Wasn't this supposed to be a traveling day?

...closer to a real rest day in Pueblo, CO

Wait, wasn't I supposed to be back on the road today? That was the plan, but when I woke up this morning I was still really tired. I took a shower to try to wake up, ate breakfast, and was ready to head out the door. Then I thought about it and decided it would be smart to stay put. Feeling like I did, I don't think it would have been a great riding day. I extended my stay for another night, put a do not disturb sign on my door, and went back to bed. To my surprise, I slept until 11 AM. Then I pondered what I think would have been a pretty stupid move. Checkout time is noon, so I considered changing my mind and heading out at 11. I thought better of it though.

I did spend some time on the (unloaded) bike today. I looked up AAA and found that they have an office up on US 50. I headed up there to pick up maps of the remaining states on my trip - Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon. I like to have the option to take alternate routes occasionally, and my state map supply ran out after I left Kansas. Since AAA doubles up states on their maps, those 5 states are covered on only 3 maps. I've been sending maps home as I finish with them, so my map stash is still smaller than it was when I started out. I also found a drugstore so I could pick up an ice bag for my knees. That should work a little better than the plastic bags I've been using since it's heavier material. Many thanks to Gladys Sims (Coasting 2002 on crazyguyonabike) for the suggestion.

In the process of riding to the outskirts of town to get to the AAA office I found the typical "motel strip". I'm so glad I'm staying in town and not out on US 50. It's amazing how look-alike cities are in these areas. If it wasn't for the different grocery store chains you wouldn't be able to tell what part of the country you are visiting.

It's a beautiful day, but hot again. It's 102 degrees, makes me very glad I didn't change my mind and start riding at noon. It would have been a rough day.

When I stopped at the Safeway this afternoon to pick up some food I had the same cashier as yesterday. He looked at me and said "I thought you'd be halfway up the pass by now". No, I needed another rest day, and one that was closer to a real rest day. I rode much further today, but overall I had quite a bit of sleeping and down time. I think it helped, I hope it helped...

Tomorrow I really will leave Pueblo and start heading into the mountains.

A busy rest(?) day

Pueblo, CO

Yes Suze, you're right - I had another non-rest day today. I only rode my bike to the grocery store, but I was busy from 9 to 3. Hmm... I may take another day off very soon to really rest, but I am planning to move on tomorrow. As Terry (from the bike shop) pointed out, there are some small mountain villages coming up that are nicer places to just hang a little further up the road.

So what did I do today? I took the purple Air Glide to the Great Divide bike shop for a tuneup, found a post office and shipped my cooking gear to my parents, got my hair cut, wandered through the historic district of Pueblo, stopped for lunch, picked up the bike, rode to the grocery store to pick up some supplies, and came back to the hotel to have a snack and to rearrange and repack everything. (How's that for a run-on sentence?) That may not sound like much, but it took me all day!

The bike rides like a dream now, with much smoother shifting than before. It was definitely time for a tuneup, and a new chain, new derailleur cables and housings, and new tires help too. The guys at the Great Divide were great. They did a great job on the bike, and they gave me an alternate route out of Pueblo that sounds better than the Adventure Cycling route. Terry recommended riding to Canon City on US 50 instead of route 96. He said he rides both of them and finds US 50 both more direct and more pleasant. I'm definitely going to follow his recommendation.

I kept my tent and sleeping bag, but I decided I'd carried the cooking gear far enough given the number of times I've used it (or should I say I haven't used it?). That went home, and I looked at everything else I'm carrying and decided that everything else had to stay. I haven't used my warm clothing layers, but I'm not about to head into the mountains without them!

Hair cut... I couldn't stand my hair any more. It had been 7 weeks since my last hair cut, and I usually get it cut every 4 weeks during the summer. Sorry Alan, I had to do it! It's not an Alan-quality haircut, but it's short and that makes me happy. I feel like a new woman.

I wandered into an art gallery in the historic district that had some absolutely beautiful paintings, all by local artists. The artist who impressed me the most worked in watercolors. His paintings were fabulous and contained wonderful bright colors. It would have been pretty easy for me to buy one of his paintings, but now is not the right time. Let's see, do you think carrying a framed watercolor in my trailer is a good idea?

I found Pueblo to be interesting. I suspect that the contrast between the other riders I met who liked the town vs. those who didn't like it had to do with whether they found the historic district or not. The Riverwalk and the historic district were both interesting, and I liked the sculptures scattered through downtown. I'm glad I stayed in town instead of heading to the "motel strip" on the outskirts of town.

Time to go soak in the whirlpool for a bit before I head out to find some dinner. I know ice is better for my knees, but the whirlpool feels so good. I'll ice my knees later...

The last flat day

Ordway to Pueblo, CO

Wow - I was actually on the road at 7:20 this morning. That's a first for me on this trip. Who knows, it could be a last too! I pulled into Pueblo at 1 PM, at least partially due to my early start. It was another no services day. There was supposed to be a store and a good cafe in Olney Springs, but they were both closed. It's Monday, and some of these tiny towns seem to be closed up on Mondays. I had extra Gatorade and food with me as usual, so no problem on the fuel front. And I've found that the railroad tracks running parallel to the road provide a good hiding place for bathroom breaks. I just climb over the tracks to the ditch on the other side, not bad.

Yesterday the terrain turned back into flat farmlands. Today started that way, then the land got brown and rolling with scrub vegetation again. I could see the mountains in the distance almost all day. I was about 45 miles from Pueblo when I noticed a dark blue line across the horizon. I know the Rocky Mountains are very big, but I still find it amazing that they can be seen from so far away. It's another mind picture only though. I didn't take any pictures of the mountains in the distance because they just disappeared into the haze on the horizon whenever I looked through the camera. I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to take pictures of the mountains when I hit the road again.

I stopped at the city park in Boone to stretch. A guy who as about to go into the grocery / hardware store (there wasn't much in there, that's why I didn't consider that it was a service stop) stopped to talk. When he heard I was headed to Pueblo he said "be careful where you stay there - it's not safe". Here we go again! Why do people insist on painting cities (big cities, or not their cities) as bad? Pueblo is the largest city I've passed through in a long time, but in the overall scheme of things it's not that big. The Adventure Cycling map has the population at 98,000, which is a far cry from the 800 to 1,000 population towns I've been staying in the past few nights!

