Day 41: Summersville to Hartville

Last night, I camped out at the city park behind a motel. There was a strange sound coming from the pond all night long. It sounded like a moaning sea monster. Or maybe it was a water pipe.

After I got up at 4:45 AM, I packed everything while it was still dark. I rode to the convenience store next to the motel and had a SEC (sausage, egg, and cheese) croissant, along with a cup of coffee. Once there was enough sunlight I started riding.

Just like yesterday morning, there was a thick fog covering the landscape. After awhile, I thought I had got out of the fog, but then the fog appeared again. The road to Houston didn't have wide shoulders. Two large semi trucks came very close to me. At one time, I was pushed to the rumble strips.

Foggy road without any shoulders to ride on

When I arrived in Houston I bought a donut at a gas station convenience store. As I was eating it outside I tried to find a restaurant on Yelp for a proper breakfast. A man named Russell came out of his car and told me about a few diners that were open. I ended up going to Hardee's since it's right across the street. I had a breakfast burrito with hash browns and some root beer. After this nice break I moved on.

Stone quarry outside of Houston

My second breakfast

The sky started to turn blue and the clouds appeared as large cotton balls. I really enjoyed the country side scenery. Kathie, the librarian in Summersville, had told me that she's Scottish-Irish. Her ancestors came to this part of the country because it reminded them of their homeland. I've never been to Scotland or Ireland, but I can imagine how beautiful these countries must be.

Just beautiful!

At a convenience store in Bendavis, I got an ice cream cone and a can of coke. I called the Tailwind Cyclists bike shop in Pittsburg, Missouri, to order a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. Since I had gotten a flat going to Farmington, I thought maybe it's time to get some new tires. They should be there by the time I arrive in three days or so.

I came across another cyclist going east. We actually stopped and talked, unlike a cyclist that I briefly greeted yesterday. Don came from California and is heading to North Carolina. He's doing 80 to 85 miles a day. I can't believe how fast some of these cyclists are going. I guess I could have gone 80 miles today, but I decided to only ride a little over 60 miles to Hartville.

Don, going to North Carolina

Once I arrived in Hartville around 1 PM I stopped by the Town and Country grocery store to fill my water bottle. A lady at the deli recommended LJD's Family Cafe for lunch. There, I had a small chef's salad that was more like a large salad. The waitress told me I can camp out at the city park tonight. I'm at the library now, still waiting on a Warmshowers host to respond to me. It'll be nice to take a shower. If that falls through I'm not sure if I want to ride anymore today anyway. The next decent sized town is Marshfield and it's 26 miles away. Maybe I'll call it a day here and set up camp at the park, after I'm done at the library.

Downtown Hartville