You know what the Midwest is?

Windy. And stormy. Last night I almost got owned by my first Midwest thunderstorm squall. It was an all-out battle just to keep the tent from flying away. The picture at right is the line after it raced by overhead.

The weather has been rather extreme since crossing the Mississippi. For several days in a row, the winds were punishing at 20-25mph from the south with gusts easily in the 30s. Six times on Sunday I was blown clear off the road. On Saturday, it was sunny and 94. I consumed over 4 gallons of liquid. Friday, I was dealing with those winds until a rainshower hit.

I ended up spending nearly two full days in St. Louis visiting several museums, venturing to the top of the Arch, taking in a play of Shakespeare in the Park, and hanging out with Scott and Rachel, a couple who just jumped on their bikes and went all over the western half of the U.S. a couple years ago. They were incredibly kind... as most people I've met so far. Several times now people will see me two days in row and blurt out something like "I just saw you across the river yesterday!" as I pass by on the old country roads. In fact, Saturday, I ran into a guy on the Katy Trail just north of Jefferson City, MO and he started asking about where I came from. He mentioned he was from Tennessee, and I told him I passed through there about a week ago. He asked what route I took and sure enough, I rumbled through his hometown- he remembered seeing me and my funky bucket set-up!

The friendliness of people along the way has been one constant. Rolling up on a bicycle from a far away land surely grants me additional attention and maybe even a more benevolent reception, but I hope people are always this way and it doesn't take some bizarre act to bring this out. It has also been really cool to catch a glimpse into the lives of some of the people I've met along the way. I stayed with a family in Enterprise, AL, and they took me out to dinner with a group of their friends for a special presentation that evening. One of the elderly ladies in the community, a retired nurse, had a daughter in her early 50s who was suffering from a brain tumor. The daughter recently had surgery but her mother was unable to visit her in upstate AL because her car was in bad shape. All these people had gathered to share their memories of when this retired nurse had served them in remarkable ways... this alone was a moving sight... but then they went on to present the lady with a barely used vehicle! Someone found a great deal on a "grandma" car- the kind that has 20,000 miles after 10 years of sitting in the garage- and together everyone pitched in to buy it for her- tax, tag and title! I was honored to witness such an exchange... it really was an incredible sight and moved me to give an adlib speech about this being one of the joys of going on a trip like this... being a roving witness of acts of love like this. This story and others like it keep me eager to press on.

One final note on a logistical question that everyone seems to ask: so far, zero flat tires.

Only a few more days left in Missouri!