Day 23 - 1,430 Miles To Date - Montgomery City, MO

Home stays are AWESOME. Okay but first, the ride. It was AWESOME as well, for the most part. I did start my day with my first flat of the trip - such a stupid mistake too, I just pushed too hard on the valve when I pumped it up a few minutes before. We rode almost entirely on the Katy Trail that runs through Missouri. It was about twenty miles to the trail, then we were on it for another 60 and it was completely flat which was nice. We also got the shade we desperately needed after all the dehydration of the past few days. The miles went by pretty fast in the morning as we super grouped (a 4k term for a few of the groups riding together.) It was fun riding with everyone and chatting. The host van hooked us up with food. BBQ sandwiches, Indian food, wraps, tons of fruit, and trail mix for lunch. After lunch we had to play some 'would you rather' and other games to pass some time, but it was a pretty nice ride overall. It was set to be a century, but of course because I told everyone I had no bike problems this far, I did in fact finally break a spoke too add to the flat this morning. I think I hit a stick on the trail that got stuck in them and the spoke popped right out, my wheel was also very untrue - I will be learning how to fix all of those things in the near future (thanks Adam.) But, it was not a huge deal as my legs were tired from the 5k, I had already knocked out 80 miles which I was content with, and most of the team had to be shuttled anyway due to a dangerous road. When we finally arrived to the church (I stress the word finally because shuttling takes forever,) we were split up into our groups for home stays. Basically families that are willing to host us just contact the church and we are dispersed to each house. When we arrived we were offered showers with towels laid out. Dinner was a nice home cooked grilled chicken, bacon brown sugar green beans, potatoes, and strawberry or lemon pie (Linnea and I tried both of course.) We had a nice conversation with our hosts over dinner and it felt just like being at home, so comfortable. We also realized how much we appreciate chairs and just having a tv show on. Bed and laundry are always a plus as well, and we are so appreciative of this stay and our generous hosts! For breakfast in the morning, blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, and...COFFEE. As you can tell I'm already excited. I think we have about 85 miles on deck tomorrow with some hills as we head into Booneville.