I had two very different things to watch as I got into the Pueblo area - Air Force planes flying in formation in the skies, and ground squirrels (or are they ground hogs) popping in and out of their holes in the ground. It was probably a good thing that I was riding on a wide shoulder at the time, so I could keep a half of an eye on the road ahead of me and still watch the planes and the animals. The animals definitely make me laugh.

The Pueblo Chamber of Commerce was right on my route, so I stopped in to get maps and information on where to stay. I wanted to stay downtown, in walking distance to the historic district, Riverwalk, and a bike shop. As usual, most of the motels are on the outskirts of town. There were a couple of funky motels that I was going to check out, but then I saw the Marriott and decided to go overboard and treat myself. I know my sister will approve of my home for tonight more than she would of the mom and pop places where I've been staying.

I also stopped at the Great Divide bike shop to see if they could fit my bike in for a tune-up tomorrow. The answer was yes - Terry told me that they always do what they can to make sure that they take care of the Transam cyclists. I called Bike Friday and asked them to ship me two new tires. They should be delivered to the bike shop tomorrow morning. It's probably a good thing I did that because when I got back from dinner I found a flat rear tire. That's flat tire number 3 for the trip - 1 trailer tire, and both bike tires. The rear tire is pretty worn. The front tire still looks pretty good, but I'm going to replace it anyway. I'm not going to change the flat tonight since I was planning on having the bike shop change the tires for me along with doing the tuneup - I'll just pump the tire up before I walk the bike 3 blocks to the bike shop. I figure if I keep my bike happy that it will keep me happy.

After I got settled in I went out to do a bit of wandering. Pueblo has a street gallery that they call "art & soul" with sculptures placed on the streets of downtown. I looked at the sculptures, then went over to the Riverwalk. I only saw a piece of the Riverwalk before I realized that I was pretty tired and it might be a good idea to go back to the hotel and relax. That was a good thing to do, and I'll get back to the Riverwalk and the historic district tomorrow.

One of the things I wanted to do while I'm in Pueblo was to have some non-diner food. I'm well on my way to reaching that goal since I had a very nice trout dinner tonight.

Rest day tomorrow...

Tailwind for a day

Eads to Ordway, CO

I had a wonderful gift today - a tailwind! When I started cycling this morning the air was still, and I was hoping it stayed that way because I figured when the wind started blowing that it would be in my face. What a surprise to find that when the wind started a half an hour into my ride that it was a strong tailwind. That was a nice change of pace. I made it to Ordway by 1:30, an early end to the day for me. I considered continuing on to Pueblo, but that is another 50 miles from here. If the tailwind continued I'm sure I could have made it there, but 110 miles is a bit much for me, and I probably wouldn't have been too happy by the end of the day. And of course there was no guarantee that the wind wouln't shift. The morning was overcast until about 11, so the heat held off until then. It was 98 degrees when I pulled into Ordway, hot but not humid. I rode through a couple of light rain showers this morning, light enough that I didn't even really get wet. I know they need the rain here, but I'm happy not to be riding in the rain.

Ordway is far enough for today, and I have a pretty cool place to stay. The Hotel Ordway has bikers rooms and regular rooms. The biker rooms have a bed and a sink, no linen or towels, and shared bathrooms. They cost $10. That's where I thought I'd end up, but then I found out that the regular rooms with linens, towels, air conditioning, and a private bathroom were only $21. I've only seen one other person (not a biker) here tonight, and shared bathrooms don't bother me at all - but I thought it would be nice to sleep on sheets instead of my sleeping bag. $21 is still dirt cheap for a place to stay! The lobby has green plants and a bunch of comfy chairs too - a good place to write my journal... I talked to Madelyn (the owner) for a bit when I came in. The Austrian group that is ahead of me stayed here last night. No mention of the other group, so maybe they did make it to Pueblo last night. Then again, they may have camped on the side of the road again.

Before she took me up to see the room, Madelyn handed me a glass of ice water. She definitely knows cyclists. And I really like her hotel. I wish there was a place like this in every town. It's simple and clean and it has a lot of character.

When I checked in Madelyn said "good, you made it", and handed me a note from Bob - the motel owner from Tribune. I saw him on the road this morning. He was driving to Canon City to visit his mom. He stopped when he passed me on the road and we talked for a while. When he passed through Ordway he left a note here for me with his mother's phone number, and an invitation for lunch or dinner when I ride through Canon City. I'll have to give him a call when I get there. I don't know if he'll still be there, probably depends on how many days I end up staying in Pueblo. I was really surprised when Madelyn said she had a note for me because I didn't think anyone knew I'd be here today. But of course Bob knew because we'd talked about it, and he made sure that I knew about this hotel. I did know about it because it's listed both in the Adventure Cycling maps and in the Donna Ikenberry book, plus two of the cyclists I met over the last couple of days stayed here, and both of them mentioned it to me.

Ordway is a slightly larger town than the towns I stayed in the last two nights - Eads and Tribune. They actually have a real grocery store, definitely a treat. I was able to pick up some food for dinner, including fresh fruits and vegetables. That's what I miss the most on this trip - ready access to good produce. And ready access to good bread. And I actually had a bit of a Gatorade crisis today. The store in Eads had very little selection of anything. They had Powerade and All Sport drinks, but not Gatorade. I prefer Gatorade, I can tolerate Powerade, and I can't drink All Sport (it tastes like they just dumped vitamins in it). Unfortunately I don't like all of the flavors of the different drinks. The only flavor of Powerade they had was lemon-lime, which is one of the flavors I don't like (even in Gatorade). I bought it anyway and forced myself to drink it because I knew I couldn't get through 60 miles without it. Luckily the grocery store here has a good selection of Gatorade, so I've already stocked up for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better than the last 2 days from a services standpoint since there are a couple of stores or cafes along the route. They are all very early in the day though, so I'll still have a good 30 to 35 miles without services. I'll have to get used to that though because there are some days in the mountains where there won't be anywhere to stop at all.

