheet. I made very good time as it turned out, even with my half hour break. I told Rolf to give me a call when he was ready to go to dinner and went back to my room to take care of a few thing and unwind. I soon ended up taking a nap, figuring that I'd get up when Rolf would call to go to dinner. However, I woke up hungry about four hours later, and nobody had called. Since it was too latw to go out and get a decent meal, I ended up eating one of my salmon MRE's and a granola bar. I soon went back to bed, to get some more rest before continuing on the next morning.