Day 32, Kirksville, MO, 92 miles, 99 hills.

From the moment I woke up, I knew it would be a good day. I was fresh and rested, having gone to bed at 9 pm and waking up at 6 a.m. There are days when I wake up tired, they are invariably, not good days. The Best Western’s breakfast spread was minimal, so we were given the option of breakfasting at the McDonald’s across the street. I took the option and had the high end “Deluxe Breakfast Meal,” three pancakes, scrambled eggs, biscuits, a sausage patty, and hash browns. It was really too much to eat, so I gave my hash browns away. Off on the bikes, it was starting to rain, a light drizzle with the fresh clean smell of Irish Spring. The rain, (and thunder, and lightening) played cat and mouse with us for about thirty miles. Then the weather won and, well, we got wet. It wasn’t a pouring rain, just enough rain to show us who was boss. It only lasted ten miles. **Carbon fiber bikes make a distinct sound when they crash, something like the sound of a laundry basket full of large plastic toys being pushed off the back of a Ford 350 pickup truck.** When I heard this sound coming from behind me, I knew someone had wiped out going around the bend on the rain-slickened road. Fortunately, he was ok. It's not a sound you want to hear.

We were warned that today would be a hard day. We would ride through part of the “Thousand Hills State Park.” Do you think that’s a promising place to ride? It wasn’t so bad, we only rode through part of the park, and only did 99 hills today. The total climb was about 4,000 feet. It was made much easier by having Jose as my riding partner. Jose is a strong rider, and we kept the same pace swapping the lead going up and down the hills. (Truthfully, he took more of the leads than I did, but that was his choice). Having a riding partner keeps me from getting lazy. Jose is also a gentleman rider, calling out hazards, cars, bumps, etc. and rides very predictably. Someone like this is a pleasure to ride with.