Day 31: 64 Miles

Houston, MO to Marshfield, MO

I slept in this morning which was nice after yesterday’s long ride. The bed at the motel had memory foam and was one of the more comfortable places I’ve slept in a while. I expected Matt to be gone by the time I woke up, but he also chose to take advantage of a comfortable bed and slept in as well. I started getting my things together and then headed next door to Casey’s General Store.

Casey’s is a chain of stores in the Midwest and I’ve been eyeing up their breakfast pizza for a few days now. I decided today was the day I would try it out. I grabbed a slice of pizza, two donuts and a chocolate milk and went back to the room to eat. The breakfast pizza was covered in bacon, egg and cheese and was actually really good. I can’t believe I could have been eating this for the last few days and have skipped it. I guess now I know for next time.

Today’s ride started with a 6-mile climb. The last few days it has taken about a half hour for my legs to loosen up and feel good enough to ride. Starting with a climb before I was loose made things a bit difficult. I knew it was going to be tough so I put a headphone in and tuned to a classic rock station to take my mind off the climbing. The station promised to be “More masculine than you can handle” and then went on to play a playlist of Rocket Man, Simple Man, Southern Man, Piano Man, Tax Man, and finally Ramblin’ Man. By the time the “Man Hour” for the station was over I was well past the long climb of the day. I never felt all that great today though. The climbing was easier than yesterday, but I just wasn’t feeling it. There wasn’t anywhere to stop until mile 37, so I just continued to listen to music and get through the day. The scenery today was beautiful, so that combined with the music kept me moving even if I wasn’t happy about it.

At mile 37 I reached the town of Hartville and stopped in at a grocery store. It has been rare to see a full grocery store along the route. Usually it’s just gas stations or convenience stores. I went into the grocery store and looked for some healthy food for lunch. I figured maybe starting the day with donuts and pizza was what was dragging me down. I ended up getting a turkey sandwich, an apple, a bag of dried apricots, a bottle of water and a mountain dew. If the healthy food didn’t give me energy, the sugar and caffeine in the mountain dew sure would. I went outside and sat down by my bicycle to eat my food and a few people came up and asked where I was going and where I had started from. Before I knew it, I was talking to 3 people. One guy came up and asked if I needed any money. I tried to refuse, but he insisted and handed me a $10 bill. That covered my lunch, so I’m at 2 days in a row with free healthy lunches. I was again amazed by the kindness of strangers who could easily choose to walk by and not engage in a conversation with me but instead stopped to make sure I’m doing okay and if there is anything they can do to help me out.

I don’t know if it was the food or the mountain dew, but I got back on my bike and flew through the remaining 27 miles. The terrain did get a bit easier, but I was flying. It felt great to be back in the zone after not feeling like riding my bike this morning. I got to my end point in the town of Marshfield and called the motel in town. They were unfortunately closed due to a death. The other option was $130 for a Holiday Inn Express which seemed ridiculous. There was an RV stop though and I checked with them to see if I could put a tent up for the night. For $12 I got a place to put my tent, a bathroom with showers, WiFi password and a pool. I normally would not be excited to swim in a tiny pool at an RV park next to the highway, but the water was cold and felt great. After some time in the pool I showered and then went back to my bike and sent up my tent. It’s definitely going to be a loud night because I am set up about 20 feet from a ramp to the highway, but I can’t really complain.

There are a few different food options for tonight, so I’m going to walk around and see what looks best. Tomorrow I have a short day planned. Not quite a rest day, but it should feel like a rest compared to the last 4 or 5 days of riding. That will put me 1 day away from Kansas, which is exciting because I know once there I won’t have any real hills to climb until I hit Colorado.