Day Thirty-Two: Joplin, MO

Today, we departed Springfield, MO for Joplin, MO. After an 0500 wakeup, chaos ensued as it always does, in the mad scramble to clean a place that has hosted us for more than a single evening. We were finally on the road at 0700.

Lenny and I rode together for the first 45 miles, using our GPS units to help the entire group avoid making a wrong turn in the first mile. We rode on rolling terrain into strong head and cross winds, in hot, sunny conditions, By lunch, I had drained my 3L CamelBak, and downed two of my four bottles. I waited for the van to fill up on water, and to switch the front FP60 for my Open Pro rim on account of the wind. Naturally, the rest of the day was cloudy, cool, and not all that windy. so the change was for naught.

I arrived at our host location around 1300. Merrill from the church showed me around. I set up shop and helped unload the van when it arrived. People trickled in over the course of the afternoon, slowly but surely filling the gymnasium.

We had an excellent dinner of black angus hamburgers and homemade apple and cherry pie. The president of the very active Joplin Habitat chapter came by, and mentioned that she'd love to have us build, and also has some open spots for AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers.

I finally figured out what has been causing all of our front derailleur problems. The Specialized Dolce bikes we have, shipped with defective derailleur housings. The housing frays at the end, into the shifting mechanism, making it impossible to operate. Simply replacing the housing permanently fixes this; Allie's bike was repaired in this fashion.

I'm considering shipping out my PowerCranks, just for fun.