DAY 44: Marshfield to Houston: "The ride continues, albeit with a slightly damp twist"

July 12, 2016

DAILY STATS (the rain messed with my computer today...)

Mileage: ~65

Average Speed: probably pretty slow

Maximum Speed: probably pretty fast

For some unknown reason, I could hardly sleep last night. I tossed and turned, and finally resigned myself to a short stint of shut eye. By 6am I was up, and after I spent a considerable amount of time removing the ants that had taken my panniers as hostage, I was off by 7:30am.

The early morning was cloudy and lightly drizzly, leaving that wonderful first-rain smell in the air. It was pleasant...for a bit. The rain picked up, and soon the smell was washed away in a torrent of damp unpleasantness. Oh well, at least I wasn't sweating.

Ah, a light morning rain. If only it had stayed this way.

The rain and wind continued relentlessly. After 27 miles of this, both Kyle and I decided to wait things out in Hartville. The forecast predicted no rain after 1pm, so I headed to the public library to read and dry off. In fact, what you just read was typed in the library. Surprise surprise.

Escaping the torrents under the awning of a grocery store. Glamorous.

At 12pm I left the library and forged on. The rain slowly abated, but not before I was thoroughly saturated. At least it wasn't sweat!

One thing that will stick with me from Missouri is the incredible amount of ambient sound. While biking, the sides of the road are alive with chirps, tweets, and all sorts of onomatopoetic wonders. It's a beautiful soundtrack, and the rain seemed only to bring more of it out.

A great view of the Ozarks, just before descending into Houston.

I saw this off the side of the road and thought I'd take a peek. I went up two flights of stairs before chickening out.

By the time I pulled in to Houston (Missouri. I didn't just bike to Texas), the rain has cleared and it was again hot and humid. Per the usual, I set up camp in the public park and got a shower at the public pool.

Ah, yes, the bad tan is coming along nicely.

While my other three friends all splurged on motel rooms, I was treated to this view FOR FREE. Couldn't be better. Well, it could be about 15 degrees cooler.

Oh, one last note before I go to bed: I didn't spend a single cent today. That's always a fun, rewarding challenge.

Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 3,038 miles (4,889 km)

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