Hello Hello,

So good to be back writing again! It's tough to find Internet connection. Well, John and I cruised through eastern Colorado and left our girl Gillian(the prison guard) and jammed into Kansas...

Kansas was quite the experience. We rode right into harvest season, and wheat was being harvested all throughout the state! As a result, huge combine trucks blew by us and at times almost knocked us off the road.... The wheat fields were beautiful, as the golden hue gently hissed in the wind and gave off quite a hypnotic feeling. A lot of the cyclists we were meeting on the road had said that the difficulty of Kansas was dependent upon the wind. We got headwind pretty much the whole way and it made Kansas a pretty good work out even with the flat terrain. As i am sure you heard, John and i ran into rain, rain, rain, and more rain, which turned into flooding and detours!! Biking in the rain was awesome! The rain in Kansas was cool and it somehow has a invigorating effect on you while you are riding.

The flooding and rain caused problems in our route, and we would have not made it without the help of strangers! In small towns in Kansas families took us in, gave us showers, and showed us how remarkable the "American Spirit" can be. I can't tell you how incredible it is to be welcomed into peoples homes without any questions and feel immediately like family. Some memorable families include Bryan & Dulcie, who run their own Deli in Toronto Kansas. Byran put us up in his house and shared his life stories on his guitar.

For the 4th of July John and i jammed into Marshfield Missouri and attended our first Rodeo!!! Everyone was dressed in full cowboy/cowgirl outfits and we felt completely out of our element. It was right out of that scene in Borat, and john and i took the whole event in stride. The bull riding was very entertaining and the fireworks after were awesome. In my book, 4th of July at a rodeo in Missouri is too darn good.... Can you beat it?

As i write, John and I are in Houston Missouri making our way into the Ozark Mountains. The rain has finally stopped and the heat and humidity has settled in. We are staying the night at the Houston Motel, a mecca for cyclists cruising through the area.

We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We love and miss all of you. Until next time, please keep thinking about us as much as we are thinking of you!