Day 44: Houston, MO to Hartville, MO

Distance: 40.7 mi, Climbed:2,382 ft
Completed: 1,645.7 mi, 89,513 ft

I stayed last night at Wes Murray’s bicycle hostel.  This morning, Wes wanted to take me to breakfast at of all places the local hospital. Wes had run the local hospital for many years, and one of his innovations was to ensure the cafeteria had good food so that locals would see the hospital as a quality establishment. Nowadays, the hospital has the reputation for being the best breakfast in town.  

Today was all about the heat. The forecast was for the heat index to be near 100 again. The route was 40 miles between two towns with virtually nothing in between.  There would not be any opportunity to get fluids along the way. So, after breakfast I loaded up on fluids to ensure I would have enough for the entire day. In addition to filling up my usual three water bottles, I bought three more Gatorades and two water bottles to put in my panniers. That is ten pounds of just hydration. I am all set.

I spent a good part of the day on a very quiet road with little traffic. It was still a rural highway and still had some large trucks zooming by, but I maybe saw ten trucks all day. The scenery also opened up. I rode most of the day past rolling farms and grazing land. There were even a few spots with great panoramic views of the surrounding hills.  

To my surprise, at mile twenty-one I rode through the town of Bendavis, and it had a convenience store I had missed on my map. I took the opportunity to get out from the heat, sit in the air-conditioning, drink some cold liquids, and eat a small snack. When I walked in, I saw the largest table I have ever seen at a convenience store with about a dozen women sitting down for pizza. They call themselves the Cackle Club and meet every Wednesday.  When they saw that I was trying to raise epilepsy awareness,  they immediately reached into their pockets and made a donation. How thoughtful. When it came time to leave, they asked if it would be okay if they said a prayer for us.  They prayed that I would have a good, safe journey and that Joanna’s hands get well soon. People are amazing.

The AccuWeather real feel temperature hit 104 today. I did my best to stay cool. I periodically doused my arm coolers with water. I even rode and stopped on the wrong side of the road when I thought it would be safe. Why?  The sun’s shadow at this latitude points north through most of the day. When you are riding east to west, that means that only the trees on the left side of the road cast a shadow over the road. By riding on the left, I was able to get some shade. It was striking how I could feel the temperature change going in and out of the tree cover.

But honestly, it did not feel as hot as yesterday.  There were some clouds today that periodically blocked the sun. There was also a pretty strong headwind all day. I could not decide if the head wind was a curse or a blessing. I hated having to pedal into the wind, but I really appreciated how cool it kept me.