Our third rest day, spent doing all the usual stuff that rest days bring. During bike cleaning, however, a local TV crew descended upon the motel to interview Richard about his ride to Providence, RI. I also saw half my arm, all my left leg and my by now very shiny front wheel in the background.
Also noteworthy was the continued generosity of Jerry Mogg (the guy who put on the impromptu SAG yesterday) & his wife in doing all they could to introduce riders to the city of St. Joseph. From 1000 to 1500, they ran both their cars to and fro between the Drury Inn and downtown, shuttling folks back and forth. The Pony Express Museum was small but delightful, and hugely informative about the short-lived (it was already being overtaken by the new telegraph technology from just about the first days of its 19-month existence) postal system between St. Joseph and Sacramento.
More important still, however, was the fact that our trip downtown discovered the superbly accommodating Sean (hope you spell it that way, Sean) of Forces of Nature bike shop on Frederick Avenue, who was able to immediately identify the probable causes of problems being suffered by both my bike and Wayne's. He encouraged us to bring our bikes back later, and, although busy, put our problems to the front of the queue and sorted us out perfectly. Service in the old style, Sean. To those who understand the jargon, I went 50/34 compact today. It was the best solution in the circumstances.
Dinner was next door in the BBQ & Grill attached to the motel. Vast, as usual.
Today was the day we left Kansas and entered Missouri. Leaving Topeka this morning, Forest's son Nick was up at the crack of dawn to see his dad off. Nick and his mum had surprised dad in the middle of yesterday's ride by turning up at a rural cafe, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, just as Forest was taking a leisurely snack. They should have been at home in Maryland! The route today was another backroads affair going through small towns and agricultural backdrops. Again it was quiet on the roads, being Sunday. The big landmark, near the town of Atchison (of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe fame), was the crossing of the Missouri River, looking very turbulent. No sign of recent flooding, though. Unsurprisingly, the Missouri state line was shortly after the bridge, which, incidentally, did not look to me to be in the best of health, nor did it feel it, when anything larger than a tea trolley went past. Glad to do the photos and get off it, quite frankly. We heard later, from one of the riders carrying a Garmin, that the climbing count had been >4500', nothing of any real size, just a multitude of rollers, many coming along in threes and fours. Combined with the spiteful wind, it made for a very tiring last section of the ride; after SAG 1 at 31 miles, Wayne's bike had stuck in the big ring, exactly what he needed with that terrain and those conditions. The last five miles of the route took us into St. Joe's through an area of parkland and sports pitches, then right past the home of a chap who has done a few tours with AbB. He had set up an impromptu SAG stop for anyone wanting to stop and share a yarn or two. Even though we were really on a mission to get to the hotel and catch the start of the Euro final, we figured that it would be ungracious to simply ride past without recognising his generosity. We missed perhaps 10 minutes of the game, but it didn't matter, as it was still 0-0 when we sat ourselves down in front of one of the many tellies, with (get this, UK hotels, are you paying attention?) as much free ice-cold Coke/Sierra Mist/root beer/Mountain Dew/Sprite/etc and popcorn as we could drink and eat, to see Spain triumph 1-0. Great goal, and the better side won. Dinner was at another of those local, independent steak joints - a winner. Mileage : 90 Cumulative : 2251
And so to the state capital of Kansas. Today began wet again, and we had a wide variety of raingear on show once more. However, as yesterday, the rain didn't last more than 10 minutes, in fact it had stopped before we left Abilene. Departure wasn't until about 0730, which was a little later than AbB usually organises for a century ride.
I had noticed last evening that Abilene seemed to have more than its fair share of railroad links into town - in fact, it was the cattle stockyards which gave Abilene its raison d'etre and early wealth - so I should not have been surprised that in the early miles we found ourselves crossing 5 or 6 sets of lines as we wended our way eastwards. One set was at a particularly threatening angle to an approaching cyclist, whose best course is to cross the lines at 90 degrees, especially if it's wet. Two riders went down, one causing slight damage to a wheel, but both were able to ride on.
First SAG was at White City @ 36 miles. It is noticeable that settlements, as we move east, seem to be keener on having communal areas in their town, and keeping them serviceable. Here again we used a gazebo. White City did a passable impression of Paris-Roubaix with its cobbled streets, though! Perhaps they like to keep the traffic going slowly.
The line today ticked along at a pretty rapid rate, with everyone doing long turns on the front, and it was no time before we turned up at SAG 2 at Eskridge (another park, another gazebo) @ 77 miles.
More great country lanes finished off the route, bringing us
into Topeka from the south - today's whole route had swung south of Interstate 70 to keep us on quiet backroads - and to the motel (or holidome, as it likes to call itself) by about 1340. A nice touch was that the hotel had set up a fridge with ice-cold bottles and fruit right inside the front door. Quinny had failed to spot a decent lunch opportunity on the run-in to the holidome, so he did the next-best thing, got the desk to suggest somewhere that would bring a meal in. Pizza Hut delivered a first-rate pasta meal for 4 + large bottle of Sierra Mist for <$5 each.
