August 6- Farmington to Ozora, Mo.

Since our bike would not be ready for us at the bike shop until at least late morning, we wanted to sleep as late as possible. Of course, that meant we were up shortly after six.
Once again a large area of thunderstorms had moved across southern Missouri during the night. About 50 miles to our west, in fact, heavy rain caused so much flooding that at least one life was lost. By the time we got up, the rain was nearly past us.

FedEx delivered our new shifter to the shop bright and early, so the bike was ready by noon. We really appreciated their putting all other projects aside to get our bike fixed, and their bill was very reasonable. It took several adjustments and test rides before the new equipment was all dialed in, but finally we grabbed some lunch and got on the road at 1:30. By then the roads were dry and the sun was breaking through.

The road worked generally to a lower elevation as we rode east from Farmington. There were a few sharp hills in the 10-12% range, but not as many as in the previous several days. We continue to ride through hardwood forests and small farms. There is not much traffic on most of the narrow roads, but the curves, hills, and lack of a shoulder mean that some cars and trucks have trouble seeing their way clear to pass us. We have been impressed with how patient they are; we in turn wave them around as soon as we can see ahead.

With the late start we knew our mileage would be limited, and our stop was at Ozora, about 20 miles west of the Mississippi River. We had time to go a bit farther, to St. Mary, but we could not get in contact with the one lodging there, a B&B, and we couldn't risk begging someone to let us pitch our tent in their yard. In the rain. So we diverted a couple of miles to Ozora and a cheap motel by the Interstate.

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, and that is definitely true for a bike which does not shift gears as it should. It is a great pleasure to have it working right once again, and good to be back on the road after our third day off of the trip.