Real Life Bike Trip 2009: Another rainy day

To whoever is out there,

Two amateur outdoors men with minimal bike experience decide to bike and camp their way across America... what could go wrong?

Danny's Rad injuries (Html fixed by Jesse(& again by Danny))

Yes, we've managed to get ourselves into the Ozarks - Big hills that don't quit. It has slowed our pace and done some painful things to my legs. We didn't plan on getting here but here we are. It seems as well that I have a penchant for stabbing, scraping, and smashing my limbs. My apologies for the pictures... these are the best I could get away with while sitting in the middle of a public library.

After spending a day or so on "Missouri's bloodiest highway" (Yes there were signs) we found our way into a small town where by chance we bumped into the President of the Ozark Trail Association. He helped us find some roads that were safer and maybe a bit less hilly. Keeping in mind that people who live in the Ozarks don't really know what hills are... their idea of flat is what Wisconsin calls hilly.

Some of the flattest road we covered

We spent a night at an RV park called "Candy Cane" which was inexplicably Christmas themed. The caretaker there was very generous and for a grand total of 15$ we got hot dogs, a grill, a fire pit, fire wood, gas, showers, and a lovely little car port to pitch our tent under. Not the cheapest but considering it rained... we could've done much worse. I also got to have a 45 minute conversation about how Methuselah was on Noah's ark and that is why Christianity still exists (????).

Santa greets you warmly as you enter the bathrooms

Note the aptly placed blue valve

We're stuck inside again due to rain (big surprise it's spring.) This time we're in Houston -- no not Houston Texas... Houston Missouri... Though it is in Texas county. We're sitting in the Texas County Library on their delightfully sluggish computers. We spent the night in a park a few blocks from here where we were visited in the night by local youth who - when asked what there was do to around Houston - informed me that you could drink, drive around, sit at home, and there is also a bowling alley. This question eventually spun off into a story about drunk driving, eight month old babies, and domestic abuse. Indeed, we've found our way to Appalachia where they love their Jesus almost as much as their trucks. We've found a good mix of well meaning kind hearted people and big angry truck driving types with no sleeves, no necks, and no time for us.