$0.50 for a dozen eggs, Cowboy Camping, and New Biker Friends!

The electricity went out for a couple hours during the night, but at that point Jim was snoring away and Old Timer was dreaming about the next dairy bar. I laid there thinking about how many spiders I would swallow tonight. After what seemed like eternity, we were finally waking up. I shoveled my overnight oats in once again. While doing so, I realized I’ve experienced my second casualty of the trip. First, the toothpaste in Damascus. Second, a phone charger. It must have been an item that blew away in last night’s storm entrance, where the wind went from zero to BLAAHH. I biked back to the pavilion, but no luck. Oh well, easy replacement. Being that we slept in the basement of the mom and pop restaurant, we made our way back to our table and enjoyed breakfast. For me, a warm coffee and donut. I’m a donut dunker for lyfe. Actually I’ll dunk anything in coffee. I noticed when brushing my teef in the restroom my right eye was swollen. I looked like I was clocked with a left hook. Allergies were to blame, and after a quick face wash I felt better.

Thought I’d share this story which explains the essence of who Keith, or Old Timer as frequently stated here, really is. A coffee group dined during breakfast a few tables away from us. Keith walked over and asked if anyone was a veteran. Worth mentioning, Keith served in the Vietnam war. One man answered yes, and Keith walked over and shook his hand. He thanked the vet for his service, then proceeded to buy his breakfast. Old Timer is the epitome of who we should all strive to be, selfless and appreciative.

After breakfast, we got rolling and planned on stopping for lunch 27 miles away. Immediately we were hit with steady hills. My legs experienced the jello-y feeling off the bat, but quickly acclimated to the incline as carbohydrates fused into my cells. The weather was overcast with minimal humidity because of yesterday’s storm. This, by far, is my favorite riding weather. Our first break came at 10 miles, where some pictures were snapped and a cliff bar was snacked (on). I don’t mind the oatmeal raisin flavor, but I’m slightly disappointed. Moving on, we noticed signs for “Share The Road” for horse and buggy. Soon enough, we followed one down the road with at least six young children watching us with curious eyes. The two horses leading the way had some horsepower and were kicking it down the road. Although we passed on the downhill, the buggy caught back up on the flats, and we gladly pulled over to let the carriage through.

We eventually pulled into Marshfield, a town of 20,000 people, which is huge for what we’re used to. We scoped out a McDonald’s for wifi and food. I slabbed some peanut butter on bread with jelly packets and enjoyed 2.5 sandwiches. While here I made some phone calls to loved ones back home while dunking ginger snap cookies into the above average coffee they serve at McDonald’s. We moved onto Wally World (Walmart) which happened to be directly on route to grab miscellaneous things. For me that was floss and a phone charger. The traffic in towns like these always suck after being in the middle of nowhere most of your days. I understand now why people choose to live away from most civilization. We ended up running into another solo cyclist, and he’s been the one we’ve been following for weeks! So nice finally meeting him, and we wish to see him more as we leap frog during our travels.
Finally after making it out of town on a busy, non-shoulder road we turned onto some beautiful rolling hills. The sky was light blue with marshmallow clouds and the weather was capital P Perfect. We were only 15 miles from our destination, putting us at a total of 42 miles today. A short day, nonetheless, but sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles. Personally, after several days of the Ozarks, I wasn’t complaining. Old Timer and Jim ran into some mechanical issues involving their derailers at the same exact time and corner. We stopped for a second to assess the issue, but it turned out the problem could be fixed right then and there. Old Timer almost got attacked by a vicious dog, but was able to outpace him by a few strides.

We rolled right on into Fair Grove where we made some calls to the Fair Grove Historical Society. They offered the pavilion right on route to camp under, which so fortunately offered showers, electric, and water. Being that we arrived so early in the afternoon we took some time to perform bike maintenance. For me, that meant lubricating the chain, tightening bolts, and reorganization. Also made some overdue phone calls and map checks because in two days we hit the infamous Kansas!

Jim and Old Timer went into town for dinner, and I stayed behind for my usual home-cooked meal. As I’m checking out the maps, in comes rolling another new trans am biker Tim from Vermont! Tim’s averaging some nice mileage along the way, and it’s always a pleasure comparing our experiences on the trail with others. We were happy to have another biker around to chit chat, and also share the three pints of Ben And Jerrys, chips, and cookies the dudes purchased. Jim and I tackled at least one full one on our own, and I was feeling very accomplished after that feat.

The evening was so special. Sharing this time on the road with these gentlemen has been really rewarding. I couldn’t have asked for a better set of bikers, companions, and friends to cross the country with. We began to wind down while cowboy camping on our picnic benches. Naturally, we were all cracking jokes and in tears. I know the moment we all lay down, the laughter will begin. It’s a reoccurring theme of jokes we bring up. I can’t even explain the situation, but it’s always funny as shit.

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