When we woke at 3:30 AM, we had both slept so miserably that we didn’t press snooze, we just got up and started getting ready to leave. We decided not to eat breakfast (which would end up kind of haunting us later). We were on the road at 4:30 after we packed and I adjusted the height of my saddle. I think because my seatpost is slipping down slowly into my frame it changed my bike fit, and therefore put more pressure on my saddle, so hopefully readjusting it will help my saddle sores heal. Fingers crossed. We had a beautiful ride initially in the dark with all of our blinky lights and dynamo lights on for visibility, and then slowly reducing our amount of lighting as it became dawn and then the sun rose. It was hillier than we had anticipated, and as it turned out the wind never completely died down during the night so we were starting the day with a 10 mile an hour wind, which bodes poorly for wind conditions later in the day. If it’s windy in the morning you know it’s gonna be really windy in the afternoon. So while it was really quite pretty riding through the rolling, winding hills, because of the lack of sleep and the lack of nutrition in our bodies, we were struggling on the hills. And as the sun rose higher and the wind got stronger and the hills got a little bigger, we were not doing well. We stopped in the shade at a winery slash tiger sanctuary (yes, you read that right), which is closed because today is Memorial Day, with the idea of preparing some breakfast and sitting at a picnic table to rest and enjoy it in a leisurely manner. But as it turned out It was more of a bug sanctuary…there were so many bugs swarming around that we couldn’t enjoy our meal and we ended up just inhaling our refried beans and Cheetos wraps (yes, you read that right) and getting back on the road ASAP. (Yesterday, the convenient store in Saint Mary did not have cheese for us to buy to put on our in breakfast burritos, so we instead used the Cheetos that had come with our dinner sandwiches. Inventive, huh? Hahaha!) Putting some food in our stomachs helped but with the lack of sleep combined with hills, wind, and now more and more heat, the rest of the ride was a struggle. We were intending to try to do something like an 80-mile day today because of waking up so early to ride, but we quickly realized that was a pipe dream and it was just gonna be a big enough challenge to make it 35 miles to the well-renowned Al’s Place, a Trans Am cyclist hostel in Farmington. There was a lot of evidence of tornado damage out here on this route today, with uprooted trees, metal roofs lodged up in the tree branches, and homes crumbled and reduced to rubble. In fact, one church pavilion under which I had taken a nap on my 2010 Trans Am tour was sitting there in a pile of tornado reduced to rubble. It was weird looking at a place where I had one slept peacefully and seeing it just as a pile of bricks, broken wood, and twisted metal. We finally limped into Farmington at 1030 and found the hostel. We had called last night and gotten the door code from the police department (who manages the hostel entry since it is in the old, historical jail building), but not because we intended to stay here, rather because I just wanted to show Vanesa the inside of the building because I’ve been here before and it’s a really cool place, and because we thought we want a midmorning rest and to do some laundry. When we arrived, however, we immediately decided we were gonna stay the rest of the day because we each had nothing left energy-wise for more bike riding. When we walked in we found our friend Joel from Virginia already here and kicking back and lounging on the couch in this air-conditioned sanctuary. He arrived yesterday, beating us here because of the extra time we spent in Carbondale/Murphysboro, but was taking a rest day. We had a nice time catching up with him, and then we did some laundry, took showers, and walked across the street and got a really nice meal. We got coffees, a smoothie, a wrap with egg/turkey/avocado/pesto/cheese, and a big salad with pecan/feta/blueberries. We eat a lot of crappy snacks and makeshift meals, but we also know how to treat ourselves regularly. We took a big fat nap later in the afternoon and then something like six other Trans Am cyclists arrived so Al’s Place turned into a really happening spot in the evening. Somehow, though, Vanesa and I ended up in a room alone even though the room has six bunkbeds in it, and the other two rooms are packed with people so we still have a lot of privacy. Later, Joel from Virginia, Steve from Oregon, and Vanesa and I ordered and shared couple of Domino’s pizzas and a 2-liter of Coke delivered because we didn’t wanna walk the one mile each way to any grocery stores or crappy fast food restaurants in the afternoon heat. And as I lay here and finish yesterday’s and today’s ride summaries, Vanesa is the one out there socializing with the group while I’m in here in the bedroom alone, typing. What a role reversal! The extrovert is alone in the bedroom and the introvert is out entertaining the room. I love how long this trip we’re just doing whatever we want to do in the moment. Bike touring really is simple. You’re simply looking for food, shelter, safety, and fun…not necessarily in that order. You don’t always end up in the nicest places, don’t always end up eating the best food, most certainly don’t have all the creature comforts of home, and are out here working hard all day every day, but it’s a sense of real freedom. It’s hard as hell, and then it’s fun as hell. You really work for this freedom. You feel strong and fit, and you feel sore and beat down. You feel dirty and gross, and you feel energetic and proud. It’s one step above being homeless but it’s a rich life. And we’re loving it!