Two nights ago just after finishing up my blog I went back to the city park (my campsite) and sat around lonely and depressed. I sat and thought to myself, "the novelty of this trip has definitely worn off, I am ready to call it quits and go hang out with my family". This was a terrible night. I think the reason for it was a combination of being by myself and not talking with anyone for a few days, not feeling well from the stomach flu, being dehydrated and finally because it was 105 degrees out at 5:30pm! I moped around the park for awhile doing random things with my bike and read a bit, but was tired of toying with my bike and simply couldn't get into the books I was reading. Finally the sun went down and so did the tempurature, with this I put up my tent and set everyting up for bed. In the distance I could see a storm front moving toward me and the wind was picking up. Storms cannot sneak up on you in Kansas. You can see them hours away. Its like playing hide-and-seek with a fat kid that's a mouth breather, they simply can't hide. Seeing the storm I decided to put the rain cover on my tent. I don't have a hammer so instead I was using a stake turned sideways to push the slim metal stakes into the ground. While pushing in the last stake, my hand slipped. With all of my weight behind it, my hand was forced onto the sharp tip of the stake, slicing open the tip of my left thumb and my right palm. Immediately blood started pouring from the cuts. I was pissed at myself for not using a rock or something! thoughts like: will I need stitches? can I ride with this? what are those stakes made of? All started popping into my head. I rushed over to the bathrooms and washed out the cuts with water and then continued over to the pool where there was a party going on and a lifeguard that was willing to help me out. She taped everything up and shortly after thanking her I went back to the tent and passed out.
I slept alright and woke up the next morning before sunrise to beat the heat. To my surprise the wind had shifted and I quickly forgot about the heat or the cuts on my hands. I made it to the first town while it was still cool (85 degrees). I took a short break and kept going to make ride as long as I could while it was still cool. Nearly 5 miles from the next town, I ran into a couple from California by the names of Steve and Cyndy ( http://greatisland.net/biketour/ their website). They are doing a cross country bike ride of sorts simply because they can and they want to visit some family in Rhode Island. Cyndy's last day of riding should be today when the two reach Salida, KS. She has to return to Sacramento so she does not lose her job as a dietician. She is a lot like what you would expect a dietician to be and by that I mean she is a picky eater, but the bike trip is getting her out of that habit in a big way. Steve will stop take a break and drive Cyndy to the airport tomorrow and then return to Salida to finish the ride to Rhode Island. Steve was the CEO/President of a company that builds fire trucks. He no longer has that obligation and as a result has the time to ride across the country. Steve and Cyndy are an older couple, probably in their mid to late 30's and usually ride road/race bikes. This is their first tour and aside from the lack of showering and heavy bikes I think they are enjoying their time. I rode with the two into the town and had breakfast at a local place. By this time it was really hot and every chance to get a glass of ice water and sit down was welcome. I enjoyed the meal but more so, I enjoyed their company and the conversation. Following breakfast I decided to ride with them so I could take a break from talking to myself. Being used to racing, the two always rode in lines to take advantage of eachothers drafts and used all of the biker lingo and hand signs that goes along with it. I was clueless at first but its not that difficult to figure out.
We rode the rest of the day switching off who was leading the group which really does help when there is a headwind. Our next big break was in Ness City, at the City Pool. This was the most refreshing swim of my life! Jumping in that water after riding in 100+ degree weather, felt amazing! I swam around a little but for the most part just floated. I was too tired to go off the diving boards or down the slides, so I just sat in the water. A couple of kids instantly came up to us and wanted to show us tricks and wanted us to throw them. I declined, but Steve thinking they would go away, threw them a few times. They didn't leave him alone after that. After swimming around for a bit we went to a restaurant down the street that had all you can eat taco's and ice cream. I ate a lot! We left too full to ride comfortably, but managed to make it 12 more miles to Bazine and Elaine's Bike Oasis where we stayed that night.
Elaine is a older woman who lives with her husband on their farm. The two started taking in cyclists about 6 years ago and have loved every visit they have had. They offer a B&B as well as their yard if your not looking to spend the money. The two have no kids, but I get the feeling they really wish they had. They were very kind to me and offered to help us in any way they could. We pulled into the B&B somewhat late and were greeted by an older couple on a tandem bike, the same that I had seen the day before in Eads but didn't get up early enough to talk with. They were nice enough people but they kept to themselves for the most part so I didn't get their names or much of a chance to talk with them. That night I slept on the screened in porch on the house, this kept me from putting up my tent and saved me some time in the morning.
