Hi everybody! I'm in Hannibal, MO this afternoon. We're cruising at about 100 miles a day in the flats. We left Longmont, CO 8 days ago and we're already to the Mighty Mississippi. There are no pictures to update because the Hannibal Public Library is retarded. They've locked all of their USB ports and they also photocopied my license just to use a computer.

I had my first real equipment failure of the trip. We were 15 miles out of St. Joseph, MO when my rear hub siezed up. I got incredibly lucky because we stayed the previous with the nicest guy that we've met so far. Shawn runs a the only real bike shop in St. Joseph which is the only real bike shop in about a 200 mile radius from the town. We stopped in to have some work done on Saturday and he offered to let us camp in his backyard. It was great. We helped him move a little furniture and he treated us to an amazing cookout. I think I had two burgers, two brats, a hotdog and a rootbeer float.

The next morning we were able to track down his cell phone number and he just happened to be in town. We told him what was up and he said he'd drive out to try to repack the hub. It turned out the insides of the hub were totally trashed so I was screwed. He drove me back to the shop to check out my options. I ended up getting a pair of Mavic Ksyrium Elites as they were the only ones he had that looked like they could hold the wieght of me and all my gear. The wheels, a new tire, tax and gas money set me back $670. It was a dagger but Shawn was really appreciative of the business and my options were limited. After the fix, Shawn drove me back out to meet Andy and Jake. I only missed out on 20 miles so it wasn't too bad.

Alright...til next time...