Whoa, what a weird day. We got an early start from Summersville and after a pre-breakfast of peanut butter and jelly and all the fix'ins (like juice and coffee) we were off. From there we climbed, and then went down, and then climbed, and then went down... Well you get the idea.

It's not so bad in the morning because it is slightly cooler but by 7:30am your pores feel like a water faucet.

About 10:00am we rode over a river and the guys decided to take a little swim. I didn't feel like swimming but took off my shoes and waded instead. After that we got back on our bikes and started climbing, again... A little way down the road a dog started chasing us. Let me start by saying that is becoming the norm since we reached Missouri, big dogs, little dogs, mean dogs, friendly dogs... In fact, until today my personal favorite was the dachshund that thought it was being really vicious. But today we had a beagle after us. At first we did the thing where you're not sure if the dog will bite or not so you ride real hard or, if you can't get away, come up with a plan B depending in the circumstances. But the beagle, well, after a while we saw he was just a friendly little dog having fun, and boy could he run! He seemed to take liking to me and chased and chased and chased and sometimes howled We estimate he chased for a good 2 or 3 miles. I was really worried he would be hit be a car, but most of the time he seemed to stay in the grass on the side of the road. He was a cute little dog.

After that we kept pedaling, and the next thing that happened bordered on the surreal. We pulled off on the side of the hill to regroup after a climb. We had a ways to go and I was running a little low on water when a man pulled up in a pick-up truck out of nowhere from a side dirt road in the woods. He seemed real nice and owned a farm nearby down the road. From there, and after the usual small talk, the conversation went something like this...

Man: "Have you ever heard about ionized water?" We all nodded, and proceeded to tell us about some ionized water he had. I have found this to not be so odd, it seems a lot of people like to brag about their personal water supply, though I'm not sure why?

Me: "Do you have any with you?" I asked, hoping to refill my bottle.
Man: "Well sure, I have a gallon in my car, do ya'll want some."
So we all got our bottles out and headed over to the pick-up truck. While he was filling our bottles he said, "Do you have 5 minutes?"
Me: "Eeer..." He was giving us water so we all kind of looked at each other...
Man: Well, let me show you something, I bet you never saw a Mac (computer) in a place like this?
From there he proceeded to talk non-stop on what sounded like a pyramid scheme to sell ionized water. But, it gets better. He finally got his computer turned on and started the DVD, which had descriptions and visuals of actual colonoscopies of people in various conditions, ages and health statuses, and how ionized water will cure any health issue, especially when it involves the colon. We didn't quite know what to do, except the guys took turns giving me "what did you do" looks. I, on the other hand, could hardly keep from laughing at the whole bizarre scene. "It's no my fault," I mouthed back silently as colons flashed on the screen with various amounts, and descriptions of, "fecal matter."
After a few minutes he asked, "Have you seen enough?"
"Yes," we all said in unison.
Then he went on and on about how many (Japanese) Yen the ionized water company is worth and how we could all make $20,000 a month selling ionized water It was clear no one knew what to do, so finally I took control of the situation. 'Well, we have to get moving to beat the heat,' I finally said, interrupting him because there was no other choice BUT to interrupt. He may have been a little put off but I had stopped caring, and we got out of there like the roadrunner in the ole 'Wyle E. Coyote' cartoons--but not without our own ionized water brochure and 'colonoscopy DVD'. Doug left in such a hurry he forgot his helmet and had to go back to find it. It was quite bizarre and, in the end, good for many laughs the rest of the day...

Finally we got to a little town called Centerville and were readying to ride 30 more miles before it got dark, when the heavens opened and dumped rain, with thunder and lightning. We decided to stay put and camped on the courthouse lawn. And when I say camped, I mean we laid in our tent and sweated...

Tomorrow we head towards the Mississippi. Woo-HOOO! :-)

Until then...