Blue skies, milkshakes, and smooth sailing

There was a rustle in the hostel, which usually means wakey wakey eggs and bakey. The signature smell of coffee means Jim has started the coffee. He really perfects the art of starting the day off right. I sat at the communal table, exchanged morning salutations to my comrades, and started cooking some oatmeal. I’ve consistently stuck with four packets of oatmeal, but with the coming Ozark hills, I’ll be considering five. With oatmeal squared away, the rest of the gang decided to walk over to a local diner suggested by one of the hostel’s keepers. Our crew of five stood out like a Waldo laying in snow, but we were cracking jokes and enjoying the beautiful morning. The diner turned out to be a gem, but with a full stomach I stuck with just coffee. The crew demolished some good looking food though. I witnessed a stack of four pancakes piled high vanish in an instant; even I was impressed. The fabulous five walked back to the hostel, energized by caffeine and good conversation, and sorted our belongings for the day ahead. Our destination was 60 miles away in Ellington where another bicyclist hostel awaited. Jim, Old Timer and I were the first to depart. The weather was cool. We kept repeating how perfect weather this day has offered us, and we were barely five miles from leaving town. Soon after, Jay caught up to us. Jay and I rode for a couple miles chit chatting about our tour experiences and what not. Riding with him was nice, but I held back and he moved on into the distance. We continued on into some gentle rolling hills for miles. Again, I hate to use the word perfect, but these hills were a slight incline and decline which allowed for fast rolling.

We rolled through some beautiful forests and the sky was light blue with scattered clouds. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to photograph every twist and turn, it was extremely picturesque. Lunch was 45 miles ahead into our day, so we shortened our breaks throughout the day in order to quicken our arrival to town. We’re all fat boys at heart.

Along the way we stopped at a wonderful state park rest stop. 15 miles from lunch, we were all starting to daydream about what’s to come. Out of the blue, Old Timer walks up and hands Jim and I a Hershey’s almond chocolate bar. I about bowed to my knees. The bar was exactly what we needed to hold us over, and couldn’t have been better timing to curb our hunger and sanity.

After a few steady inclines and idiot drivers, we made our way into town for lunch. We ran into a couple new bikers heading east as they flip-flop the Trans Am. In other words, they started in Kansas and will head east to the coast. Then drive back to Kansas, and will finish the route by cycling west to the coast. They were a pleasant couple to have met, and I wish them luck in their travels!

I decided on enjoying three English muffin with jelly and banana slices for lunch, then moved into the diner for a peanut butter milkshake. I’m noticing the shakes fuel the end of the day’s miles. Nourished up we hit the road, only to be greeted with the Missouri hills we’ve been hearing about. About half way up one several officers and ambulances sped by. We were informed of a deadly crash ahead, and the scene was just that. The accident really took a toll, and I was looking forward to arriving at the hostel just to get off the road.

We coasted into town from a nice downhill, and found our destination after calling city hall for directions. As we approached, we were happy to see another cyclist! Holly, from York, England, is cycling parts of the trans am during her summer months. She was funny and easy to get along with, we were happy to have shared the hostel with her.

After a cold @ss shower due to water heater issues, I quickly put together my supper for the evening. I walked into town still hungry, and I definitely fell into the “don’t go into the grocery store hungry” category. How did I walk out with cheddar flavored chex mix, ginger snap cookies, a banana, two greek yogurts, salmon pouch, peanut butter, and nut and m&m mix? Cause that’s how I do.

I spent the rest of the evening talking with family and Liz, wishing she could be here to share ginger snap cookies on a random town bench. I was surprised to find a strawberry pastry on my cot when I returned to the hostel. I love these dudes.

One last story, about 5 minutes prior to getting to sleep, I warned Holly about the snoring involved with sleeping in the same room as the dudes. “I’ve don’t snore, I’ve never heard myself do it” Jim states. Legit 5 minutes later, he’s snoring louder than thunder in the sky. I begin to crack up, but hide in my sleeping bag and try my absolute hardest but to laugh out loud. Too late. We all start cracking up, and Jim wakes up and also begins to laugh. I was in tears, and probably haven’t laughed this hard in all of the trip. I’ll never forget this night, partially because I didn’t sleep. Oh well!

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0