I made a brief stop in Haswell to stand up and stretch for a few minutes. While I was there in the city park, a couple of RVers stopped to stretch their legs too. They were headed home to Scott City, KS from a vacation in Colorado. It turns out that they live next to the city park in Scott City, so they meet a lot of the cyclists who pass through there. City park camping is allowed and free through the midwest, so quite a few of the people who ride the Transam end up staying in parks. It may not be generally allowed, but many of the cities allow cyclists to camp. All they ask is that you check in with the police.

I saw two more deer this morning. I think they are teasing me because they stand still until I'm just about ready to take their picture and then they bound off before I can get a shot. These two were standing under a low railroad bridge. It would have been a cool picture - guess I'll just have to keep it in my head. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to catch a deer with my camera. And then again, maybe not!

I'm not in Kansas anymore!

Tribune to Eads, CO

Did you know that the terrain and the weather change at state lines? I know that's not really true, but it seemed like it today. The wind this morning was much lighter than yesterday's, but it was still wind. About ten miles into Colorado the wind changed. It disappeared, then it came back for a bit but it seemed to be coming from different directions. And by the time I finished the day the wind was calm. That's the first time since I entered Kansas that the wind disappeared - and I'm not in Kansas anymore! The other thing I noticed at about the same point the wind changed, so did the vegetation and the terrain. I passed through flat Kansas farm country to some rolling hills with scrub vegetation that reminded me of high desert plants. It was amazing how different it looked. Then, just before I got to Eads, some farmland reappeared. I wonder what tomorrow will bring,

Today was a no services day, which means I didn't talk to too many people. There were supposed to be minimal services in Sheridan Lake, but nothing was open. The gas station was closed but very nicely left the rest rooms unlocked. I don't know what made me bring extra Gatorade with me today, but I was very glad I did. I always carry food, and if I know there aren't any services I bring extra Gatorade and water. I guess I doubted the existence of services today. And tomorrow will be more of the same.

Some of the towns my route passed through today were very tiny, with populations well under 100 people. Some of them looked mostly abandoned to me. There would be some buildings that were barely standing and were clearly abandoned, but there were also other buildings that looked pretty bad but that it looked like people were using. And then there would be one or two houses that looked reasonable, maybe with some ranch land attached to them. I really hate seeing these somewhat dead towns. I hope there aren't too many more coming.

Bob came out to talk for a little more this morning. He wasn't there when I checked in yesterday, so he didn't see my bike until this morning. It was his first view of a Bike Friday, and he seemed pretty interested in the trailer - and the fact that the bike folds. He must have a sailboat (or at least access to one) because he said he thought it would be a good bike for the boat. He said that his next bike purchase will probably be a recumbent. Bob is one of the daring airplane bike transport people. He told me that when he's taken his bike to Europe that he's removed the pedals, turned the handlebars, and put the fully assembled bike into a plastic bag supplied by the airline - and checked it like that. I've heard of people doing that, but I've always had a hard time believing that the bike will arrive in one piece - if the airline will even take it like that.

I saw one other cyclist today - heading west to east on the Transam, then heading up to Connecticut. He was from San Francisco. He quit his job, put everything in storage, and took off on his trip. We talked for quite a while. He told me that he sent 35 pounds worth of gear home from Denver. I asked him what he sent home - I'm planning on sending my cooking gear back once I get to Pueblo, and I'll go through everything else, but I don't think there's much else that will go back. He said he shipped his cooking gear, cold weather clothing, and other things like books and an atlas. We both laughed about the atlas - but I told him that I always have one or two books with me. I just leave them when I finish reading them.

He told me that he passed two groups ahead of me heading west. One was the Austrians - I knew about them yesterday. So they didn't make it to Eads yesterday, ended up camping on the side of the road or in a rancher's yard. There's also another group of 3. They must have passed me yesterday when I stopped for the day in Tribune. They also camped by the side of the road - didn't stop in Tribune because they wanted to get out of Kansas yesterday. They sounded a little crazy because they said they were going to try to get to Pueblo today. If they were just inside of Colorado this morning, that means a 150 or 160 mile day! That doesn't sound like much fun to me.

I saw a deer today just outside of Eads. It's the first one I've seen since I left Vermont. It was standing on the other side of the railroad tracks that parallel route 96. I stopped to try to get a picture, but the deer took off before I could get the camera turned on. What a beautiful animal - with a full rack. It was incredibly graceful as it ran off.

It will take me two more days to get to Pueblo. I'm planning to take at least one day off there, and there's a good possibility that I will take two because I think I may be close to the edge of exhaustion. I'm trying to get a good eight hours sleep each night, but that doesn't always happen. I'm still baffled by the days that I'm just not ready for sleep - it seems to me that I should just fall asleep as soon as I get off of the bike! That doesn't happen though.

I talked to my sister before I headed out for dinner tonight. She asked me what kind of restaurant I was going to, and I just laughed. This town has one motel, one restaurant, and one gas station / store. Not too many choices! Yesterday I had one choice for dinner, and this morning I had one choice for breakfast. Most of these no choice towns have diner-type restaurants which aren't bad. I've been eating quite a few fried fish sandwiches for dinner. I think I'm in a rut! That's another reason I wouldn't mind spending an extra day in Pueblo, a choice of food.

Wind and tumbleweeds

Scott City to Tribune, KS

I did battle with the legendary Kansas headwind this morning. At times I had trouble even riding at an 8 miles per hour pace, so I was astounded when my average for the day was 9 MPH. The winds let up some this afternoon, definitely a relief. Luckily the weather forecast wasn't right today since they were calling for a hotter day than yesterday. The morning was overcast and cooler. I don't think it got into the 90s until the afternoon. That was a welcome change. I think there may have been some storms flying through last night and this morning, perhaps the source of the west winds. When I started riding there were some dark gray clouds, and some of that marvelous cloud to ground lightening to the north. No rain over me though.

The clouds were beautiful this morning. They almost looked like they were painted on the sky. The sun kept popping in an out, giving a play of light on the fields that was pretty amazing. It was one of those days where it would be easy to sit in one spot and just keep shooting pictures as the light continues to change.

