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I managed to get up and say goodbye to Reuben in decent time this morning, and headed out with an idea for a stopping point, but no definite plans. I had worried somewhat that today would be hard because I had planned to go about 160 km and with the hills that might have been tough. To my surprise it didn't feel significantly harder than previous days of the same distance. And apart from a few steep climbs the terrain wasn't a lot harder than the rolling hills of Missouri. Of course it helped that it was sunny and beautiful today too.

This morning was one of the toughest of the trip. I woke up in a wet sleeping bag and had to get ready in the cold. And although yesterday's ride was mostly on bike trails, the few steep climbs caused my formerly broken arm to be sore again. I guess I must be getting tougher mentally because I managed to get going without wishing for a nicer day too long. I started by heading to Walmart to get granola bars and breakfast at the subway.

I said goodbye to Pilang as she was getting home from her overnight shift at the hospital. After using more of my subway gift card for breakfast and taking a quick stop at the grocery store for granola bars, I was on my way.

Since most people probably aren't familiar with the cities in the title today, I basically rode from the southwest suburbs of Pittsburgh through downtown to the east suburbs. It wasn't quite like the rest day in Gallup when I didn't even touch my bike, but it was a short day, and hopefully put most of the slowness that comes with leaving a metro area behind me.

I was slow to get out of bed this morning. Dad left for work early, but I slept in until almost 8:00. By the time I had breakfast, packed up, and called a few campgrounds, I didn't hit the road until almost 9:30.

I said goodbye to David and Jesi last night because they would both be leaving for work before I wanted to get up. I slept in until about 7:45 enjoying the air mattress and cool breeze in their upstairs room, but got ready quickly, leaving around 8:30. From there the day was very slow-going.

Today was an excellent way to round out my first month of riding. I woke up and finished off the leftover spaghetti warehouse for breakfast then said goodbye to Jason around 8:30.

There was no rain on the forecast today which made me excited to get out and ride. Today's route consisted almost entirely of bike trails along which I was able to cruise despite a slight head wind.

Today was planned to be a short day, and my host in Dayton was expecting to get home around 8:00 pm so I was able to sleep in until 9:30 before waking up and having continental breakfast at the hotel.

It was another rainy morning, but after staying up late with my new friends in Indianapolis, I didn't mind an excuse to sleep in an extra half hour. When I finally got up just before 8:00 the radar looked grim. I figured I would have to ride in the rain all day, so I prepared myself mentally as I prepared the bike. I rode through downtown Indy enjoying the sculptures and monuments, but the rain prevented me from taking too many pictures.

When my alarm went off at 7:00 I heard rain outside the window. If I had to wait it out somewhere bed seemed like a good place. I finally got up just before eight and Roger made me eggs and sausage for breakfast. The radar looked rainy all day and I decided I would just have to ride through it. So I put the rain covers on my packs, thanked Roger for hosting me, and headed out.