ROLLING: BIKE BUILT FOR TWO CARRIES COUPLE ON A RIVER ROAD RIDE

Two Californians are following the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana on a bicycle built for two ... and proving it's never too late in life for adventure.

The cyclists, Gale and Nell Simon, ages 65 and 70 respectively, were in Cape Girardeau Monday on day 21 of their trip.

At the end of Monday's cycling, the pair had completed more than 1,280 miles of their 1,987-mile, nine-state journey.

Gale Simon said the trip was inspired by a story he read about a trip from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to Louisiana. They are following the Great River Road.

"He told me this would be easy. It would all be downhill," Nell Simon said, and then laughed. "He forgot to tell me about Iowa and Missouri." The couple encountered a lot of hills in these two states.

The pair started tandem cycling about three years ago. They have put more than 10,000 miles on their bicycle built for two in those years. The bicycle, with all the gear, weighs a little over 100 pounds.

"We had solo bikes years ago," Gale Simon said. "But Nell was never a strong biker. A tandem bike is really good if one person is not as strong as the other. This way you are sure to stay together."

"But he won't let me loaf," said Nell Simon. The couple stops to rest about every five miles.

In preparation for the trip, Gale Simon said, "We were averaging about 20 miles per day. We did a couple of overnight, 70-mile trips to our daughter's house."

Nell Simon added, "We rode 77 miles one day, and he said I was ready."

The couple packed three changes of clothing, rain gear and their bicycle and boarded a Greyhound bus headed to Bemidji, Minn. "We put our bike together and went to Lake Otasca, where the Mississippi River starts," Gale Simon said.

"It's about wide enough to wash you feet in," said Nell Simon. "Kids were walking across it on rocks. It was about ankle deep."

That was May 21. They expect to reach the ocean at Venice, La. in about three weeks.

They made no advance plans about where to stay. "You really can't. You don't know how the day's biking will go. We have traveled 30 miles to 70 miles in a day."

But the couple likes the uncertainty of the trip. "When you plan every step, it feels like you have already done it. I like this way much better," Gale Simon said.

Luck has been with the Simons. They have had one day of rain, one flat tire, "dumped" once, and just once, over the Memorial Day weekend, did they have trouble finding a motel room.

"Our best day was coming out of Davenport, Iowa," Nell Simon said. "It was flat land the whole day."

Coming into St. Louis, the pair were pulled over by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. "The Great River Road had turned into an interstate," Gale Simon said. "But there were no signs. We know we can't ride on an interstate. They blocked traffic long enough to let us get off that highway."

The Simons said the question most frequently asked on their journey is why they made this trip at their age.

"I guess it's our second childhood," said Nell Simon, "or else senility."

Gale Simon said, "People are curious and surprised and then overwhelmed when we mention our age."

The Simons are keeping a daily journal of their trip. "Otherwise, all the days run into each other."

Gale Simon said, "I would like to bike in each state. I've never had the urge to travel to Europe or anywhere else until I see this country first."

Nell Simon added that seeing the countryside and small towns has been very enjoyable. "Once you've seen one big city, you've seen them all."

Gale Simon said, "Each state has a little characteristic of its own. I can't believe the size of lawns here. It's not like California. These lawns look like golf courses. You could plant a money-making crop in most of them."