So with that caveat in place, I'll continue. Missouri and the Ozarks are shockingly pretty. While the mountains aren't really mountains, just hills really, the constant rolling fields, picturesque farm houses, and thick, lush vegetation are a feast for the eyes. Every bend in the road leads to new scenery. When you think of country houses, front porches, and grazing cattle, Missouri fits every image that your mind can conjure. In the west, the sparcity of towns and the vast ranches mean that the only roads you can ride your bike on are highways. Granted, even major interstates across that part of the country are like backroads, the TransAmerica Trail still follows major roads. In Missouri, the Trail is does follow back roads. There is almost always a quicker way to get from one town to the other, so the roads that you ride on, are just narrow two lane roads that only the locals travel on.

Of course as seems to be the motto on the TransAmerica Trail, you can have your cake, but you can't eat it too. Nothing is perfect and nothing is easy. While the scenery is beautiful and the roads are empty (except for the occasional kamakazie truck) there is one major problem with the winding backroads of Missouri, dogs. Inevitably, whenever you find yourself staring off in the distance, daydreaming and enjoying the views, you're snapped back into reality as a growling, snarling, slober-laden dog comes darting through some bushes and chases you for about 300 yards. Fortunately, the dogs send a warning signal bark, to quickly alert you of trouble and to give you a second to switch gears and start pounding on the pedals, but when you're pulling 50 pounds of gear (I sent home 35 pounds of gear while I was in Denver) you can't immediately turn on the turbo boost and fly to the next farm.

Besides the element of surprise, the dogs also have another advantage, they are amazing masters of the use of angles. Even though you can pedal 30mph, these furry savages, know exactly where you're heading and run there. I have a can of dog repellent, that fortunately I haven't had to use yet, but I keep it on the top of my handlebar bag, ready to grab at a minute's notice.