I met two west-to-east riders today. The first was Martin, who was (I think) from the UK. He's riding the Transam from Florence to Virginia. He started on July 1st, and has covered 2100 miles already, so he is covering ground quite a bit faster than I am. He filled me in on the motels in Tribune and Ordway, and told me about an inexpensive place to stay right in downtown Pueblo. It's always good to get some tips or confirmation that the one and only motel in town is decent! Martin also told me that there are 4 young guys from Austria ahead of me. They started from Scott City this morning too, but they are going to Eads today. That's way to far for me - over 100 miles against the wind - but more power to them!

The second rider was a guy from Japan whose name I didn't get. He started riding in San Diego, and rode up the coast to Oregon to pick up the Transam. He's riding the Transam, and will then go to North Carolina and finally north to Connecticut. And people tell me I didn't follow a straight line! He's definitely seeing a good chunk of the country. When I told him that he is the second rider that I've met from Japan he seemed surprised. He told me that Asians don't tend to do much touring. (Or at least the people he knows at home don't do much touring.) He was looking for a bike shop because he has a tire that needs to be replaced. I told him that the first one he'll hit is in Hutchinson, which is slightly off route. I was able to point out that the Athleticlub in Scott City ($8) and the Zion Lutheran Church hostel (free) in Hutchinson are both inexpensive places to stay. He's been camping and didn't realize that the places listed under hostel on the Adventure Cycling maps are also either free or very inexpensive. He sounded like he wouldn't mind a night inside, especially after the thunderstorms he had last night in Eads.

I'm still in Kansas tonight, but I'm now on Mountain time. Most of the counties on the western edge of Kansas are in Mountain time while the rest of the state is in Central time. I've been told that until recently there was actually one town that was split down the middle - half in Mountain and half in Central time. It really seems like it would be easier to deal with the time zone differences if it split at the state line, not at county lines. But I guess it's not much different from Indiana with a small part of the state using Daylight Savings time and most staying on Standard time. The time change means I had an early end to the day. It's nice to have that extra hour to use to relax this afternoon.

I was 10 miles out of Tribune when I saw a sign announcing construction for the next 10 miles. I cringed when I saw the sign, but I was lucky again. The road had already been repaved, and they were in the process of painting lines on the pavement. Oh, the joy of riding on newly paved roads!

At one point this afternoon a sheriff traveling east stopped and flagged me down to ask if I'd seen any cars flipped over between Leoti and my current location. I hadn't, and he continued on, I assume he didn't find one because I saw him coming back not to long after we spoke.

The elevation has been slowly increasing as I've crossed Kansas. I entered the state at an elevation of 900 feet, and Tribune has an elevation of 3543 feet. It's been a very gradual change, probably the easiest elevation gain of this trip. There will be another 1200 feet of elevation gain over the next 3 days since Pueblo is at 4700 feet. I guess that's why they call this area the high plains.

At the end of the day I actually saw some tumbleweeds rolling across the road...

I'm staying at the Trails End Motel in Tribune tonight. Martin told me that it was a good place to stay, which is a good thing since it's the only place to stay right in town. Bob - the owner of the motel - called at about 6:30 to invite me to join him for dinner. I had already eaten, but I went over to chat for a bit. He's a cyclist too. He's done the cross-state ride in Oklahoma, has been thinking of riding RAGBRAI (the ride across Iowa), and does a lot of mountain biking in Colorado. He's also done quite a bit of touring in Europe. He told me that he hopes to do the southern route from San Diego to Florida over a winter. It's really strange when the phone your hotel room rings and no one knows where you are. I was sure it was a wrong number - but it was for me.

Can you say HOT?

Ness City to Scott City, KS

OK, I know it's further than 44 miles between Ness City and Scott City, but that's as far as I rode on the bike. Robert saw me standing by the side of the road between Dighton and Scott City and stopped to ask if I was OK. I told him I was fine, just very hot. The reason he found me standing there is that I stopped after a strong gust of wind from the side almost knocked me off of the bike and off of the road! He offered me a ride to Scott City, and I took him up on it. He was driving a flat-bed truck and hauling a trailer containing a corn head to be delivered to a local farmer. He said that it is attached to a combine to harvest corn. I had to ask - I keep seeing all sorts of farm equipment, and I don't have a clue what most of it is used for. The farmer is trading in his old one for this shiny new bright green John Deere equipment - a $35,000 investment, and this is only a part of the needed equipment!

Robert was also able to tell me what one of the local crops is. I've been seeing something that looks like corn, but doesn't look like corn. It's not as tall, and it has a flower / stack that is a mustard yellow color. I've been wondering what it is since I first noticed it outside of Newton. It turns out that it's something called milo that is a feed corn.

It's very dry here, and several people have told me that it will get even drier as I move into eastern Colorado. Robert said that it's been over a year since they've had any significant rain here.

I have to admit, I'm ready to be done with the plains. If I could find a ride to Pueblo I'd grab it. It's really the first time on this trip that I've felt this way. I'm not ready to be done with my trip - just the plains. I think it's driven by a combination of the heat and the constant wind. I wish I could believe that when I cross the political boundary between Kansas and Colorado that the conditions would change, but it just doesn't work that way. This morning's ride was hard. The southwest winds were coming enough out of the west to keep my speed down to 9 miles per hour. I had a much needed break when Gary appeared on the horizon. At first I wasn't sure he was on a bike because he was moving so fast, but as he pulled up to me he said "you must be having a hard time with this wind because I'm getting quite a push". Gary is from Toronto, and is riding from San Francisco to Toronto. He followed the Western Express route to the Transam. The Western Express sounds really hard to me, and Gary confirmed that it was hard. He said that many of the campgrounds in Nevada didn't even have water. He said that he would ask the RVers for water. They were always happy to supply him with water, and many times they also invited him to dinner. We stood on the side of the road and talked for about a half of an hour. He said he was going to try to cover 150 miles today. I pretty much choked when he said that and asked if he had been doing 100+ mile days. He said not - that he was doing 40 to 60 miles a day in the mountains, and longer distances since he hit the flats. But he said he wanted to take advantage of the tailwind for as long as he could. Gary took an interesting travel approach to get to the start of his trip. He threw his panniers and gear in a duffle bag and took a bus to San Francisco. He said he was planning to buy a new touring bike, and instead of getting it at home he bought his new bike in San Francisco. The bus fare was dirt cheap - less than $100 Canadian! Gary had the Transam maps through Missouri and was trying to decide when he'd head north to get back to Toronto. I showed him my route through Missouri on US 54 and pointed out the hairy section through Jeff City and that there were a couple of days where it was 4-lane divided road for the entire day. He said that looked good to him as a start to head towards home.

