Powered by Donuts & Coffee (44)

We enjoyed our morning riding to Marshfield in cool weather and over gentle rolling hills. I even helped my first turtle across the road.

 I’m not sure if it was the six donuts and coffee that we split for breakfast that energized us to ride, but we both felt great.

We crossed paths with a group of three guys from CA who somehow hadn’t seen any other cyclists on the route yet. We enjoyed talking to them; they had a funny story about getting pulled over in Kansas for riding at night without lights.  At lunch, we met another three tourers, one of whom was named Andrew and was on a leave from the military.  He is studying to be a vet and aptly carries dog treats rather than pepper spray.

 
After lunch, the riding got harder again- a change from the small hills of the morning.   We stopped for ice cream 15 miles further, then once we totaled 75 miles so far for the day, we stopped for more coffee and donuts in hopes that they would give us the energy needed to finish our day’s ride.  While we consumed our treats, we met another TransAm racer. He is in his 60’s and in next-to-last place.  He had the right attitude though, enjoying the experience rather than caring too much about being behind. His original goal had been 150 to 200 miles per day, but he said he could only manage 120 on average.  He had about 50 miles to go for the day, so we felt comforted by the fact that we wouldn’t be the only ones riding late.

I attempted to even out my tan when I was less likely to get burned without sunscreen 🙂

As the sun began it’s final descent, we made it out of the hills and finished in Golden City.  The city park was great; it had a pavilion, bathrooms, and a shower.  The only negative was some loud kids hanging out in the park until late in the night.

Trip stats, to date (Day 44)

  • Hartville, MO to Golden City, MO
  • Daily mileage: 110mi;  Trip total to date: 2,691.9mi
  • Daily riding time: 8hr 59min;  Trip total time: 236hr 54min
  • Daily ascent: 5,444ft;  Trip total ascent: 145,415ft
  • Flat tires: Rachel – 1; Chris – 0

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