Houston

65 ridiculously hilly miles. Missouri is not fun.

We met for breakfast with Promise, Whitney, and 2 other cyclists we recently met, Brian and Stephanie. They are a young couple from Cali that didn't have any cycling experience prior to this ride. I'm still so impressed at the amount of people who decide to ride cross country, and hadn't even owned a bike.

Seriously Missouri, we need to break up already. I know it's only been a few days, but you are KILLING me. The climbs are just getting more absurd and I'm feeling suffocated by your intensity.

We rode on and off all day with the 4 others, it was such a blast having a train of women and one dude. Promise is the fastest, so she was the conductor, and the rest of us took turns swapping places. Riding with others makes me feel like I'm a part of something bigger than just me, it is so neat. Also, I think our new friends came along at just the right moment, because we all struggled through today.

After stopping at a convenience store to find a "Closed" sign on the door, morale sunk even lower. It was hot, and all we wanted was a cold drink. Terry, a local guy, stopped in for the same reason and ended up chatting with us for a while. He mentioned passing through Houston later in the day, so I jokingly told him to have some sandwiches and soda ready for us when he passes us on the road. Well, a few miles later, there was Terry! He had a cooler full of cold drinks and all the fixings for sandwiches. That was so much needed and SO much appreciated. Terry said we looked like we needed it badly, I think he saw the delirium in our eyes.

I think we are taking tomorrow off to hang out with Wags, a friend from the AT. Looking forward to resting, I am beyond exhausted and McKinley also looks like she could use a day to recoup.