Today I was woken up by the song Toto by Africa. Was is 6am already? I guess of all things to be woken up to that song is a good one. We packed up and rolled out by 7:10. The first couple miles were kinda creepy as the fog hadn’t completely lifted. Thankfully the shoulder was wide enough that we weren’t in danger from passing cars. Soon the fog lifted. After a few miles we were out of town and back into farmland. The sky was a light blue and the clouds looked surreal. It made me sad to think how little people will get to experience the wonderful diversity of the United States. I kept thinking of my plans after I was done this trip. I had to kept reminding myself to focus on biking and enjoy the ride. I would worry about that later. I soon hit a transcendence state and everything else disappeared. Rolling hills of green fields flew by. Both sides of the roads were flanked by thousands of wildflowers. Most abundant was Queen Anne’s Lace (which reminded of West Virginia), black eyed Susan’s, daisies, blue vervain, violets, and day-lilies. It was so beautiful and for some reason it made me want to scream. Unfortunately a slight wind picked up. It wasn’t a problem to bike in and in fact it felt good. The only problem was it kick up the hundreds of beetles and bees that were buzzing on the wildflowers. I kept getting hit by bugs. The beetles landed on me and stuck to my shirt and sun reflectors. I didn’t care as long as they didn’t fly down my shirt or craw in my helmet.

With only 14 miles left we stopped at a McDonald’s. Everyone complained that it was getting really hot. If you’ve ever hiked with me you are familiar with my tolerance for heat. I’ve even made boastful claims that I have an ability to never get hot. (Since then said claim has been broken). Anyway it takes a lot for me to get hot. The weather read 92 with 63% humidity. Piece of cake for me. 

I rolled into Fair Groove Mo right after Brent. I sink washed my cycling shorts and called my mom while waiting for everyone else to arrive. 

The motorhome stopped at a grocery store and got ramen, canned spaghetti sauce and tuna for dinner. I’m currently waiting for it to be done. Tomorrow we plan to be out of Missouri and into Kansas!

Overall it was a truly excellent day. I biked 80 miles total. 

Today’s musical selections:

Blurryface by 21 Pilots                                           Fate by Dr. Dog