When Alex arrived on Monday night, he had flown in from San Francisco to St. Louis, then rented a car and drove to Carbondale. It was great to finally have him join me. Before leaving on my trip, I kept my fingers crossed that he would meet up with me at some point along the way, but it seemed highly unlikely. Then, around the middle of July, I talked to him on the phone and he gave me the news that he was just laid off from work. While I tried to express the necessary condolensces, my efforts were thinly veiled with the excitement that now he could join me on my trip. We had both worked for the same company and experienced the extreme highs, lows, excitement and ultimate frustration that came from working at a one-time wallstreet darling, Internet company. Whenever you lose your job, it's a scarry and uncertain future, but with the right attitude and proper perspective, it can be a fantastic opportunity to take a leap of faith. Alex needed some time to gain that perspective, but with the ultra-supportive encouragement from his wife Ashley, Alex decided to ride with me for the last leg of my trip. Now he was in Carbondale.

Before Alex arrived, I endured approximately 3 hours of rain. While it was hot, it was also dry. Many states in the west are experiencing the worst draught in fifty years, which is bad for crops, but good for biking. But of course once Alex arrived, so did the rain. We had planned on starting out on Tuesday morning, but when we woke up, it was pouring. The weather channel said it would rain all day, which it did, 3 1/2 inches of rain, plus thunder and lightening. We decided that it might be more fun to sit around and play pool and eat pizza instead of riding. So we hung out at one of the local college bars and wasted the day away.