I got up around 6 and packed my stuff on my bike. Hotel breakfast. I wanted to get to Sikeston today which I estimated to be around 85 miles so I wanted to get an early start. I headed out around 8:00 and went north on 78. I was told it would get flat but early on the hills were hitting me hard. It was hot and humid and every hill got harder and harder. Started to wonder if I had set to big a goal. But, just like that, one last long coasting hill that was seriously about a mile or more long, and it was flat. Now came the Trudging… no more coasting… Not sure if I prefer the hills or the flat yet. I took a break at Tiptonville before heading on. Some you may not know this but one of the biggest earthquakes in US history was recorded in this area in the mid 1800s. It was so powerful it shifted the ground and th river causing it to change course momentarily. The river flooded its banks and formed what is now Reelfoot Lake. I made it to the Boarder at about 11am. The trudging continued… now on road 94. After what seemed like an eternity, and 48 miles, I finally made it to Hickman. I stopped at THE local diner and got the special. For only $5.69! It was homemade and good. After my rest, I headed to the Hickman Ferry at the edge of town. It was already pulled up and ready to go so I didn’t even need to wait. I just rode on, payed my $2 and away we went. It only took about 15 minutes to get across about a mile. I was told that had I been here a week ago, the river would have been about 20 feet higher. You could see the evidence of this along the shore. It is crazy how much water can flood the Mississippi. Once on the other side, I was in another state again. That makes three in one day… not bad! Now on hwy 77 north to 80 west. The roads in Missouri where newly paved but no shoulder which was fine since I didn’t see more than 5 or 6 cars in the next 30+ miles. Nobody lived out here, all the houses and buildings where empty for miles and it became clear that even though i was several miles from the river, this area had in recent years flooded to about 10 feet in places. I found out later that this was only a couple years earlier before the Corp. built a new levee. They also condemned living on the other side and forced everyone out. Those who still live there do so at their own risk. I made it to East Prairie at about 4:30 and stopped to take a break. I still had about 24 miles to go to reach Sikeston. I was informed that the PRCA rodeo was in town and the hotels may be full but because I had no reception to check around, I decided to go for it and figure it out there. For some reason I got a burst of energy as I pushed on. I was averaging almost 17mph for the last 20 miles. Heading north on Hwy 61, I made it to Sikeston at about 7pm and stopped t the hotel. They had plenty of rooms… Fri. night was full. I settled in, took a shower and headed the half mile down the road to where everyone has been telling me to go since I announced I would be in Sikeston. Lamberts Cafe. Home of the throwed role.  Why have I never been here before? This place is great! I went back to the room. My odometer said 99.7 miles… Not a bad day! Went to bed at about 10.