Day 25- Chillicothe, MO > Kirksville, MO (75 miles)

June 1

The route:

Before I close the book on Chillicothe...a funny incident last night at dinner at Applebee's...we had a waitress that was young and energetic. When she took our order for a few glasses of wine, I asked her if she needed to see my ID. Her reply was "if you're under 21 you look awful." We roared...nice to be kept firmly on the ground. See the photo below to learn something new about Chillicothe that could win you a prize in a trivia contest...not exactly sure how you could disprove this.

Quote for today: Sun Tzu, The Art of War (this book should be required reading for all business schools)- "If the mind is willing, the flesh could go on and on without many things." This is a great quote when you're physically suffering...today was not that day, but I still love the quote. 

We had a great day today riding more of these Missouri rollers...the Ride with GPS app said that we be ascending 3k ft, but reality was a little over 5k. We did get rained on about 15 miles into the ride, but it did not last long. Today's ride was similar in terrain to yesterday and was a tough day for climbing, so we kept it relatively social. The route was beautiful and would be a staple for us if we lived out here. Now, these rollers are for real, but we had the team working and good weather. We have all ridden into pretty good shape, and it was a good thing given the relentless hills - stare at the gradient chart for a second, and you will note all the hills. Bill was the diesel engine, and Stuart got to curse a dog into oblivion for the first time on this trip; meanwhile, John and I rode peacefully beside them.

Photos from today:

These guys came to my whistle and were disappointed quickly when I had no food for them.

Ga boys rolling and smiling...

Steve is our resident photographer, and he gets the best photos...yes, I am from the south and am always interested in road kill.

One of my favorite photos so far of the Griffin guys just rolling through country roads in Missouri...

I love getting text messages while we are riding, so thanks to Frank B for his today quoting Louis L'Amour saying that we were tough like 'those fellows have bark on!' That is a funny quote and hope that we live up to the description! Talk tomorrow from Quincy, IL...thanks for your thoughts, jokes, song recommendations, and your prayers - we are having a blast.