RIDE BIKES!!!

"I sure hope this is chocolate..."
I was picking thru the crumbs on the picnic table shortly after the
sun had gone down. Fortunately it was. There's nothing like a
chocolate bar after a good, hard day of riding. Missouri is hilly.

93 miles yesterday to Quincy, IL
95 miles today to Keosuqua, IA

We were lucky that our friend Drew drove us out of the burbs. Suburbs
are really no fun. So as soon as we crossed back over the Mississippi
it dumped on us. Absolutely dumped buckets for 6 miles till our 1st
chance for shelter in Atlas, IL where Lee promptly left his sleeping
pad. The hospitality at the Marlin's house was exceptional. Adam, your
creation has been receiving national recognition... Paul was
impressed. It'll be on the cover of Bicycling magazine by the end of
the trip.

I forgot to mention a while back abouy our stop in Olney, IL. If you
ride bikes and are nearby, check out the Pacific Cycles warehouse. You
may get luckier than us. If we had been there a week sooner, I would
be theb owner of new old stock Cannondale carbon road bike for some
stupidly low price. Unfortunately c'dale thought they were selling
them for too little and put an end to it.

Paul, our host in Quincy, rodr out with. It's always a treat to add
another to our pack, even for just a short leg. He directed us to a $3
ferry over the Mississippi which concluded our 3rd and final trip
across that river. So back into Missouri. Did I mention that Missouri
is hilly?

I heard a spoke pop but waited till the IA border to fix it. While I
was gettin' greasy and Lee was taking self-portraits in front of the
state Sign, a total stranger pulled up and offered us cold water and
gatorade. She said, "this is Missouri (miz-ehr-aye) hospitality."
pleasant. Shortly after, Lee more or less rear-ended me while looking
behind himself to check that he left nothing in MO. Nothing major.
Just one of a few close calls and small scrapes at this point.

It turns out that Iowa has hills too. I know it is hard to believe but
just trust me on this one. We're camped out in a state park and will
Continue west towards Omaha. So far, I think Iowa is beautifull; very
green.

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