Up at 4:30 this morning….actually woke up at 4 just laying here wishing I could sleep all day. Got a good long sleep last night…felt good to be in a comfortable bed. Can still feel those onion rings on my stomach a little—note to self, no more deep fried food on this trip no matter how good it looks on the menu. Doesn’t go well with biking. Weather calling for sunny and a high of 93 today…..my wish for light showers and 72 isn’t going to come true :-).
About 7 miles in this morning there are several mobile homes sitting in a field by the road for sale…..the top in model is $9,900 and the entry model is only $495 with only 1/3 of the back wall missing 🙂
20 Miles in met a couple from Austria headed east. They started in San Francisco….very nice couple….exchanged info on what to expect for about 5 min. They were asking me if there were any big hills between there and where they planned to stop for the night—oh yea! I didn’t tell them the unblemished truth—that they were going to hit sole crushing, quad busting, back breaking, killer mountains, but I did tell them things were going to get steep. And after riding today what they just experienced…well, let’s just say they are in for a climbing adventure.
Stopped at Hardee’s in Houston for breakfast….three men there….all three wearing cowboy hats…Houston is in Texas County….they were playing George Strait music in the store—his greatest hits, I think….seeing a theme here 🙂
The rumble strips in Missouri are big and deep….must be that Texas thing they have going on. I was fighting those things all day yesterday riding on roads with no shoulder—you were either in the road, in the ditch, or on the rumble strip getting your teeth jarred out of your mouth—looks like they use those instead of guard rails.
29 miles in this morning, the sun was up and it was already getting hot at 9:15am. I’m cranking up a big hill and see a man standing by his mailbox at the top….he disappeared for a minute, then came back out…got there and it was Marvin (pic below) holding out a fresh, ice cold, bottle of water. I downed it all and it was good….we talked for a few. Marvin has some health issues…just got back from the Doc…still had the gauze taped to his arm where they drew blood. Said he wished he could do what I’m doing. We talked for a bit, then I moved on refreshed from the cold water. Nice guy….thanks Marvin!
9:55am and I’m 33 miles in. The sun is out, but I’m back up to 1,400+ feet elevation and riding over rolling hills that before this trip I would have considered challenging hills, but now they’re just rises in the road. A nice cool breeze blowing and feels good taking away the sting of the sun. I’m cranking now and feeling good.
10:35 stopped at a little country market for a cold coke and bottle of water. Saw an east bounder from Ireland. Signed the cycling log in the store and see that chief two feathers was there a couple hours before me….I’m closing on him now 🙂 Getting hotter but still a nice breeze.
12:30….stopped in Hartsville at LJDs Family Cafe for lunch….chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, sliced tomatoes, Texas toast, and a side chicken patty and coconut cream pie for desert….no more deep fried onion rings on this trip 🙂 60 miles down….great morning for riding. Before I got to the door a farmer stopped me and wanted to know everything….where I’m from, where I started, where I’m going, why would I do this, etc….finally got away from him to get inside and get some iced tea 🙂
After lunch big climb out of town with 25 or so miles to my destination. The wind had died down a little and the sun was scorching — the only saving grace is that the steep climbs I’ve been doing for the past two or three days have turned into much more manageable hills….I think I’m west of the steep Ozarks and into the foothills.
About 9 miles out of Marshfield, where I’m stopping tonight, I run into a work crew laying down fresh chip seal—tar poured over the road with crushed chips (some kind of gravel) spread over the top. It is hot now, 92 degrees, no shade, the sun bouncing off the tar and my wheels feeling like I’m rolling brought molasses. This lasted all the way into Marshfield. The first 75 or so miles today were pretty nice compared to the past couple days—they last 9 mines were miserable.
Finally got to Marshfield and checked into the Holiday Inn Express—high class tonight 🙂 Got cleaned up and checked my messages and guess what? Chief two feathers had texted me telling me he is in town with permission to camp in the city park 🙂 I’ve already paid for an air conditioned room, so will pass on the park, but we’re meeting for dinner at a pizza place later—he should pay for making it so hard to catch him this time 🙂
Feeling good and strong—only a few sore spots that I won’t talk about here 🙂
