I guess there is actually a reason, a tropical storm built up in the Gulf of Mexico and pushed it's way onto shore a couple of days ago. Before the system travelled too far inland and disintegrated into a rain system, it blew southwest and back out to the Gulf of Mexico to regain steam before it headed to Texas. Apparently, the power of the storm, along with the sudden shift in movement south, allowed for a low pressure system to work it's way down from Canada, fairly deep into the US. At the front of this low pressure system is cool air, unseasonably cool air, straight down from God in Heaven cool air. And the best part? There's no end in site.

In case you're curious about my fascination with the weather and question my explanations of why the weather is what the weather is, let me tell you a little something about myself. I'm a weather junkie. When I'm done with my trip, and after I invent my Kansas bike transporter, and serve two terms in office as the President of the United States, eliminating barking dogs from rural back roads, I'm going to use my celebrity to get me a job as a tv weatherman. I'm not sure how it started, and I really really can't give a logical explanation as to why it's continued, but I have an amazing fascination with the weather. I love to watch the weather channel to watch weather systems develop, evolve and then dissolve across the United States. I love when the weather guy pushes the little button in his hand to put the Doppler Radar map "in motion." I love when the nightly news anchors give the weather guy grief for forecasting the wrong weather, when I, based on my own research, predicted a much more accurate forecast. And the thing I like most is when the weather forecast calls for snow. So much snow that school will be cancelled and work will be closed. I love snow and I love the chaos that comes with a major Nor'Easter. Don't ask me why I live in California.

Anyway, I know I've complained a lot about the heat, but I've been on the road for almost 8 weeks and during those 50 days, the temperature has only been in the 80s 4 times. The first 2 days in Oregon were in the 80s, there was a day in Idaho where the temperature was in the 80s, then the day it snowed on me when I crossed Hoosier Pass. Other than those 4 days, the mercury has risen to over 90 degrees every day and frequently topped 100. The temperature has been over 105 more days than it has been under 90. But now, I can quit complaining and start riding.

To celebrate the best weather I've had on the trip, I decided to try and make up some miles and shoot for Eminence, MO over 110 miles away. It wouldn't be easy, since the terrain in the Ozarks is some of the most difficult riding I've had on the trip. The hills are short and steep and never ending, but very similar to riding in the Bay Area. Maybe that's why I enjoy Missouri so much, the riding reminds me of home. Anyway, I began riding at 7:00, the following are the highlights from my day.

7:30 - A Rottweiler and two sheep dogs jumped from the bushes and chased me for about 200 yards. The Rottweiler, while fast at first, soon ran out of breath and quit chasing me. The sheep dogs were pesky and seemed like they wanted to herd me into the barn.

8:00 - A logging truck came flying by, refusing to cross the yellow line to give me any room on the road. Immediately behind the logging truck, was another logging truck, which decided to lay on the horn just as he was passing me. Again, he wouldn't cross the yellow line. I decided it was a bad idea to ride with my elbows sticking too far out.

8:30 - A medium-sized black and white dog chased me. I don't know what kind of dog it was, all I could see was it's teeth and it's drool. Fortunately, I was going downhill, so my accelleration to 30 mph was quick.

9:30 - I stopped in a general store to buy a Gatorade. The store owner told me stories of truck drivers chasing bikes off the road and then told me of a German guy who came through earlier in the summer that was complaining because drivers kept throwing pop cans at him. He thought it was because Americans hate Germans.

10:00 - While I was riding cruising up and down the rollercoaster hills, a rather large moth flew in my mouth as I was flying down one hill. Normally, I just drink some water and swallow the little shot of protein, but this time the bug was so big, it got caught in the back of my throat, it made me choke. I was coughing so hard, I had to pull over and vomit. Damn bugs.

11:30 - The hills started to get steeper, longer and more frequent. This means I have to shift gears a lot more, putting a lot of strain on my chain. Finally, in the middle of one particularly hilly stretch, my chain stopped cooperating with me and jumped off my front chainring. I looked down and saw one of the chainlinks was broken. So, on the side of the road, I had to give myself a lesson in how to fix a broken chain. Fortunately, I had the right tools and some extra chain links.

1:30 - I was riding along, staring off in the distance at a tractor making some hay bails, when I heard the scrapping of dog nails on the pavement. I looked behind me and saw a medium-sized black dog with his ears pinned back, and mouth wide-open charging at me. A sneak attack! The little mutt didn't send out any warning barks. Fortunately, I escaped.

4:00 - The closer I got to Eminence, the steeper and longer the hills got. The Ozarks were indeed beginning to become mountains. At the bottom of one descent, there was a turnoff leading to a historic mill and spring that I wanted to see. The entrance to the mill came quicker than I expected, so as I passed, I had to make a rather sharp left hand turn. The angle of the turn and the speed in which I made it were no different than what I've done hundreds of times on this trip. Unfortunately, in the middle of the road, was a pile of loose gravel that blended into the pavement. When I hit the rocks, my wheels slipped from under me and I hit the pavement. I didn't just hit the pavement, I slid across the pavement. Fortunately, my face and my head avoided the ground, but I ended up with a bloody knee, bloody hips, a scraped up chest, and two bruised hands. Needless to say, it was pretty painful, but all things considered, it was more jolting than anything else. If that's the only real physical problem I've had so far, then I'm doing pretty good.