After Gary and I parted company, I continued on to Dighton. I had lunch at a gas station convenience store - and spent some time talking to the manager there and the Pepsi delivery guys. I filled up my bottles with cold Gatorade, and hit the road again. After I left Gary the wind calmed down quite a bit. That made me much happier. It's so much nicer to be able to move at a somewhat normal speed. The thermometer kept inching up - to 115 in the sun. The official reported temperature was closer to 103, still very hot. It's almost 8 PM as I sit here writing, and the temperature is still 101 degrees. The heat is supposed to continue for the next couple of days.

I had hoped to start earlier this morning, but I really needed some extra sleep after the Larned city park. I feel much better today after a good 10 hours of sleep, but the extra sleep meant that I still didn't get on the road until 8 AM. I guess I have to accept my 8 AM start times since that seems to be what my body likes. Sometimes you just can't fight it.

After Robert dropped me off I headed over to the Athleticlub to check it out. They allow cyclists to use the facilities and sleep there for $8. A great deal, but the back room where the cyclists sleep seemed pretty hot to me. There were fans, and Gary said it wasn't bad, but I was so hot I really wanted an air conditioned room. For someone who normally doesn't like air conditioning I think I'm turning into a bit of a baby! I was able to get a motel room - apparently one of the last in town due to the county fair and a softball tournament. So I paid $34 instead of $8. It's still not expensive... And Kansas continues to be the hardest place so far to get a motel room!

After I checked in I headed to the grocery store to pick up some fruit. I was wearing my normal grocery shopping attire - bicycle clothes and my helmet. As I was deciding what type of yogurt I wanted for a snack a woman came up to me and said "you people are crazy to do what you do". We talked for a while. When I told her I'd like to be out of the plains, she said she'd be happy to hook me up with one of her friends with a pickup truck but that they were all involved in the softball tournament. Too bad - guess I'll just have to keep riding to Pueblo!

I still had a bit of a puzzle with my bicycle computer this morning. I just couldn't believe it - changing the battery in the transmitter fixed the computer so it showed my current speed, but it still wasn't recording distance. Everything else was working, so I was having a hard time believing that it was broken. It took me a couple of miles of stopping and recalibrating the computer to figure out how to fix it. The computer either tracks active (riding) time, or it tracks the time since the timer is turned on. I always keep it set to active time, but when I changed the battery in the computer it defaulted to time, not active time, and I didn't notice it. Once I attempted to start the timer and saw that it started recording distance again I realized what the problem was. I reset it to active time. Now it's working properly and I'm happy!

The heat is back, and so are the southwest winds

Larned to Ness City, KS

Today didn't have a stellar start, but as usual it turned into a good day.

Staying in the Larned city park didn't allow me to get enough sleep last night. Unfortunately it appears to be a driving destination for the local kids - at least I assume they were kids. There were people driving through there, parking with the bass blasting from stereos, leaving cars turned on, and peeling rubber as they moved out. That didn't make me very happy, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Things finally got quiet at about 12:30. I really need a good 8 hours of sleep, and I definitely didn't get it last night, so I was still a bit tired this morning. That wore off once I started biking, and I was fine. And the lesson here it to accept a back yard camping spot over a city park the next time one is offered!

When I woke up for one of my bathroom breaks in the middle of the night, one of my knees was really stiff. They've both been a little sore, but nothing major. I was a bit concerned last night, but I took some ibuprofen and everything seems fine now. Maybe I just slept on it in a strange way. Here's hoping my knees and I make it through the mountains that are yet to come without any problems.

I was about 10 minutes out of town when the bike began to feel very strange. Flat tire! I checked the tires before I hit the road this morning, and they seemed fine... I changed the tire and threw the old tube into my bag so I could patch it later. I assumed that something happened when I road through the road construction yesterday, even though I kept an eye on the tires and tried to make sure that nothing sharp was stuck to them. When I finished riding I pulled out the bad tube and discovered that the valve stem had separated from the tube - but in such a way that depending on the angle of the valve the tube would still hold air. Guess I can't patch that one!

The winds and temperature were back to what seems to be normal today. The winds were out of the southwest, and the temperature has been reported at 98 degrees. As usual, the bike computer shows about 10 degrees higher in the sun. After noon I could just feel the heat rising off of the pavement. I had a nice push from the wind as I rode straight north for 19 miles. Once I turned west again, it switched to a strong side wind with some sections that felt more like a glancing headwind. It definitely wasn't a head-on headwind, but it was enough in my face to make the ride harder. I wonder if the wind ever stops blowing here. Ever since I crossed into Kansas it has been windy.

I met a rider from Phoenix this afternoon. He's riding from Phoenix to New York on a recumbent. Well, actually he's riding the flat parts on his recumbent, and the mountains and hilly parts on a "regular" bike. Like yesterday, when I first saw him I thought he might be a local cyclist because he had very little gear on his bike. When I asked him if he was traveling with a very small amount of stuff, he told me that his wife is sagging him in their van. She's carrying all of his gear, plus an extra bike. Now that's luxury - having 2 bikes to choose from on a cross-country tour.

As I move into western Kansas everything is starting to look really dry. According to a newspaper article I read over the weekend many of the farmers are planting crops with no intent of harvesting them. They are hoping that the crops will help keep the soil in place. Here's hoping that this area gets some rain soon - but I do hope that happens after I leave here.

I saw an animal today that may have been a fox. Does anyone know if they ever hang out in farm land? At first I thought it was a dog, but it had the look of a fox. It ran out of a field toward the road, saw me coming, and ran back into the field. Every so often it would pop it's head back up and look. I really think if it had been a dog that it would have been chasing me.

