Houston, MO

These roads are way steeper than it looks in the picture.


This turtle was crossing the road, but I saved it from being smashed by a car. I've seen wayyyy too many dead turtles, and oddly enough, armadillos recently. I wish I could see a live armadillo. They look cool, but not dead.

The machinist is on the far right, and the guy on the far left really reminded me of Tom Hanks's Forrest Gump. Talked almost exactly the same way.

This is their little convenience store.

Hello from Houston!

Right now I'm at the Horse Creek Inn, one of the most amazing places that I've come across so far. A beer (Blue Moon) and pretzels right when I walked in the door, and I'm not even staying the night here. I'm using their laptop too.

July 25th - St Paul, KS to Fair Grove, MO - 131 miles!!!!!!!!

So.. yesterday was a long day. I did 131 miles, the most I've ever done. I pretty much need to get to Farmington, MO by tomorrow night, so I have started to pile on the miles. Nothing too spectacular happened, except that I rode a lot. Also, the hills have officially started, and are MASSIVE and steep. The only good thing about them is that they only last for a minute or two, then I'm at the top and back down the other side. I just rode all day, stopping every so often for more food. I was pretty tired by the time I rolled into Fair Grove, but I bought some food, made it, and then went to bed. I didn't sleep well... but so be it. Maybe soon I'll stop in a motel or a nice park or something, and try to shower. I haven't showered since Colorado Springs.

Today has been really good. I got a relatively early start, chatted with a guy headed to Boulder for a while, then kept riding. I came across a sweet group of folks in a little town, where two of the men were machinists. One looked like he was really good, his favorite material is 4140 steel. See the picture.