We made it.

We went to a house that Adam had arranged for us to stay at in a neighborhood nearby. We bedded down in the carport and did our best to go to sleep. It was about 85 at the time, and humid. The crew was sticky, sweaty, and funky.

At about 2 AM I woke up to people talking. “Hey, who are those guys at our house?” “Yeah, who are these guys?” “Shit, I almost stepped on one.” “There's another.” “Bicycles?” “Oh, they must be Transamerica guys.” After a little bit of confusion we were let into the house and slept in spare rooms. Jordan brought in his sleeping pad, it was totally soaked from sweat. We woke up only a few short hours later for John to open up the Bike Surgeon at 7 AM. We had sorted out the welding the night before, but the axle still needed to be resolved.

John switched over the parts to the new axle, repacked the hub with new grease, and adjusted the hub. Adam got a new rack and we set off from the Bike Surgeon immensely grateful for their help. Within the span of twelve hours we had gone from disastrous tour-ruining problems to everything fixed by awesome people and ready to go again. We went to Schnucks, a grocery store comparable to Vons, and ate cereal inside at a picnic table. I neglected to mention yesterday that Adam's dad was in Carbondale as well. Adam's family was on a road trip in Iowa and his dad drove down to say hello. They went to breakfast at a restaurant while cereal was devoured. Then we changed clothes and did some light bathing in the bathroom and set off for the day.

We rode near the Mississippi river all day, mostly on the top of various levees. We passed by a coal plant which either took or received the stuff from barges on the river, to an enormous overhead conveyor belt, and then to the plant on the other side of the road. We played a practical joke on Adam and told him there was about 30 miles left to ride when we had eight.

We finally made it to Chester and Jordan's uncle Frank. It was euphoric. The house is really nice, sits on some acreage – complete with their own small vineyard. The family has a 4x4 which has been getting some good mileage around the yard. Frank grilled and we ate enormous amounts – salad, fruit, ice cream, etc. It's wonderful to be here, very relaxing. A big storm kicked up around dinner and it was a real treat to experience it secure and indoors.

At the end of the evening we took out the maps and tried to determine our route and destinations for the next two weeks to Colorado. It is going to take us longer than we originally thought but now we go forward with a hopefully reliable plan and realistic goals. The next leg is how we want to ride the tour so we'll see how it goes. Thanks to the Barthol family for having us. It's great to be resting.

Thank you to John and everyone at the Bike Surgeon.

Mississippi country.

What turns on your light bulbs?

Taking shade underneath the conveyor belt.

Check that camouflage out.

Beer and golf carts.

And 4x4s.

And absolutely nothing.