Day 29: Owls Bend, MO to Houston, MO (58 miles, 1462 total)

Today I felt like a kitchen sponge. I was damp or wet, but never dry and fairly stinky.

As we set-up the tent last night we noticed that there was a bit of mildew/mold on the rainfly. With the humidity, dew, and rain, things have been really wet, and almost never dry out.

Anyway, we went to bed after our Chicken-Helper, and I spent a restless night battling with asthma attacks. I am not sure if it was someting in the environment, something I ate, or the mold on the tent, but it felt like I barely slept.

When the alarm went off at 5:15, I was eager to get up just to end the battle with my lungs. It took us some time to get ready as I was trying to take it easy and the bathrooms were a decent walk away. Nothing that got wet in the rain the day before had dried since the humidity, fog, and dew hung around all night and well into the morning. We woke up wet and got dressed wet. I told Anne Katherine that I wish I had some Captin Crunch to put in my pants and make the Soggies go away.

We finally left camp at about 7:30 to enjoy relatively empty roads. The thick fog hung around long enough for us to bust out our "blinky" rear lights. We climbed out of Owls Bend a fair distance. Since the fog shrouded our view of the top of the climb, the end seemed like it would never come. With each pedal stroke, I pulled on my handlebars with the opposite hand. Water oozed from my bar tape with every tug. We were soggy.

We stopped in Eminence for a quick snack that turned out to be a quick second breakfast to supplement our oatmeal. We came across a Dutch couple on a suspended tandem towing a trailer. They seemed friendly, but looked like they were on a mission to blast some miles. They sure knew how to get that thing moving uphill.

After Eminence, we came across Alley Spring, the last of our stops along the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. It was there that we learned just how close we camped in Owls Bend to a spectacular natural spring called Blue Spring. We'll have to catch that one the next time around.

About seven miles later, we came across a lookout tower at the top of a climb. This thing must have been built before they invented the word "liability". It is a tower that provides a view from above the canopy of the trees. Made of steel, and wood, it was essentially a metal frame with a narrow wooden staircase that climbed about 20 floors to the top. At the top, you could feel the wind and our footsteps affecting the tower. The view was impressive, but we didn't stay long on top of this oversized lightening rod.

Next, we rode on to Summersville where we stopped for lunch at a resturant with a slogan on the sign that read, "The only resturant in town." That made the decision of where to eat relatively easy. Once inside, we noticed the menu stated, "The best burgers in town." Wait a minute! I suppose this is the best packet of Sweet-N-Low in town too?

Throughout the morning we were subjected to the "self propeled roller coaster" terrain we had read about. Compared to Virginia, the hills were small, but we did have a few steep ones. There were also a few speedy descents. On one I managed to reach 45mph without meaning to. On a good downhill, I can only pedal my bike to 40mph, so what I usually do is pedal up to just over 30, get in a speed crouch, and rest as gravity takes me all the way down the hill (and hopefully more than halfway up the next). After one steep downhill, I felt like I had gone pretty fast, so I checked my computer, 45mph. I told Anne Kaherine that I had just gone faster on a bike than I ever have before. She told me that I was not being safe, I agreed. Well, several miles later we had another steep descent where I broke my own record, and Anne Katherine matched it at 46mph. So, I guess we both can lecture each other about being safe.

Anyway, at lunch, we were happy to see that the map indicated no serious elevation changes between the lunch stop and Houston. Instead, we were treated to gentle rolling farmland and a thunderstorm.

About 5 miles out of Summersville, we were blasted with strong alternating cold and hot wind gusts. The skies darkened above us and we decided to seek temporary shelter rather than risk the dangers of a lightening strike. We pulled off the road and into the driveway of a farmhouse. We saw that they had a big open barn/garage that we could take cover in. As AK approached the door to ask permission, I was approached by a large barking and growling rotweiller. I put my bike between the two of us and grabbed my Halt can. Luckily the owner stepped out right then, called off the dog and gave us permission to take shelter in her garage. We waited there for about 30 minutes as lightening flashed and thunder rumbled above. Once the thunderstorm had pased, the rain began to fall more heavily. When we finally decided to get going it stared raining more. Of course it had to come when it looked like we might actually get a chance to dry out in the next ten miles.

Off we rode in the rain with thundering rumbling in the distance behind us. Once again we were happy to have the fenders on our bikes as there is a fine line between being wet and being filthy and wet.

When we finally arrived in Houston (in Texas County), we were soggy through and through. We had read that the city park allows camping, but we had also read that few cyclists get a good night's sleep due to trouble making teenagers loitering in the park. Since it is Saturday and the chance of loitering seemed high, and since everything about us was wet, we decided a motel would be a good call. So here we are in the Southern Inn. Everything that we can hang a wet piece of clothing on is occupied and the tent is hanging out too.

The good news, we gained a day on the guidebook in just three days of riding. With that kind of progress we should be able to make our August 7th finishing date in Oregon without a problem.

Tomorrow we head for Marshfield. Hopefully we won't get soggy.

This weekend marks my ten-year high school reunion. I am sorry to miss it, but this trip is tough to beat, even with the Soggies!

Jeff