Day 66, Ellington to Farmington, MO

Miles – 59

Miles From Start/To Finish – 3,079/1,266

Ave Riding Speed – 3-34 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 8.25

Weather – Sunny to cloudy 86

I heard Kim roaming around our motel room this morning at the Scenic Rivers Inn. I looked at my phone to see if my 5am alarm had gone off. Nope. A few minutes later my alarm phone went off on the nightstand and I reached over, shut it off and had a thought of rolling over and going back to sleep. I closed my eyes and a quick thought said I should get up. We were not moving too fast, but kept a steady momentum of getting ready and decided we were a little behind and skipped the showers. At 6:30 we rolled our bikes out of our room and left the key on the nightstand.

We rode across the street to the convenience store and filled our water bottles with ice. While Kim went back in for a second cup of ice, a pickup truck pulled up in front of me and the guy asked which way we’re heading today. I told him we’re heading to Farmington, northeast of Ellington about 60 miles. I introduced myself and met Mark. Mark lives in the area and was on his way to work. He said there’s a few good climbs early on and inquired further about the route. I giggled and said that I just follow the map. He smiled, wished us a safe trip and went on his way.

Kim returned with more ice and we were good to go with 8 bottles of cold water. We rode a block north through town and got on Hwy 21 heading north. The humid air was completely still and the sunrise was trying to find its way through the heavy haze. Within the first mile on the road, we hit a 300 feet steep climb, in the 12% grade range. Our legs weren’t quite warmed up yet and in the back of my mind I was pondering how Kim was going to handle it, physically and emotionally. Yesterday’s ride was a rough one and another intense day might be a little much.

We worked our way through 4 more such climbs and were 22 miles in when Kim was having a pretty good “moment.” I took a couple shots across the bow from my teammate, but knew better than to say anything and figured that would only escalate things, so we stood on a driveway approach and took some down time. As we’ve believe, when one of us is struggling the other needs to be supportive. I pulled out my cellphone and happened to have service so I checked my e-mail and media sites and saw a message from my high school buddy who lives in Virginia and has been a huge supporter of us and our adventure. The timing and the note to Kim and I couldn’t have been timed any better and it was a great catalyst for us to cope with the days struggles and put us back on track.

A mile further we jumped onto Hwy N for 20-miles continuing northeast. The climbs became less intense and more manageable as the day continued. We stopped at another convenience store for water, ice and split a burger for the warmed deli tray glass case and a Gatorade. Kim saw the Bongards cheese in the deli case while we were snacking at one of the indoor tables. Bongards is a Minnesota cheese from a neighboring town where we live in Minnesota and it was fun to make a Minnesota connection. We asked the cashier what’s the quickest route to Farmington from there, as our map shows three different options, and the TransAm route looked like the longest. He said we should take Hwy NN, which turns into Hwy 221. We took his advice and went rogue. The ride into Farmington was a very pleasant 17 miles and just what we needed to finish the day.

Upon entering the Farmington city limits we pulled over to Google map our hotel, the Hampton Inn, and rode on a couple miles to our destination. We checked in, Kim put a load of laundry in the hotel washer, showered and we walked a block to the Pasta House Co, for an early dinner. The food wash awesome. Spaghetti with meatballs, house salad and calamari. On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at the grocery store for Ben & Jerrys ice cream, just in case we needed a snack for later tonight. It didn’t last till later and was gone before 6pm.

We’re settled in for the evening and plan to take a rest day tomorrow to regroup, rest the bod and get some down time.