I know it's really hot out when the sun screen slides off of my face and into my eyes. It was 98 degrees out when I checked into the motel. My bike computer showed 104 degrees in the sun. It sounds like the next two days are going to be triple digit days, and the forecast calls for it to cool off into the mid-90s on Monday. I'm not sure I'd call that cool, but even a few degrees cooler would be good. The southwest winds continue to blow. At least the winds are drying the sweat so I'm not soaking wet all day!
Today was a partial off-route day. When I looked at the directions last night, I saw a 4-mile section on gravel. There was an easy off-route option of riding US 75 north, then US 54 west. The Adventure Cycling route ended the day on US 54, so I just got on it a little earlier. When I got to the supposed gravel section it was paved, but I took my alternate anyway. It turned out to be very nice. I was treated by 10 miles of new pavement on US 75.
I stopped at the grocery store in Chanute this morning to pick up some more bananas. When I came out, an older man stopped me, welcomed me to Kansas, and presented me with an official highway map. I had actually picked up a map yesterday in the motel. This is the first state I've been in where the state highway map is readily available. Everywhere else it seems that you have to get to an official visitors welcome center to pick up a map. Here, I've seen them in motels, in convenience stores in the middle of nowhere, and in the hands of people who live here.
I rode through my third Buffalo of this trip - Buffalo NY, Buffalo, MO, and Buffalo, KS.
The Casey's convenience store in Yates Center was my lunch spot today - pizza, snacks, and conversation. One of the people I talked to told me that he saw a cyclist handing off of a truck mirror getting pulled along the road. If he wasn't kidding (I couldn't tell), that's a pretty stupid thing to do! The same guy told me about the road ahead. He told me it was flat to the town of Neal, and that there were big hills between Neal and Eureka. There was another person who told me the same thing, and she actually said there were more big hills beyond Eureka. I think they were both serious, but I should have considered the source. I rode most of the afternoon wondering when the hills were going to start. What hills? There were a couple of short 5 to 7% grade hills this morning, but the afternoon "big hills" were a couple of long 2% grades. I wouldn't consider those big hills!
I stopped to take a picture this afternoon. While I was standing at the side of the road, a guy in a pickup saw me, and turned around and came back to make sure that I was OK. People have been great.
My ice cream stop this afternoon was at Lizard Lips Grocery and Deli at the intersection of US 54 and KS 105. I just love the name! The woman who was running the store is from Seattle. She and her husband moved here to be close to her grandchildren. She asked me to sign their cyclist guest log. They've had quite a few cyclist stop there - the last 2 days ago.
New non-wildlife for today - grasshoppers. One of them came along for a ride on my handlebars. I thought that the red-winged blackbirds and the killdeer had abandoned me, but they both showed up again today. I also saw some cardinals and some hawks, and some other birds that I don't recognize.
To all the people who told me that Kansas is flat and boring - what state were you talking about? The eastern part of the state has been rolling, and not boring. Maybe the stereotype of Kansas comes from the western side of the state. I guess I'll find out soon. In the meantime I've been getting a real kick out of watching the cattle. They seem to watch me ride by, and they turn their heads to look when I talk to them!
