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Reply to Clinton to Hartsburg, March 17 & 18 2006


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Mike from Southeast Missouri on 3/19/2006 6:40:38 PM:
I just returned from the trail on a ride from Clinton to Hartsburg. It was a good time but too cold and the wind was in our faces the whole time. Three of us rode from Clinton to Sedalia the first day. I was suprised at how good the trail was. It was cold and the wind was in our faces and it made it a hard ride. We stayed at the Hotel Bothwell as we always do. It is very nice. The next morning we left for Hartsburg. It had very hard, steep grades. The wind was in our faces and the trail was soft in a few long places. We had a waffle at the hotel before we left and expected to get something fruther down the trail. By the time that we got to Rocheport we were out of gatorade and needed something to eat. We were very weak. We were told that Abigail's was open and they had good deserts. She wouldn't serve us. She said that they don't serve anything from 2 to 4. There were still
several customers in her place when I went in. I told her we were hungry and very week, but she didn't seem to care. She had pieces of pie in her display case that she could have wrapped to go but they weren't offered. One of my friends went back in to ask if she would fill his water bottle. She did but he said that she acted like she didn't want to. We found some gatorade at the antuque store next door and left Rocheport. My friends and I are clean cut men with familys and we range from ages of 43 to 63. I will never understand why someone with a business in a tourist town that makes much of its income off cyclist would treat cyclist with such disregard. This was the only bad thing that happened on the ride and we decided not to let her ruin our trip. We will just spread the word about Abigail's. We spent that night in Hartsburg at the Globe Hotel. Jeanette was very nice and we had a good nights rest. The total of the day was 78 miles. It was too far for one cold day with the wind in your face. The next time I will try to split it up into 50 mile days.

 
Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 3/20/2006 9:53:32 AM:
I'd mark that one up to experience Mike....and plan ahead better next time. It looks like you passed an opportunity to refuel with drink, etc. when you were in Booneville and then expected someone to take care of you later because you didn't plan well. Did you offer to buy the pie or just expect her to read your mind? Come on now....how about some personal responsibility here!

I'm not defending the worker at Abigails...she may have been rude. But she has the right to run her business with the hours that she sets and I doubt that she can read your mind when you want pie. More times than not....Ask and you shall recieve.....Don't ask and you get to blame someone else and complain later.

I imagine there is a lot of money that comes to Rocheport from cyclist like you and I. I would also guess that there is alot of money that comes to town from those who have never been on a bike. I've spent money in Rocheport as a cyclist. I've also spent money there as the parent of a college student at Central Methodist up the road. Ex MU basketball coach Quin Synder had been known to eat at the Trailside Cafe...probably because Rocheport is a quiet getaway and a short drive. I don't imagine he rode his bike from Columbia in his dress clothes. Go to the Bistro on the hill and see how many patrons are wearing bike garb.....not many. I'm sorry, but I just don't buy the idea that Rocheport needs to cater to me as a cyclist as if I provide "much of" their "income."

It sounds like the bad thing was your lack of planning for an off-season ride.....not the hours or service at Abigails.

 
Mike from Southeast Missouri on 3/20/2006 11:03:49 AM:
I asked for anything to eat. That meant anything. This is my 4th time to ride the trail. It was planned but I didn't plan on not being served. As I said, I explained to her that we were hungry and weak. She apparently didn't care. There wasn't any mind reading necessary.

 
Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 3/20/2006 11:20:54 AM:
Their hours are posted on this site as:

Hours: Lunch W-Sun 11-2, dinner W-Sat starting at 5:00
Reservations required for dinner

Part of the trip plan should be survival (Plan B)and/or arrival during open hours. It appears you planned on someone serving you outside of their hours. Thats a planning problem.

Off-season....peak season (when things may be booked or sold out) plan ahead.....have a contingency plan. It's not always someone elses fault.

 
Mike from Southeast Missouri on 3/20/2006 5:30:09 PM:
I never knew that I had to do micro-research into every business along the trail. I was raised that you don't let people starve. If you have to bend the rules to help someone you do it. I respect their business hours but you help people in need. It is apparent that you are friends or family with these people. I only know about mine and my friends experience with them on the 18th of March. Enough said. This was my 4th ride on the trail since 2001 and they have all been good experiences except this one. Enough said. You can have the last word.
Best to you.

 
savage24 from KC,MO on 3/20/2006 6:37:05 PM:
Mike, I'm sorry you had an unpleasant experience in Rocheport. I agree with the point that Trek Biker made that businesses have the right to set their hours, but it sounds like the person at Abigails could have handled it a little better by suggesting some alternatives for you and your freinds. I highly reccommend Les Bourgeois Wineries bistro; it is worth the climb up the hill, and I've eaten lunch there several times while riding the trail. It is shame someone in Rocheport did not direct you to it.

 
Trek Biker from St. Joseph, MO on 3/20/2006 7:07:05 PM:
I am not related to anyone in Rocheport or friends of Abigail folks. I just fail to see that poor planning on my part or yours needs to be blamed on someone else.



We are all human and we make errors in judgement that causes ourselves folly. When I do....I own it instead of blaming someone else that I don't know.

 
Mike from Southeast Missouri on 3/20/2006 9:11:57 PM:
Thanks savage 24. I will be going through Rocheport within the next month. I will take your advice. Sounds like a good place. I will pass the word. Thanks again.

 
Mike from Southeast Missouri on 3/20/2006 9:27:20 PM:
You are right Trek Biker. We shouldn't have come to their door expeciting something to eat or drink. Even though we had hit our sugar low. I am sure that at Christmas when you see homeless you blame it on them. I will plan our trip better next time. I just never realized that there were people in Missouri that would turn people away. I will pray for you.

 
savage24 from KC,MO on 3/20/2006 10:07:55 PM:
Mike, Just don't go to Rocheport on a Monday, as many businesses are closed (including the bistro). If you are going to be on a bicycle there are two ways to get to the bistro: There is a private trail from the Katy that leads up to the bistro that has lots of switchbacks and is too steep to ride - there is a bike rack at bottom at the Katy trail where you can lock up your bike. I prefer to ride the main road south out of town up the hill to the bistro - it is very steep at first and some people will walk there bikes but once you get around the first curve it levels off a bit and is not so bad.

 
Ray (webmaster) on 3/20/2006 10:14:22 PM:
You've all made some valid points, but I'm afraid this is about to degenerate into a flame war (some might say it already has), so I am going to close this topic. If you have something that really needs to be added to this discussion, please send to me directly.

This serves as a warning to trail riders that it's a good idea to be over-prepared, especially this time of year when many businesses are still closed for the season or operating on limited hours. You can't always count on a particular business being there for you, unless you have called them ahead of time and gotten their assurance that they will be open at a certain time. Some have even been known to close early if business is slow. Again, this is less of a problem in May-October.

And hopefully this discussion also sends a message to any business owners about the impact of one small act of customer service - an opportunity to either earn a customer's loyalty and have them tell the world how great you are, or to earn their scorn and have them tell the world how bad you are.

Sorry to hear about this low point of your ride Mike, but hopefully the rest of your trip made up for it.