Day 29 - Emporia, KS to Iola, KS

6/17/09

Distance - 80.2 miles

The morning did not start off too well for our bikes. I was greeted in the morning by the old mysterious morning flat tire. After I fixed that, on our way to the grocery store Sam realized that the new cleats he got for his shoes aren't the right size for his pedals, and the tension adjustment scew stripped out while he tried to make them work. On top of that it was already like 9,000 degrees and only 8:30 in the morning. We tried to console ourselves with grocery store doughnuts because we heard somewhere that you can eat away your sorrows, but it was no use.

So after 22 miles into the small town of Madison, spirits were low and the neighborhood pool gleamed like the gates of heaven. We decided a swim / sketchbot 5000 would be a perfect cure for the day. Turns out that James is allergic to water and refreshment, so he decided to go on to Iola without us and we'd meet up later. Sam and I busted down the gates as soon as they opened and enjoyed some quality pool time that threw us back to our childhood. Sam got yelled at for running where he was supposed to walk and I couldn't find my mommy. There was about a 2:1 ratio of lifeguards to drownees, so we felt safe.

We ate a classic RLPT lunch of bread, peanut butter, granola bars, etc by the pool, and then used the nearby library for some precious free Internet time before heading out. We started 2 cow stampedes on the way to Iola, which was a new afternoon record. It's actually very exciting, all you have to do is yell and wave your arms as you pass the cluster o' cows, and sometimes if they get confused enough they will stampede alongside you until a fence won't let them go further.

We met James at the park in Iola, which easily had the best selection of play structures so far (props, Iola) and slept out from underneath the shelter and enjoyed the stars.

We've been really surprised to learn how many people are actually reading the blog now, and we want to thank all of you for the support!! Keep the comments and the advice coming! And we were actually hoping to pull a forest gump and roll into Yorktown with like 50 people on bikes behind us. So here's what you need to do: quit your jobs and meet us in Charlottesville in a week and a half, get a bike, protest the real world! Details to come...

-posted by Aaron