Today’s Date: July 6, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Marshfield, Missouri

Today’s End Point: Houston, Missouri

Today’s Miles: 66.33 Miles

Cumulative Miles: 2,912.35 Miles

Some days just go right, and this was one of them. Humidity was low, roads were challenging but fun, scenery was pleasant, and winds were calm.

I left early at 5:30 am to beat any traffic and heat. As I said, the humidity was low and the temperature was about 70 degrees. The only wildcard were the climbs, because like yesterday they would come fast and furious.

The morning was very pleasant, and although there were numerous climbs, I seem to be handling them better (not having unbearable heat is a game changer). The best part is that once over the top, the descents can go in for about a half-mile, saving my legs and cooling me off. The miles went by quickly and I had 40 miles in before 9:00 am.

I stopped in the town of Hartville for a break and a non-cycling gentlemen came up to me and asked if I had been hit by a car “yet”. I said no, and he informed me that he had been hit twice, and he attributed it to cellphone use. He told me, with a certain glint in his eyes, if it happened again he would kill the person. So, at this point I politely ended the conversation and went on my way.

As regular readers are aware, I have this rising fear of dogs as I move east. Last night I decided to do more research on how to handle them. My research uncovered the following: you should slow and get off your bike or keep going on; you should not try to outrun the dog or you should try to outrun the dog; you should never use pepper spray or you should use pepper spray; you should carry a gun but not for dogs, only for off the bike incidents (see comments above related to conversation with gentlemen in Hartville); you should give them treats or you should not give them treats; you should act like an alpha dog and stare them down or you shouldn’t look them in their eyes. My favorite was a minister who posted a YouTube video in which he promoted the use of a baseball bat for whomping the dogs in the head, all while the video is interrupted every few minutes by a gospel choir praising the lord (he is also the one who gave the gun advice). In other words, as usual you can find consistent and accurate information on the internet.

It was good that I looked up the information, even though much of it was conflicting, because I was chased by seven dogs today. The various canine posse’s were made up of three pairs of two dogs and a solo pup. Except in the one case where they were smaller dogs (which I outrode), I would get off my bike and yell “No” and “Go Home”. In all of the cases they looked sheepishly at me and went home. I realize this will not happen all the time, but I am going to try the get off the bike and put the bike between me and them. I also have an air horn, pepper spray and bear spray when all else fails.

When I was about five miles from my final destination, Houston, Missouri (amazing travels in that I have been to Houston and Pittsburg in the last couple of days), I stopped to talk to Zach, another bicycle traveler going west. He started in Tennessee and was going straight to San Francisco. He told me about a couple of cycling hostels up ahead after my stop in Houston. He had “only” been on the road for 19 days and was probably in his 20s. Ah, youth. He was a very nice guy but since we were talking across a busy highway it was time to say our fairwells.

I arrived in Houston at 11:00 am, far earlier than I thought I would make it. I checked into the motel, and like most places I stay, it was no problem getting into my room early since I was the only guest. At the moment, the Houston area seems to be filled with cars pulling boats since I am getting into the Ozark/Branson ecosystem, another good reason to get off the roads.

As the day wore on in Houston, the weather definitely began to get more humid and uncomfortable. I will use the same strategy tomorrow, get out at the crack of dawn to beat the heat and holiday traffic.