It’s hot on the trail. We can’t start too early because if we do, we will get to the next city way before our hotel rooms are ready. Today’s ride is short, so we find some diversions along the way. This ear of corn is carved from the tree that used to be here.

Speaking of corn…

Most of the corn looks like this now. They are harvesting it for high fructose corn syrup, the fuel that makes America overweight.

Some relics from the past still line the trail. This grain elevator is about one hundred years old.

Things are going swimmingly when John and Mitzi’s front tire goes pffft and then goes flat.

After a brief rest, we are back on the trail.

Eventually, we cross the Missouri River.

We roll into Hermann, a town settled by German immigrants. There are many historic buildings here like the courthouse.

Its bricks were glazed with beer when it was built. A short time later, we are at the “wurst” restaurant in Hermann, the Wurst Haus.

And it’s on First Street, making this Wurst on First. We’ll stop with the bad puns and show you our lunch.

Pretzels, wurst and beer. We didn’t ride far enough for this meal.

Tonight’s hotel is the Herzog House. Built in 1886, the manager of a nearby winery first lived here.

That winery is Stone Hill, the oldest in Missouri. Bubba arranges a trolley ride to get us to the winery.

There are some cool cellars here. The 53 degree caves feel good after standing in the 90+ degree heat.

We will say that perhaps we were a bit over-served on wine. After all, we were not driving.

Start City: Dutzow, MO
End City: Hermann, MO
Miles: 30
Miles to date: 66
Pedaling time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Average speed: 13.9 MPH
Wind: 5-10 MPH head wind towards finish
Temperatures: 71 at ride start, 92 at finish

Up next: we pedal to the Capitol.