Day 39

63 Miles
I got up by 8. A man who was camping next to me made some comment about me being sleeping beauty because all the other cyclists that had stayed there were up and off by sun up. I didn't much care. I like to sleep in. It's too cold and dark in the morning to be riding so early. And to be honest, it was probably just because I was alone and didn't have anyone else to help push me along or make a plan with. I was becoming accustomed to my little routines. Even though I was up early, I left late. I ate a big breakfast.
Hills were plentiful. Mostly they were easy to tackle, although a few really made me push myself. They provided beautiful views. It was dreary but dry. I wasn't going to complain. Even the temperature held at a comfortable place. The winds varied. I enjoyed the flora and fauna. Wild sunflowers dotted the roads. And birds of prey swooped above me. On one of my roadside food breaks, I looked behind me to see a badger. I had never seen one before. He looked at me and I looked back at him. We sat looking at each other for a moment until I went back to eating and he scurried away.
I made several stops throughout the day. I wanted to work harder at breaking up my day. I ate every two or so hours. I succeeded for the most part. This part of my route didn't have many towns. I was glad I had stocked up on food. One stop wasn't particularly pleasant. I stopped in a metropolis of ants. I opted not to find somewhere else to stop because I really NEEDED to eat. I walked in circles trying to avoid the ants crawling on me. They left my bike alone.
 I reached Rugby about five o'clock. I was going to find my camping spot but was lured in by Pizza Hut again. (Seriously, the gift card was an awesome gift, Ron!).
I was excited about Rugby. Rugby is the geographical center of North America. I was standing in the middle of continent. I was definitely more than half way now. I had started some 400 or 500 miles west of the coast. I finally felt like I was making some progress. There some spark in the air that made it feel strangely magical. The center of a continent. Wow. I was moved inside. Maybe I would take a day off here. There were random touristy things to do.
After eating, it of course started raining. I waited out the rain by making some phone calls. I wanted to share my smile. The rain let up and I started looking for the motel/camping I had booked. I couldn't find it. Google maps was sending me the wrong direction. I finally asked someone where it was. They pointed me in the right direction. One good thing about getting lost, I pulled off into a field for a moment. I caught the glimpse of rainbow. It was small on the horizon. It was barely noticeable. It felt like it was there just for me. I stood staring in awe, in the center of a continent, at a beautiful rainbow. Perfect.
The motel had a small camping area for tents and a parking lot for RVs. $10 bought me a spot, a shower and access to a washer and dryer. The shower was cold which sucked. I did wash some clothes and charged my phone fully.
A Canadian with a room offered to let me shower in his room. He was a cyclist too. He said he had spent lots of dirty nights in a tent. I was clean enough so I declined. It was nice of him to offer. It was windy when I went to bed, but the rain had stopped. The motel was packed and I heard some bikers setting up camp quite late in the night, but I slept mostly just fine.