Mileage : 112
Cumulative : 2160
Well - what a day today was! And guess who forgot to juice up the camera last night, and had it run out on him after just 3 photos? Got it in one!
Hopefully I will be able to cadge a shot or two from other riders to supplement those I managed to get.
The day was unusual right from the first moments; it rained!! In fact, those who were awake tell me that the night was particularly pyrotechnic, and that we were just seeing the last knockings of it as we emerged for breakfast at 0630.
The early miles today were totally blissful for a Northern European, after the last few rides we've had; it was damp, cool and overcast. Even when things dried out and the usual weather returned, the riding stayed perfect, because today our predominant direction was north, with a few westerly/easterly squiggles, and the wind was coming out of the south at about 25 mph. Yabadabadoo.
Even better, today Kansas showed it has features: bends in the road; the odd incline or two; ditches; hedges; streams; trees; nodding donkeys irrigating the fields. The real story behind such a turnaround was surely the fact that we followed a route which got us off Highway 50/56 etc, and was able to weave a path through country backroads on its way to Abilene. There were times when, apart from being on the wrong side of the road, I could have been persuaded that I was on a club run in rural north Shropshire.
As expected, the route took us over the official half-way point today. In fact that was where my camera died, just after taking a picture of Hetty, and as I was passing it to Bill to do one of me.
The DQ couldn't have been handier today. It was separated from the Holiday Inn Express by a full 100 yards. Caramel. Medium.
Later I returned downtown to tour around on the bike and get a much-needed haircut (for $12, much cheaper than I pay in the UK). Dinner this evening was at a small, hometown diner by the name of M&R Grill. We could tell it was a winner when we could see many, many Abilenites prepared to queue for a lengthy time for a table to become vacant.
Mileage : 78
Cumulative : 2049
In terms of elapsed days, today marks half way across, since today is Day 26 out of 52.
We understand that tomorrow, somewhere between here and Abilene, brings half way in terms of miles. Watch this space. Nothing startling to report about today's ride; just <69 miles more of the same old landscape. Hot again today: already nearly 70 when we set off at 0700, rising to mid-90s by the time we rolled into the DQ at 1050. It got hotter later, but by then we were bathed & airconned and our minds were on other matters ...
Having watched the first Euro semi last evening, Quinny, Al & I found ourselves a table in Montana Mike's, right alongside our Best Western billet, to share a couple of Amber Bocks and see Spain beat Russia 3-0 in the second semi.
Superb steaks in Montana Mike's by the way; by a fluke, AbB had booked the group into there for evening meal.
Mileage : 69
Cumulative : 1971
OK Dear Reader, I am not convinced that I have, as yet, conveyed the full, kaleidoscopic splendour of a road trip across Kansas. Today began at 0645 from the Comfort Inn at Dodge City. As per usual we headed east, along Highway 50 to begin. Within 2 minutes of leaving behind the last of the spurious references to Wyatt Earp (Wyatt Earp Wheel Shop, I think), the panorama left and right of my bike was as above. Even though we switched roads to Highway 56 right at the SAG stop, it stayed that way until we rolled into Great Bend at approx 1115. Imagine that: the same vista for 4.5 hours. Per day. Every day, if you happen to live here. No wonder they have rumble strips. SAG was at the purported mid-way point between San Francisco & New York City, not entirely apposite to us, because we ain't going there, but it was just about the only good spot for a SAG stop. There was a huge ATSF locomotive alongside a few agricultural implements of yesteryear. Like kids of all ages the world over, we duly scrambled over the loco and did the time-honoured poses at the controls (well, the ones we recognised as controls anyway). On arrival at the Highland Hotel in Great Bend, yet again a much buzzier place than I was ready for, it was clear that the baggage van had not yet arrived, so I set off downtown to find a bike shop for CO2 cartridges and new skewer springs. Guess what - the bike shop staff knew where to find the DQ. Cherry. Mileage : 91 Cumulative : 1902
First the important stuff, Bob's condition. It's great that he is well enough to get back to doing his
own blog again; I have lifted the following straight from his most recent entry.
"Day 21, The End. The rest day was very restful, refreshing and nourishing and I was ready to go. But it all ended abruptly. I was pedaling along, had advanced about 30+ miles and making good time when all of a sudden I hit a hole or bump and lost control. I don’t remember anything else until they loaded me in the ambulance and transported me to Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colorado. My contact with the road produced a basal skull fracture over the right ear and destroyed my brand new Colorado jersey, which was cut off of me. I was moved into the Neuro ICU for about 24 hours where they monitored the fluid seepage. No other broken bones, but several abrasions and a heck of a headache for a day or so. My wife has arrived and will accompany me on my trip home.
