This is what I look like after peddling up a big hill. Today was a new worst day! Started out with torrential downpour all morning. It did some serious raining. It rains 17 inches a year in this area and it seemed like it was going to do it all today. I put a bunch of mosquito repellent on this morning and I put a bunch in my hair because the mosquitos get ento my helmet and drive me crazy. The rain was running into my eyes with mosquito repellent from my head mixed in and it burned like crazy. I kept stopping and rubbing my eyes because they hurt so bad.

i imagine things happening all day long, and with my creative and crazy imagination it is usually pretty crazy. Today I kept imagining that a nice old lady who saw us struggling in the rain out her window would come out and yell at us to take a break, and come in and drink a cup of hot coffee, and rest for a bit. Every house we rode by I would look at expectantly and longingly but to no avail. 

it was super hilly today. It was a series of hills one after the other and a bunch were super steep. I had to get off and push my bike 5 times, that is a new record for me.  Usually when I get off and walk John keeps on pedaling right by me. Today he did  that and he got to the top of the hill and was so cold that didn’t get his feet unlocked and fell over. I looked up the hill and he was on the ground with his bike on him. If I had thought faster I would have taken a picture of him.

besides the rain and the hills we also had wind, like in head wind, like in strong head wind. We biked 10 hours and still had ony bicycled 63 miles, lowest mph average for the day for the trip. 

We called to reserve a spot in the campground and the lady said all the other tent campers had pulled out or cancelled because a big storm was coming in tonight so we decided to stay in a motel. Good choice because it is pouring outside as I write this.

so tomorrow we need to bicycle 86 miles to get to the camp sight we reserved. I hope it doesn’t rain and that there aren’t a bunch of hills, but I know I can’t control that  so I will “Enjoy the Suck”

i don’t know it was great scenery today as we ride next to the Mississippi because I couldn’t see anything most of the day! 

Now this may sound like grumbling, but I am not, really. Just sharing with you the circumstances of our day so you can feel sorry for me, no, no, just kidding 🙂 So you can pray lots of strength for me!

love you all very much. Dee