Farmington, MO

Some truck drivers are better than others.



This is what the Ozarks look like! Probably the best view that I got, the rest of the time I was down in the valleys and between hills.

Lots of roads in Missouri had water gauges to measure flooding.

Hello from Farmington! Today is going to be a rest day for me.

July 26th - Fair Grove, MO to Alley Spring, MO - 117 miles

So... this was the day I met a bunch of cool people. I met:

A bus driver that stopped just to have a chat with me.
A cyclist heading westward to go start grad school at CU-Boulder
The machinist and his crew
Pony Boy and his wife, owners of the Houston Motel
Family at a campsite that was willing to share their site with me.

I ended up rolling into Alley Spring fairly close to dark, and was met with a typical park campsite, along with its $14/night fee. Instead of paying this, I rolled around and found a family that looked friendly, and asked if I could share their site with them. They said that it was ok, and I had the best hot shower that night. It was great. I didn't get the best night sleep because of another rowdy group that rolled in, but thats how it goes.

July 27th - Alley Spring, MO to Farmington, MO - ~100 miles?

This was probably one of the toughest days yet, because of the horribly steep hills. The only thing about it was that once I was out of the hills, even gentle rises seemed flat. Also, somehow I expected them to be worse than they were, even though this could not be true. I was nearly in my easiest gear, a 22x30 or 22x32 gearing. This means I was probably going ~2mph at some points, but I never had to get off and walk! I also never stopped before getting to the top, which was pretty cool.

Last night I watched a "Kiddie League" (college kids) baseball game after I rolled into town. It was pretty relaxing, in a nice small ballpark, right next to a town park. I talked to some good people, and one lady gave me a gift certificate to the Long John Silvers restaurant in town. Apparently the son of the owners races for the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team out in California. I'll try to get lunch there today, maybe. After the game, I slept in the park. Also, it rained most of the night!!! This was the first real rain I'd seen all trip, but I was under the pavilion so I was covered.

July 28th - Rest Day - Farmington, MO
This morning I got a package from Alia! She mailed it ahead to the post office here. Inside it were... a letter, a much needed new pair of socks with the California flag on it (represent!), and some homemade fudge. I haven't tried the fudge yet, but it looks delicious. This is possibly one of the best things yet this trip.

For the rest of the day I'm going to.. go to the bike shop, eat some lunch. I'll also try to find a cheap motel somewhere too.