Oklahoma

Thursday 2nd July - we have a long day in the saddle, 275 miles of long long straight roads on what must be one of the flatest places on earth .

However to break to monotony, we also have a few detours due to flooding . We have been very fortunate with the weather, only a couple of weeks ago there were heavy rains that have left rivers and lakes at bursting point.

This minor inconvenience is however far better than being caught on these roads when it's raining, it would simy be a big and a tourture to ride. I'll take the hot weather and dust over mud and rain.

The conversations with the locals is always a fascinating insight to the mid west mind set, which being from a nation that has no guns, is alarming. Yesterday we had a conversation with three teenage girls in a burger joint , who all own multiple guns. When we said we that we didn't own any, and we aren't allowed, their response was "how do you hunt" and "how do you defend yourself"!

The obsession of gun ownership and their right to bear is to my mind is freighting and mind boggerling . Today we meet a guy in a gas station who was happy to admit to owner 18 guns. Mainly for hunting , but the rest are for personal defence, what ever that means!   

I'll comeback to a subject that is need of discussion later and that is the American fixation with their short history and their insecurity of belonging. For now I am too tiered to continue, it's been a long day.