The weather map this morning showed a big area of thunderstorms NW of us, heading our way. We hustled to get on the road, in the hope that we could get our miles in before it caught us. There was no question of outrunning the storm; as I like to say, we couldn't outrun a fire hydrant.
Today's 46-mile ride was more of the Ozark terrain: winding road over challenging short hills, through woods and past small cornfields and pastures.
Our problems with shifting gears are still with us, but my backhand shifting technique has improved enough that I can perform it without weaving, so we have made an uneasy temporary truce with the bike. Sandy thinks I should put in a defensive explanation, lest anyone think the bike falling apart is a result of abuse, lack of preparation, or deferred maintenance. Before starting on our trip I replaced the tires, brake pads, both chains, all the chainrings, and the rear cassette. Then I took the bike in to ABC Bicycles for a complete overhaul. They took the bike completely apart, inspected, cleaned, reassembled and adjusted everything. During the trip I have done a pre-ride inspection every day, lubed the chains frequently, and adjusted the brakes and derailleurs as needed. The fact remains, long-distance touring is hard on a bike, especially a tandem.
The captain and stoker, on the other hand, are holding up well. We are happy with the way we are riding these days, fighting up hills which I am sure we couldn't have a few weeks ago. A few miles before our destination today, though, we hit a hill which required a break to catch our breath. It was a 13% grade, followed by a few yards not as steep, then a 14%'er, another false flat, and finally a 15% grade. We took a break before that final one, which was the steepest road we have ridden in the U.S.
Over the last few days, several dogs have chased us. I yell at them and Sandy says soothingly "Good doggie, go home." That confuses them and we have had no trouble. Today one young dog chased us and just wouldn't quit. We were climbing a hill, so he had no problem keeping up or happily running circles around us. In fact at one point he took a break to go lift his leg on a fence post, and didn't lose more than a step or two. He must have stayed with us for at least five or ten minutes. He never barked. We were worried he would be hit by one of the passing cars and trucks, several of which slowed way down for him. Finally we crested the hill and sped away from him. About an hour later, as we rode into the town of Eminence, there were a couple of men standing by a truck on the roadside. One saw us and shouted, "Did you finally get rid of the dog?"
We not only beat the rain to town, we had time for a good lunch before retreating to our room for a shower and nap.
Eminence is a very attractive town with an economic base: it is a popular center for canoeing, rafting, and tubing on the beautiful rivers in the area. In fact, since we are getting into a summer weekend, we had a little trouble finding a motel room here. That's a change: the only other motel guests in most of the towns we have visited are other cyclists, utility contractors, and oilfield workers. Eminence has several restaurants and a saloon. What more could we ask?
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