Day 16 Carthage, MO to Springfield, MO

Day 16 Carthage, MO to Springfield, MO 62.4 miles 2240ft climbing #NM2NY4LFSA

This morning began with breakfast at Iggy's Diner and a lovely expression of support from both the staff and other diners. The couple at the booth next to us bought our breakfast and the staff gave us an insulated mug for Lauren to remember them by. It turns out our booth neighbor was a city councillor. He and his wife have very proudly supported bike lanes in Carthage. Thank you for your support of cycling in general, and of our effort. Heat, heat, heat. We are riding through extreme heat warnings everywhere we go. 220 miles in the last three days and gallons of sweat. We are living water recirculators. The conditions have caused us to pause and re-evaluate our route. I don't look forward to trying to sleep in a tent without showers and nightime lows in the 80's. Not to mention long stretches without cold liquids. We have completed the Route 66 portion of our ride and are considering a more direct route East rather than the Ozarks and Appalachians with a lot of camping and a little civilization. Even in MO, a region that is home to a disproportionate number of climate deniers, the weatherman came on last night to show this as the hottest trend in recorded history for the region. Eventually it becomes impossible to deny facts. Springfield reminds us of how much college towns have going for them with excellent food and coffee. It's a warm walk, but at least we can duck in for A/C. Not so on the bikes. As we pulled into town, the skies let loose with a deluge. I remember rain like that in Ohio summers. We ducked under a McDonalds awning for cover and donned rain flies on our panniers. No hail thankfully, which we have seen forecast from time to time. As I texted a friend, I'd rather they forecast ping pong ball sized than golf ball. It sounds more survivable. More about route changes to come.