I woke up late to find everyone hurrying to clean up their things before they got too wet, it was already raining. As we got our things together we ate some corn for breakfast before heading out. In Rush Center, KS I left the Trans-American Trail for good. This marks the completion of my first map along the ride and I think it puts me at or nearby the halfway point of the trip. From here I will continue East along Highway 56 until I come to Clinton, MO where I will begin riding the Katy Trail to St. Louis. Over the course of the day, I hit two huge walls! The first was more like a hill, an invisible hill, actually it was just a terrible headwind, but it slowed us down to almost 10 mph the whole day. Aside from today, the wind yesterday was the worst that I have seen on the trip. The road is so straight and the wind didnt shift at all, as a result the wind was in our faces all day. We stopped much sooner than we had expected in Great Bend, KS where we hit the second wall. The Great Wall...China Buffet! I love Chinese food buffets!!! We sat and ate plate after plate of Sesame Chicken, Beef and Peapods, as well as bowls of Egg drop soup, it was amazing! After we were full, we sat for a few hours talking because we were unable to stand. This might have been from the ride that we had just completed, but I am going to attribute it to the MSG overdose. After 3 hours at the buffet, we took off our separate ways. Steve and Cyndy to a hotel and me to Ellinwood 12 miles up the road.
I was actually trying to make it further than Ellinwood, but after a long day on the bike and the wind still in my face, I called it quits early. When I arrived I spoke with a couple of locals that weren't really sure if you could camp in the parks. I was pretty close to a church at the time so I went and knocked on the door of the rectary and asked if I could set up my tent in the backyard. Father Chuck, the priest at St. Joseph's, said it would be just fine. After unpacking my things and having a snack, I went and talked with Father Chuck a little. Most of the conversation was about the bike route I was taking (he gave me a few pointers on my route and may have saved me a few miles) and also my trip to this point. He was also telling me about a shortage of priests in the area and how they have been waiting for new ones for a while. In the meantime, he is running the show at two different parishes. It struck me as odd when he mentioned there is a large number of priests in the Phillipines. In fact the church and the area has been waiting for a few for several months now, but there is some hold up going on with their visa paperwork. I thought this was odd because it almost seemed like they were mail ordering priests from the Phillipines...China will export anything these days, even priests from the Phillipines ("the chinaman is not the issue here dude!...and Dude Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature, Asian-American please"). Sorry for rambling. After talking I filled up my water and went to bed, hoping to get an early start before the wind, this was a dumb idea.
I woke up to thunder and lightning and managed to get all packed up and on the bike just as it started raining. Having not eaten breakfast and not knowing what I was in for regarding the storm, I headed into the nearest gas station and sat down for some coffee. It turns out there were severe T-Storm, flood, and wind warnings out...should have just kept riding. As I was sitting talking with the two girls behind the counter the storm started to get worse and worse. At some point the Tornado sirens went off and continued for a few minutes straight. I stayed in the shop and observed the interactions between the locals and these girls. Turns out they knew everyone. As someone pulled up, one of them would say who it was and the other would start preparing their order and before each of them left, one would say "try not to melt out there". It was like clockwork.
Eventually the rain slowed and I started to ride. Today was worse than yesterday. Maybe the drafting helped a whole lot yesterday, but today I was struggling to reach 10mph. By the time I had completed 60 miles and made it to McPherson, I was dead. After stopping by another Chinese Buffet (this one wasn't quite as good) I found my way to the Library where I am sitting now. Who knows how fast I will make it out of here. The wind is killing me! I always thought it blew from West to East...not the case. I was expecting to do at least 100 miles a day through KS, but with the wind the way its blowing, I am lucky to get 60. The people in Kansas are very nice though. I stopped in Lyons, KS for a bit and a guy came up to me name Derril and asked where I was going. After about 2 minutes of talking with the guy he called up someone that he knew in Marion to see if I could stay with him. When the guy didn't answer, Derril said "hold on" and called up a few more people. Only one person answered but said they wouldn't be around tonight, oh well, thanks anyway Derril! I couldn't believe that this guy was going out of his way to try and find me people to stay with. Either way, I didn't make it to Marion so it wouldn't have made a difference. Not sure where I am staying tonight, but hopefully I can go for a swim or take a shower!
-Marcus
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