I rode without my cycle computer today. As I suspected, the problem was with the battery in the transmitter. I was on numbered state roads and US highways all day today, so there were mile markers on the road. That helped quite a bit, but I still missed my little toy. When I got to Ness City this afternoon I went in search of a battery and actually found one. I really thought I'd have to wait until I hit Pueblo to find the right battery. Everything's fixed now - I'm happy.

And I'm very happy that I was able to get a motel room tonight. It's way too hot out there to be sweating in a tent. And the forecast for tomorrow is triple digits again.

Tailwind delight

Hutchinson to Larned, KS

What a nice riding day! I had a very nice surprise when I found that the wind was coming from the northeast which gave me a tailwind for a very welcome change. It's funny - the wind is very noticeable when it's coming from any direction other than behind you. When it's a tailwind you don't notice the wind as much as you notice the change in speed and the feeling that you're flying. My average speed today was just above 13 miles per hour which is very fast for me on this trip! I know that's not fast for other people, but it is for me...

Marilyn and her daughter saw me off this morning. I was glad to see her so I could give her a couple of things I wasn't taking with me. I needed to replenish my peppermint soap supply, and while I was able to buy some yesterday, I could only find a larger bottle than I needed. I filled my small bottles and gave her the rest. I also had some extra strength Tylenol that were free with some Motrin that I bought - so Marilyn ended up with the Tylenol too. I was glad to have someone to give those small items to - I hate to throw things away just because I don't want to carry them. It was nice to have someone see me off too - a change of pace for me.

Just before I got to Nickerson I saw some zebras by the side of the road. At first I thought I really must be seeing things, but then I remembered that there is an exotic animal park there. There are supposed to be giraffes there too, but I didn't see any. What an odd thing to see in the middle of Kansas. The zebras have a fabulous design on their hides. I think it's really striking.

I met up with Bob, Ray, and Sandy just outside of Nickerson too - "Three Old Guys and a Gal". (Yeah, I know, there are just 2 guys, but there were three originally.) I was wondering if we'd cross paths. They are doing the Transam from West to East, and I've been watching their journal when I post my own. I noticed yesterday that they were in Larned, so I thought there was a chance I'd see them today. There was also a chance I wouldn't because I was off route last night, and they are early morning starters and I'm not. There was more than a small possibility that they would pass the point at which I got back on route before I arrived there. They've been getting on the road by 5:30, while I'm still fighting to get on the road by 8. I would like to start earlier, but my body doesn't seem to want to get moving much earlier, so 8 it is. When I first saw Bob I thought he must be a local cyclist because he didn't have any gear on his bike. It turns out that Bob is driving Ray's van and carrying all of their gear. He rides about 20 miles each day, while Ray and Sandy ride the full distance. I'm sure I'll be jealous of all of these folks who have managed to arrange sags when I'm hauling all of my gear up the Rocky Mountains! We had a nice visit on the side of the road, and then went off in opposite directions. While I was getting a nice push from a tailwind, they were having a pretty hard ride against the wind.

There was some pretty nasty road work going on at the end of the day today. I was lucky again in that they were working on the other side of the road. The road surface was in good shape, so I don't know why they were chip-sealing it - maybe preventive maintenance. The stuff was flying all over the road when people passed me or went by on the other side of the road. But at least I didn't have to ride on it.

I pulled in to Larned at about 3 this afternoon and went in search of a motel. Nope, not tonight. There are two motels on the outskirts of town, and both of them were full. It's hard to believe that I haven't had any problem getting a room in any other state - just in Kansas. A woman I was talking to in the park said there is a 4-H Fair of some sort going on, probably the source of the motel room problem. So - I'm camping at the city park. It's really a beautiful park, and I have my tent set up next to a fountain. I should have some nice soothing water sounds in my ears as I fall asleep tonight. I went to the grocery store to pick up some food for dinner, and met Jewel Shartz. She told me I was welcome to camp in her back yard - but I'd already checked out the park and decided it had everything I needed, so I thanked her and moved on. I kind of figured middle of the night bathroom stops would be easier and less disruptive in the park than traipsing into someone's house....

The park is very well used. There is a beautiful swimming pool, a fountain, a rose garden, two picnic table pavilions, 2 sets of very clean rest rooms in addition to the ones at the pool, and a pond containing ducks and geese. There were quite a few people here this evening with kids either dangling their feet in the fountain or watching the water birds in the pond. I spent some time talking with some of the kids waiting for their moms to pick them up just after the swimming pool closed, including one little girl who had been to someplace near Albany, Oregon for vacation this summer. She was telling me about a windy road that she insisted I would have to ride in order to get to Oregon. Hmm, wonder where that is... I also had a chance to talk with some of the people sitting around the fountain, and I met a local cyclist and his two dogs when he came over to ask what kind of bike I am riding. He saw the small wheels, and just had to check out the bike. It was his first glimpse of a Bike Friday. He told me he's thinking of getting a recumbent. They have always fascinated me. I wonder how many years will go by before I decide I need one of those.

One of the women I spoke to at the fountain said I'm pretty lucky in the conditions here today. There are two feed lots here in Larned, and apparently if the wind is blowing wrong, the stench is unbelievable. I noticed the feed lots as I pulled into town. I enjoy watching the cattle out in nice fields, but these feed lots were really gross. They looked barren, no grass, and the cows were just packed in there. I guess I'd better hope that the wind doesn't shift overnight.

My bike computer decided to stop sensing speed and distance at the end of the day. I changed the battery in the computer, but that didn't solve the problem, Unfortunately I don't have a replacement battery for the transmitter. Hopefully I'll be able to find one tomorrow, but I have a feeling that I may not have my little crutch for the next few days. It stopped working after I got to Larned, then it started working again. So I'm hoping it behaves itself tomorrow, but I have a feeling that it won't. And unfortunately, the next decent sized city is Pueblo, and I think that's 6 days away. Yuck. I'll know how far I've ridden from the maps, but it's nice to know how much further you have to go based on how far you've already ridden for the day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

To the Cosmosphere

Rest day in Hutchinson, KS

Another rest day. It's amazing how fast the days go by, resting or riding. The weather has toned down a bit, and the wind direction has changed. For the first time since I've hit Kansas the wind is coming from the NNW instead of the SSW, and the temperature is only 88 degrees, still humid. Here's hoping that the temperature change sticks for a while.

