I'd like to say I'm going to miss these Ozarks, but in most ways I won't

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Day 38 Ellington, MO to Farmington, MO
Total Miles: 63.3 (2571.2 miles to date)

The day started rather late for us since we were able to enjoy a nice breakfast and some time to hang out. By the time we got on the road it was getting to be about 11am and heating up quickly. We only had some 60 miles or so today but it involved more steep climbing in the Ozarks (mainly near Johnson’s Shut Ins State Park which was closed due to a reservoir collapse that flooded it). The climbing this day was not nearly as bad as it was yesterday so we were able to get over it with a little less effort. The heat has seriously started to wear on us and it is starting to show. Our speed is beginning to wane and our motivation is starting to somewhat fade as well. We figure it won’t be long now until we are done with this and will look back on it as a great memory.

I had some mechanical issues today with my bike. The rough roads of Missouri have really taken a toll on my bike and it feels as though it is shaking it self loose. Today my rear cog lock ring came off twice and forced us to stop and try to fix it in the sun, which was not fun, and I didn’t have the right tools anyway. I ended up tapping it into place with a screwdriver and hoping that would be good enough until I got to a bike shop (the nearest one being Farmington and I was warned not to go there…more on that later). The quick fixes ended up working well enough to get us to town. We ended up taking a detour today that was considerably faster than the Adventure cycling maps but it also brought us by every Confederate flag and crazy dog in the Farmington area, oh well.

My hope was to see the movie Cars tonight so we ended up getting to Farmington at a reasonable time and I got to see my movie (it was nice and relaxing and told a story that I felt was pertinent due to our trip through the towns that this country has now decided to bypass with bigger and faster roads). We also found an all you can eat custom salad and pizza place that only cost $4.49 each. What a steal. We ended up finding a pretty nice place to sleep next to the baseball stadium and swing sets. It was a good thing it was a covered area since it looked like rain was imminent. We hope to leave Missouri tomorrow but I still have to fix my bike and we need some serious motivation. Tomorrow is another day, hopefully one filled with gentle breezes and moderate temperatures.

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Comments

[Eric]

...
Get your ass home already I miss you

[josh]

best...all you can eat...ever
was the pizza/salad place you ate at called cici's? I've perused two of them in the country (savannah GA, nashville TN). Why does the northeast not have such awesome deals.