Day Twenty (74.2 miles, 835.3 total): Cyclists on Parade

RING! Slap! I slam my phone off as I roll around in my little coffin tent. Ella was curled up at my feet, then lunged for the wake up tackle. I let the little monkey out of the tent, where she paced back and forth like a guard on patrol. VVRROOMMM!!! A grey, lifted, dual exhaust, beat up diesel truck speeds into the park. VRRRROOOM! "GOOD MORNING SWEETHEARTS!!" VRROOOMM!!! The truck speeds off and everyone is awake, except for Celia. It's a slow morning for all of us. I pack up the tent wet and shove it in the panniers. Bob and I eat some blueberry bagels and pack up the rest of our gear. Soon we are ready to set off.

Bill sets off for the gas station down the road and we help Celia fix the chain on her bike again. A pit bull pulls off the rope it's tied to and runs at Bob. The brown dog is sprinting at him and he sprays it right in the face. The pit bull drags itself and the rope back into the yard he came from. Close call early in the morning. A soft blanket of grey coats the morning sky. The threat of rain hangs low over our heads again. As we pass through Hartville again on our way out, a friendly husky follows along down the road. He looks like a stray but has a length of frayed rope dragging along from his neck. We turn up a hill and the husky turns the other way.

It's a slow start up a long hill and we all drag along. It takes awhile, but we all warm up and speed off into the cloudy morning. The downhills are short and the uphills are long, but we roll on like there is nothing to it. It's not a quick day because of the long uphills but we are getting there. We end up in Marshfield for lunch and all sit around the patio of Sonic. Nothing like a giant chocolate shake to replenish your energy! Bob and I run over to the Walgreens for some Gatorade and it starts to rain. Sprinting back to the Sonic, the rain decides to stop. When we get back, we all set off for Ashgrove. Mark stays back in Marshfield as we move along.

The sun is out but the hills aren't so bad. As we push on away from the city, the clouds start to build over our heads again. This time, it starts to rain. I put on Ella's rain cover and pedal on through the misty afternoon. The roads start to become much more straight as we get closer to the Kansas border and away from the main mountains of the Ozarks. We push on through the day and the rain comes on and off. Never heavy downpours but just the edge of the approaching storm. Closer to Ashgrove, Bob takes off like a rocket and he is soon out of sight. Bill, Celia, and I make our way down the straight roads and long steep hills. The sun is beating down and I can feel my lips and my ears being burned. So much for my streak of no sunburns for awhile!

We reach the top of one hill, just to see another one on the other side! On and on it went! Finally we made it to the town limits sign! Yes! Bob lets us know where the hostel is and we head off down the road. A few minutes later, we make it to the hostel. Sara and Carol are there, two more cyclists I heard so much about, and Bob is already there as well. Another cyclist name Joe had arrived before us too. He is headed for Colorado to visit some friends. It was nice to enjoy a shower at the end of a long day. Bob, Bill and I head out to the grocery store to get some dinner things. When we get back, Sara and Carol are already asleep. The rest of us head into the kitchen and gorge on taquitos and chips and salsa.

It's getting pretty late and I have a long day tomorrow, so for now I'm dropping the pen. We hope you enjoy reading about our journey and continue to follow us as we travel into the unknown! Be sure to leave us a comment here and there, they help to fuel our minds and our ride.