I started the day with a visit to Harley's Cycle Supply here in Hutchinson. I got my first flat of the trip yesterday - picked up a thorn in one of the trailer tires. I don't know why, but I could not get the tire off of the rim. That's the first time that has happened to me. It wasn't a big deal because it was the trailer (a low pressure tire with not a great deal of weight on it) and not the bike (a higher pressure tire with more weight on it). Actually, if it had been the bike I would have been able to change the tire - I've changed bike tires many times over the years... I was able to get by yesterday by stopping to put more air in the trailer tire every hour or two. Annoying, but not a big deal. What was more annoying to me was not being able to get the tire off! Dave at Harley's helped me out. He also put Slime (for you non-bikers, it's a liquid that helps seal punctures) in both trailer tire / tubes, and I bought a different set of tire levers that hopefully will work better than the set I was carrying. It gave me an excuse (as if I needed one) to stop and chat with the folks at the bike shop. Dave said he saw me ride up Main Street yesterday and wondered if I was riding cross-country. He thought I was because of the trailer and panniers, but he'd never seen anyone do the trip on a Bike Friday before. I'm not the first, but maybe the others didn't stop here. I asked if there had been quite a few cyclists passing through here this summer. He said there had been a number, but they (we) started coming through later in the season than usual, and that he thought that the numbers were down. He also said he's seen fewer foreign cyclists this year. Interesting.

I came back to the hotel to drop off the trailer, and to have a snack - eating again! I met some of the baseball families who are in town for the World Series. Marilyn asked me if I was riding across the state. Once I told her that I was riding across the country that started a longer conversation, so we talked for a bit. Then I headed to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. I saw the Space Station film at the Omni theatre. It was really impressive. If you have a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. I went through the museum too, which traces the history of space flight from the German V1 and V2 rockets in World War II through the US - Soviet space race to the present and includes the most significant collection of space artifacts outside of the Smithsonian. It was definitely a good place to visit.

When I sat down in the theater, a couple of boys were looking at me. I said "oops, I guess I should take my helmet off", and they said that they had just seen me talking to their mom back at the hotel, and expressed surprise that I made it to the museum so fast. It was only a couple of miles away, and when you factor in the stop lights on the way, it probably didn't take me much longer to get there than it took them.

After I finished my tour of the museum I wandered into the gift shop. I met Marilyn there again and ended up talking to her and several other moms and kids from Omaha. She asked me if I'd be willing to talk to their boys - the baseball team - back at the hotel. You know me, I love sharing my trip and talking about biking, so of course I agreed. We me in the lobby at 5, and I talked to the group before their next World Series game. Marilyn and Jan and Faye stayed and talked some more after the kids headed out. That was a lot of fun. Marilyn teaches American History, and she said she's going to have her class follow my progress when they get back to school in mid-August.

The hawks glide on the wind, why can't I?

Newton to Hutchinson, KS

Another sunny, hot, windy day... the temperatures rose to the low hundreds again, and the wind was really strong. Luckily the wind continues to be mainly from the south. At times it felt like a headwind even though it was really coming from the side. The cyclists I met yesterday said the same thing. I guess that amount of wind coming from any direction but behind is tiring to ride in. But I'm so glad that it wasn't a headwind! And for proof of the heat - by the end of the day my clothes are coated with salt. I guess that means I've been sweating up a storm.

When I woke up this morning I was still tired. I guess by now I should realize that when I'm really exhausted at the end of a day that it may be a signal that I need a rest day. Somehow I was thinking I could make it to Pueblo, Colorado before my next rest day. I don't know what I was thinking of, because it will probably take me another week to get that far. I rode to Hutchinson anyway, and I'm going to take a rest day here. Today was only the 2nd time this trip that I've walked into a hotel and been told that they were full. This week is the 12 & under Baseball World Series, so every place is just swarming with kids, parents, and coaches. I was very lucky to get a room for two nights. I had an out - the Zion Lutheran Church here allows cyclist to stay in their office. A free place to stay would be nice, but I wanted a room where I could sleep in or take a nap in the middle of the day. The first place I checked was full, the second had a room for only one night, but the third was the charm - a room for two nights. And it's in walking distance of several restaurants. I had dinner at a Chinese buffet restaurant tonight. I usually don't go to buffets because with my normal eating habits they don't make sense. But they certainly make sense for me as a hungry cyclist - all I could eat for $7.95. Now that was a good deal!

I didn't meet any west to east riders today, but that could be because I took US 50 instead of the Adventure Cycling route. Hutchinson is 6 miles off route to the south, and it seemed to make more sense to head straight west from Newton instead of heading north and west and then needing to head south again.

It seems to be getting dryer as I move further to the west. There is a huge difference in the way the corn fields look here and the way they looked further east. The newspaper today (yes, I finally got to read a Sunday paper!) had an article about the drought in western Kansas. I'm still in central Kansas and it's already starting to look dry.

I saw a hawk sitting on a fence post as I rode up. I stopped and tried to grab a quick picture, but of course the bird took off before I could snap a picture. I stood and watched it fly for a while. It's amazing how they just seem to float on the air currents.

A trailer went by carrying two horses. I've only seen this one other time, and I wondered if I was imagining things. Guess not. The horses were standing angled across the trailer with their heads hanging out of the window!

As I came into Hutchinson I was standing at a stop light waiting for the light to change. A kid (looked to be a very young driver) was next to me on the right waiting to turn right. He asked me where I'm from and where I'm heading. When I answered, his response was "wow, cool".

My plans for tomorrow - rest, maybe a little extra sleep, plus a visit to the Kansas Cosmosphere.and Space Center.

I knew Kansas was going to be hot

Eureka to Newton, KS

It was a long riding day, but I think it will be a short journal entry day! It was another hot one, with more of those 2 to 3% non-hills in the first 20 miles of the ride.The wind continues to come out of the southwest, which is mainly a side-wind as I'm traveling west. There were times that it felt like a headwind, and I had a marvelous 15 miles with a tailwind as I headed north for a bit. The temperature? My bike computer said it was 110 degrees at one point. That's in the sun (of course), so it's not the official recorded temperature. The weather station said the highs in the area ranged from 100 to 105, but with the humidity the heat index was above 110. Tomorrow is supposed to be a match for today. I'm planning a short ride for tomorrow, and I'll just keep hoping that the next day will be a little cooler.

