Robert J. Faulkner

And now I’ve found another one in the front tire. Tomorrow should be free of flat tires.

I found the culprit of one of my flat tires! A tiny piece of…something…protruding from the inside of my rear tire and puncturing my rear tube. I feel much more confident getting back on the road tomorrow.

So, my day started out with a flat tire. Sucks. Then, an hour and 20 minutes down the road, another flat tire. Really sucks. But the icing on the cake was my 3rd flat of the day. That’s right. Not one, not two, but THREE flat tires in one day. I mean really, can my luck possibly be this bad?

You may have also noticed that I took a BIG break in the middle of the day. I decided it was just not smart to keep riding in the heat and humidity, so I took a long break at a gas station.

Joe and Sandy from the station were so nice to me. When I got there, they literally got the hose out and sprayed me to help me cool down. They let me hang out for a few hours in the afternoon and when I got ready to go and I discovered my third flat, Joe drove me the last 12 miles. Such great people. So thank you Joe and Sandy. If anyone is ever passing through Neville, MO on US 67, stop at the Sinclair gas station and see them. They’re good people.

Aside from that, I’m out of Missouri and into Arkansas. I’ll be staying here for two nights since I was completely unable to meet my nutritional needs today. I don’t want to get on the road and bonk out because I was too macho to take the day off.

I do have to say that I’m getting a little aggravated by all the days off. I think its the smart thing to do in each of the situations, but I also want to get down the road. I’m going to keep playing it smart, I just have to focus on making sure I’m preparing myself for the next day’s ride each night.

So, here I am at the Relax Inn in Corning,AR. Tomorrow is going to be a day of bike maintenance and fueling, then I’m back on the road Friday. Right? Friday? Today’s Wednesday right? Well, the day after tomorrow in any case.

As always, thanks for reading.

Rob.

I’m already behind schedule today because I discovered my bike has a flat tire! Oh well, a quick change in the hotel room and away I go.

Had a good day on the road this morning. The road was nice and flat and I even checked into my destination hotel before noon! I promptly went to get food, came back and relaxed.

This is going to be a short post simply because it’s late and I need to get to bed. I will see what I can do about lengthening some of these and giving you some more details other than, “it was a good day on the road.”

But off to bed for me! As always, thanks for reading.

Rob

So here’s the story. For as good as I am with technology electronic devices, even I have.the occasional blonde moment. So, long story short, I thought my phone was broken, but as it turns out the battery was just dead.

But, the end result is the I was up really late last night and so, I did not ride today.

I should not call the day a complete waste. I did identify a shortcoming in my post-ride eating plan (with the help of my aunt Anne). I hope I have a better understanding of how to do that better and avoid any more tired days on the road. So, more simple carbs, less protein and more calories. That’s the new plan, whaddaya think?

As always, thanks for reading.

Rob

So, today didn’t exactly go as planned. I was supposed to ride 48 miles to Poplar Bluff, MO. That did not happen. I started riding this morning and for some reason, I just had no energy. My legs wouldn’t push me up the most meager hills, and, even though my speed was good on flat ground, I just felt like crud.

So, at lunch I decided to listen to my body and call it a day. I rode 20 miles. I can live with that. So tonight is a night for rest and rehydration (even though that’s exactly what I did last night) and I’ll give it another shot tomorrow.

As always, thanks for reading.

Rob

Had an amazing day riding today. I got on the road at 9:30 a.m. and was checked into my hotel by 1:30 p.m. On top of that, it was a 38 mile ride, which is longer than I’ve been riding lately.

I felt good on the bike today. The first 4 miles were hilly but the rest of the ride was flat, so I was able to make good time.

So I’ll be on the road early again tomorrow. I like getting through the ride before it gets too hot out. Look for map updates early! Thanks for reading.

Rob

There are things I like about Illinois and things I dont like. In relation to cycling, one of the things I like is the lack of significant terrain features. Flat is good for a cyclist. Missouri, on the other hand, is not so flat.

No, Missouri has hills. Lots and lots of hills. I’m reminded of this fact approximately every five minutes during ride. So car I’ve had to walk my bike up three of the longest hills.

But, I made it to my destination. I’ll be taking tomorrow off to do some sightseeing then I’ll be back on the road on Saturday. As always, thanks for reading.

Rob

Got a good start this morning and made it to the Mississippi River by lunch. 20 miles down with another 15 or so to go. It will be interesting to see what the terrain looks like on the other side of the river. With any luck, it won’t get bad too fast.