I Think We are in Kansas now Toto!

Tuesday July 21

This day we make Kansas! Or die trying. Actually it wasn’t that hard. But it was harder than it would have been had we made our destination of Eads Colorado yesterday. Our wind shortened day on Monday meant we needed to pedal 64 miles to reach Kansas, and then another 16 miles to reach a community that had services like food and camping. So a total of 80 miles needed to be ridden.

A good start was mandatory and we nearly pulled it off. If it hadn’t been for the thunderstorms of last night we would have been on the road before 8:00. As it was, by the time we got the tent dried off and everything else packed up, it was closer to 9:00. With no services in Haswell other than an old service station that sold pop and chips and candy bars, we opted to pedal the 23 miles to Eads Colorado for breakfast. This is where we were supposed to be this morning which would have made todays ride that much shorter. Oh well!

The oppressive heat from yesterday was only a memory. So too were the headwinds. It was still early so these things could change but we started out with pretty good weather. The winds have really become our nemesis and today they were light and from the side. Not hindering us but also not aiding us. We could live with that. Our ride to Eads took most of 2 hours and the only restaurant we found was finished serving breakfast by the time we got there so lunch was the obvious alternative. Donna and I had sandwiches with fries and a plate for 1 trip to the salad bar for about $8 a piece. I outdid Donna by stacking almost 50% more salad bar on my plate than she stacked on hers. I win! Lewis had his favorite, a corn dog and chips.

According to our maps, we now had a 56 mile stretch of no services between Eads Colorado, and Tribune Kansas (although several small communities existed along the way). So we made the decision to go. And go we did. Seven hours of saddle time later, we arrived in Tribune (80 miles). There isn’t much else to say about the day other than it was a tough ride but not our toughest. The wind moderated off and on but continually came at us from the side. The temperatures topped out in the middle 80’s. we located the city park which coincidentally was across the road from the community pool. Lewis went swimming while Donna and I opted for the free shower instead. We camped next to a couple of Brits who are on a charity ride for cancer. They are doing the entire trip in just over half the days that we’re shooting for. They had ridden over 120 miles to arrive in Tribune. It only took us 80! We’re way better than them!