I stopped to stretch relatively early in my ride. A man from Yates Center stopped to make sure that I was OK, and we talked for about 15 minutes. He was headed to Witchita to watch his son in a baseball tournament. He works for the Kansas Highway Patrol, and told me that he saw me yesterday in Eureka. Guess the bike and trailer combination makes me easily recognizable!

I pulled into Rosalia and stopped for my usual recycling / refueling. The route went north from there to Cassoday, then west to Newton. There were no services on the road from Cassoday to Newton, which was close to 40 miles. The road looked pretty desolate heading north from Rosalia, so I asked the people in the cafe about it. They confirmed that the road north and the road west to route 77 were pretty desolate, with only a few houses. I decided to continue west on US 54 to El Dorado. I knew that there were places to stay in El Dorado which gave me an out if I decided it was too hot to continue to ride. I arrived in El Dorado and decided to continue on to Newton. There was still a 40 mile stretch with no services, but US 54 and US 77 were both good riding roads. I had lunch and stocked up on water and Gatorade before I left El Dorado. If it wasn't for the heat it would have been a very reasonable ride. With the heat, it was a little longer than I liked. I'm tired tonight, and I think that more from the heat (well OK, riding in the heat) than from the ride itself.

I crossed paths with 2 Transam west to east riders from Kirkland, WA who were headed to Cassoday to camp in the city park tonight. We chatted for a while, then they headed east to camp and I headed west to find an air-conditioned motel room. Normally I hate air conditioning, but on this trip it has definitely been the way to go.

When I was checking into the motel, I asked if they had either AAA or AARP discounts. There was a man standing next to me at the desk who looked at me and said "That AARP card can't be yours". I reminded him that you can join at 50. I almost threw the application out when it showed up in the mail just before my 50th birthday, but then I remembered that they get good discounts!

My planned short day tomorrow isn't really because of the weather, although that's a great excuse. The next towns with places to stay are spread out in a somewhat strange pattern. It would be nice if there were places to stay every 50 to 60 miles, but there isn't really anything for quite a while after tomorrow's stop. I can use a short day though, so I have no complaints!



I think this tree is a good statement about the prevailing wind direction in Kansas. I was facing west when I took the picture, and the winds were coming from the south (and maybe a little west). It's not often that you see trees growing in the direction of the wind.

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Hot, hot, hot... my bicycle computer claims the temperature is 109 degrees!

Sunscreen sliding into eyes

Chanute to Eureka, KS

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!

A lightening day

Pittsburgh to Chanute, KS

Let's see, what can I say about today? It was wet, wet, wet! It started dry and ended dry, but the middle part of the day was a good solid hour and a half of riding in the rain. The good thing about the rain is that it held the temperature in the 70s. After the rain stopped the temperature popped right back into the 90s. It was windy again too. Just like yesterday, the wind was coming from the south, which meant I had side winds for most of the day. Good luck so far, because that strength wind as a head wind would have slowed me down considerably.

I started the day by talking to people at breakfast - as usual. The folks I was talking to are in Pittsburg for a big 4-state farm show that starts tomorrow. Based on where Pittsburg is located, I assume that the 4 states are Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.

I stopped for my first bathroom break at a gas station north of Pittsburg, where I ended up talking with three men for about 15 minutes. One of them said that he saw a bunch of cyclists resting at the dog track up the road a couple of weeks ago. He stopped to talk to them (or to be nosy, as he put it), and ended up breaking out his cooler which was full of soft drinks and beer. He said the cyclists seemed much more interested in the ice from the cooler - which they promptly dumped on their heads to help cool off.





After I went through Girard I met a Transam west to east rider from Pennsylvania. We only talked for a few minutes because by then the weather was starting to get pretty threatening. Right before I met him I had stopped to pull my dry clothes off of my trailer drying rack - just after I started hearing thunder. He hoped to get to Girard before it started pouring, and I hoped to find a farm house with a porch that I could borrow for a while. I didn't make it, and I suspect he got pretty wet too. It was a warm day, so neither one of us had any intention of pulling out rain gear. But the oncoming storm looked scary, with quite a few cloud to ground lightening strikes. After I was totally soaked I found a farm house with an overhanging roof that could provide some shelter. I knocked on the door and asked if I could hang out by the side of the house until the rain eased up. The teenager who answered the door said that would be fine and promptly went back inside. I probably stayed there for about 15 minutes. I wrung the water out of my gloves and my socks, and started riding again when the rain got lighter and the lightening seemed to move further away. I was able to take a break a ways down the road when I found a church with a covered entryway. I sat there and had a rest and a snack, then pulled back out in the continuing light rain. It wasn't too bad - but then it started to pour again. Luckily this time there wasn't much lightening because there wasn't any shelter around except for an abandoned house and barn, both of which had holes in them! The rain stopped just as I arrived in the tiny town of Walnut. It had a post office, a bar, some other closed buildings, and a gas station / diner combination. I stopped at the gas station for lunch - a grilled cheese sandwich and a hot chocolate. Probably a weird combination, but I was soaking wet and figured I needed something warm. A couple of the guys in there had seen me go by on the road... One of them said that the rain was just a narrow band. It may have been a narrow band, but it sure seemed to stay over me for a long time.

I had another 25 miles to ride after lunch. I continued to hear thunder and see occasional lightening to the south of me, but I was riding in bright sunshine for the rest of the day. I checked into a motel in Chanute, cleaned the bike, took a shower, threw my clothes in the washer, and then looked outside to find that it was pouring again. What a crazy weather day! And if that was an example of a Kansas thunderstorm, I hope I don't meet too many of them. It would be OK without the lightening - it was one of those stay on the bike or run and hide decision days!

New wildlife for the day - I saw what I think was an armadillo trundling across the road in front of me. It had a pointed face, a long snaky tail, and a squat body that was armored. And no, I was not hallucinating!