Day 25: Hartville, MO to Ash Grove, MO (73 miles)

Pro cycling tip: Talking to people and taking advice from folks is an important part of any trip. However, be wary of advice regarding bridge closures. People with cars, when presented with signs for detours, often take the detour. They might not be qualified to tell you what lies beyond the detour. Is it passable? Is it impassable? Will you be attacked by trolls or zombies? Always ask a construction worker or police officer that actually has a reason to go to the detour and see what's up. They'll generally give you the scoop (construction's complete, you can walk across, you can wade across, or they'll reveal that there are actually aberrations that will attack you lest you follow the advice of MoDOT). In this case, after having folks reveal that any number from 2-10 bridges were out along the recommended route, with detours adding up to 20 miles suggested, we decided to just roll through the path after the Sheriff's office told us it was a good idea. We were able to roll/walk across the 3 bridge closings and we were unharmed... other than my first flat tire on the new tires. This one was my fault though... I tried to roll Trixie through a sharp rock pile, which was probably a bad idea.

We kept on rolling through, where we encountered our most intense dog chase yet. He only got a chew on my handlebar tape, but had a bit better of a lunge at Jon's front pannier. I'm pretty sure there should be laws that stop folks from having dogs wander out near major state roads. We made it into Ash Grove, and called it a day.