Today started out like yesterday, but ended like Friday. The hills got steeper as the day progressed and the sun grew hotter. It definitely didn’t help that it was an awful night sleep in Hartville. No one had a restful night. Between trucks with ridiculously loud engines circling the block, herds of loud teenagers, and an animal in the throes of death at 3am, it was a difficult and exhausting 75 miles into Ash Grove. But we persevered.
The Ozarks are still trouble makers, but we’ll be in flat Kansas in no time. The one thing I noticed in Missouri (besides ruthless drivers that like to run us off the roads) are the crazy amount of bugs. Riding down the road you can see them
zipping all over. From flies, to bees, to beetles, you can’t escape them. As I type this, a fly is banging repeatedly into a window. Some are kamikazes and fly directly into us. Usually it’s just an annoyance, but when going downhill really fast, getting hit by 4 bugs in a row really hurts. Thankfully I have sunglasses to protect my eyes. One bug had the misfortune of being splattered against the lense. The sunglasses don’t work, however, when the bug flies into the glasses and gets stuck. Luckily I kept cool and collected and didn’t fly off my bike.
During the ride, my chain came off and got stuck in my gears, making my bike inoperable. Thankfully, Alec was right behind me and jumped off his bike and came to my rescue. His 19th birthday is coming up, and his awesome parents came down from Kansas City with a barbecue to celebrate. It was absolutely amazing and perfect after today’s ride. They are also making breakfast and I can’t wait for that!
Tomorrow is our last day in Missouri. Hopefully Kansas greets us kindly! No pictures from today. Scenery was beautiful though!
Emilie Bikes and Hikes 