The fracture means I will not be able to return to the CCC at least for a while. It is amazing how fast things change and I am very disappointed and already miss the biking and all of you. When the riders get to Wooster, Ohio on July 11, I will come to the hotel and visit with everyone.
Thanks all bikers, ABB and friends & family for your support."
The ride today was a breeze, a modest 51 miles, with compliant wind, from Garden City to Dodge City. "Hardly worth putting your kit on," quoth Wayne. I think everyone was in the Comfort Inn (or Applebee's, having brunch/lunch) by about 1100.
Dodge City , as you might imagine, makes great play of its past, e.g. Doc Holliday's Liquor Store, Wyatt Earp Boulevard, Boot Hill Museum, etc., etc. As we rode around the town, looking for a likely alternative to Applebee's, we all remarked how quiet it was. No shortage of cars in the lots, but few actual people on view. They must all have been indoors doing the brunch/lunch thing.
The DQ incidence is growing as we move eastwards. Is it
ambitious to hope that every medium-to-large town from now on will have one? Caramel again today.
Today's miles (inc swanning around Dodge City) : 57 Cumulative : 1811
I fear that the next few blogs may be a touch monochrome and samey, because, frankly, Kansas is like that. When you hear that my riding group of 5 covered 107 miles together today, and we totalled 5 photos, just 5 different versions of what you see to the left, it should be telling you something. Other highlight of the day: discovering that the caramel option for the DQ shake is a real winner. To be repeated. We entered a new time zone today; we are now on Central Time. Curiously, the green sign indicating the new time zone did not coincide with the Kansas state line, but was 15 or so more miles down the road, meaning that a small western part of Kansas is on Mountain Time, whereas the rest is on Central. How do they cope with that? It's just odd. Load-up was at 0545 today, and brek at 0600, hoping that most riders would be in the Garden City Best Value Inn before the promised wind shift and possible thunderstorms due for for later afternoon. My group got a shift on and actually arrived at about 1230 Mountain, or 1330 in real money. Quinny had spotted a good lunching option as we rode the last few hundred yards to the motel, so, having checked in, we rode right back out again to the Lone Star Bar & Grill. We are hoping to hear that there will be a lie-in tomorrow morning, as the ride to Dodge City is a mere 51 miles, 3 hours at most. Will keep you posted. Talking of being kept posted, there is no further news yet about Bob, except to say that his wife has flown down to be with him. You will be the first to know of any developments. Mileage : 107 Cumulative : 1754
I have to start today with unwelcome news. Bob went down quite badly early in today's ride and is in hospital. For reasons we don't yet know - no other rider or vehicle was involved - he simply fell from his bike and hit his head on the road. An ambulance got there very promptly and he was back in Pueblo Hospital in very quick time. A CAT scan was done, but we don't yet know the outcome. Clearly, with head injury being involved, he is off the ride. Today's ride began early. The baggage van was loaded at 0500, and we took breakfast next door at the Country Kitchen immediately afterwards, meaning that many folks were on the road by 0530. There were many disbelieving looks from the few drivers out and about on a Sunday morning to see a phalanx of cyclists leaving town along Highway 50. Being a long ride, it was a 3-SAG day. Many riders were through #1 by 0745! The wind was very kind to us today - perish the thought it might have been coming out of the east - and everyone ticked along fairly effortlessly. The only enemy was the rising temperature, so most got on with the riding, intending to get in before it got to its maximum. After the DQ at 82 miles, the terrain became ultra-dull, and I was ready for the ride to be over well before the end at the Best Western Cow Palace in Lamar. The building used to be a cow auction centre, but has now been transformed into a rather unique motel. Tomorrow is to be another century, so it's another early loading and breakfast. Today's Mileage : 126 Cumulative: 1647
Today was a rest day, habitually a day of waving people off, late breakfast, post-cards, laundry, visiting Wal-Mart, cleaning the bike and being generally comatose. Today had the extra attraction of the Holland - Russia Euro game on ESPN2. Except that Holland lost 3-1. Piet & Hetty didn't seem too disappointed about it, anyway. Applebee's were good enough to switch their bar TVs over to the channel we needed, and the other diners (should that be lunchers?) didn't object. In fact, it could be argued that 99% didn't even notice, which raises the question about whether anyone usually watches the TVs that are constantly droning on in bars. My guess, on current evidence, is no.
This morning I think I managed to grasp the intricacies of USPS and get a parcel of goodies off to June. June, you should get it in about 10 days.
Many folks seem to be dwelling on the length of the ride tomorrow to Lamar, and as far as we know at the moment, loading is at 0500, earliest yet, so that as many riders as possible will be home and hosed before the sun does its worst.
