Day 40

July 13, 2010

Written July 13--posted July 14th

Here was my day UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuP, Down, UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuP, Down, UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuP, Down, UuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuP... It went on like that for most of the day, and we're not even to the Ozarks yet, where it is supposed to be 'bad.'

Still, we rode 75 miles, which is not too shabby considering the hills, and the heat, and the humidity. It's also kind of pretty here. I think it's that way because of the hills though, which is kind of a catch 22 if you know what I mean?

Anyway, an interesting thing happened to day. We had about 15 miles to go to get to our final destination of Hartville. The guys had stopped and I was in the lead, which is rare on a climbing day. It was really hot and humid and late in the day, and according to my Garmin there was supposed to be a gas station (for a cold drink) but I don't always trust when a gas station is supposed to be where a gas station is supposed to be....so I was riding by a farm and saw a farmer doing a "farmer" thing, so I pulled over and saw this was an Amish farmer.

"Hello," I said and he replied with a friendly hello of his own. I asked about the gas station and he informed me that it had been out of business for years.
"What is it that you need?" He asked.
"A cold drink," I said.

"Well, I can get you that. How about some cold water with ice?"
Of course that was just what the doctor ordered so when the guys rolled up we all went over to his house for some cold water on ice, which then turned in to ice cold water. His name was Emanuel and he didn't want me to take his picture or I would have, but he was a really nice guy. We chewed the fat for a good 20 minutes before we were on our way, all loaded down with drinks to get us the rest of the way.

I also ran into another rider I rode with about a week ago. It's fun to meet up like that and catch up on the others exploits. I'm running in to more riders in general, and more west bounders. The locals say they are just starting to see more westbounders. I guess that happens later in the summer around here.

Tomorrow we should see a little of the Ozarks. I heard they are REALLY hilly but time will tell.

Until then...

This looks more like a church you would see in San Francisco and not Missouri?

Someone has too much time on their hands?

These are the hay rolls we see most often. They are kind of pretty.

These are hay stacks we saw at the Amish farms

Today's ride: 75 miles (121 km)
Total: 3,116 miles (5,015 km)

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