Show Me!

Sorry for the infrequent updates, but there has not been much internet around these parts. Also, this computer is not letting me put pictures on the post, so getready for a boring, journal-worthy entry...

When our loyal readers were last left hanging, we were in Scott City on a day off - thanks to Stefanie for letting Dan and Alex take all day to write the blog! Every town in Kansas has a great little park where camping is, at worse, condoned. On our second night in Scott City's greens, we had some company: a fellow X-C biker by the name of James, and the family and friends of a two-year-old celebrating a birthday. We grilled some sausages(tofu for Dan "I think I'm sick of Tofu" Morris) and congratulated the birthday boy by eating a large percentage of his cake and ice cream, which would have been perfect if we had also been given soda in road cones like everyone else at the party (construction theme).

It turns out our day off was a great decision- the next day we had winds in our favor, and with the added company of James we rode an easy 90 miles to La Crosse before 1 PM. Again, we had a great grilled dinner in the town park, and Dan had a lovely conversation with a nice local by the name of Don. The next day we kept true to last year's riders' plan and stopped in Lindsborg, Little Sweden. Unfortunately it was Monday and everything was closed, so most of us had fried chicken for dinner (guess what Dan had...) Still, we enjoyed the music in the streets and the great company we had at the Viking Motel. Our neighbors for the night were old friends who see each other once a year, and we spent hours chatting and snacking with them, but failed to convince anyone to come riding with us.. Alex had a trip-defining moment when he was amicably forced to eat a sardine, and he will never admit that he loved every bite of it. Overall, Little Sweden was a lot of fun; our only regret was only drinking 6 of the requisite 10 smoothies to "get one free". I think our Swedish readers will agree that Lindsborg feels just like Sweden.

From Lindsborg we had a long 110-mile day to Osage City. We were about to camp in another park but Sharon ran into the road and forced us to stay in her yard,and then forced us to shower, do laundry, and eat her cherry cobbler. We couldn't resist her charm, but it turned out OK in the end: we went to sleep well-fed and clean!

Today was another big day: we entered Missouri (the Show Me state)! Kansas does not deserve it's reputation: it is full of great people who drive courteously, cute towns with great parks and pools, and smooth roads. The eastern part is actually fairly rolling, so it isn't 100% flat. Also, there are trees, which I never knew. We rolled into Harrisonville, MO today and the riding was more of the same: nice rolling hills with lush green fields. We are staying in a hotel courtesy of the Steenbergens tonight, which is nice especially because the humidity picked up overnight somewhere outside of Scott City. We are definitely getting close.

Overall, our spirits are high, and we are excited to head to St. Louis. Keep those comments coming. We miss you all, and hope everyone is doing well!