Day 33: Kansas!

98.85 miles (Total: 1657.71) Avg Speed: 13.4mph Max Speed: 25.5mph

Terry left early as usual whilst me an Joe made our way over for a Gas Station breakfast, not exactly a meal of champions but very necessary. We cruised out of Golden City towards Kansas holding some of our best average speeds so far. It still wasn’t flat though, but very gently rolling.

Pretty soon we hit the state line, Kansas. Slap bang in the middle of America, Joe would be approaching his halfway stage soon as his route goes directly west across Utah and Nevada, whereas the Transamerica trail which me and Terry are riding goes North from Colorado towards Montana before finishing on the coast in Oregon.

SDC11183 SDC11186

State No.5

We reached Pittsburg, Kansas and proceeded to look for one of the bike shops listed, I got stopped at a red light and then flew right past the shop Joe was stood outside because its covered by a huge tree. After a few minutes riding I realised Joe couldn’t be that far ahead so turned around and found him about a mile back from where I had came. I picked up and extra tube then we headed for lunch. For some reason we decided to eat at Sonic which is a drive in place, so we denied ourselves the air conditioning of a sit down joint. After eating too much too quickly like I always do we rumbled and burped our way out of town.

SDC11192

Things started to really flatten out after this point, but the directions got confusing. The map told us to take several turns on ‘unsigned roads’, if its unsigned how do we know which road to take! We double checked with some guys in a pick-up and we were on route.

SDC11195

Joe vs Tractor

70 miles into the ride we reached the small town of Walnut. Terry had earmarked this as a potential campspot but me an Joe had wanted to push on to Chanute as I needed a motel room to watch the Slovenia game in the morning. After sitting in a convenience store for a while Terry turned up and we discussed the options. Terry had been to the campsite and found no water or restrooms and was then greeted by some extremely racist locals so he decided to push on with us too.

There was a detour in place for the ride into Chanute, added to the extra mileage I did earlier in the day and this would be close to my first 100 mile day. It wasn’t to be as I reached the Safari Inn Motel at 98.85 miles. I considered riding to the store to bring up the hundred but pizza and world cup highlights soon ended that. In Kansas its only a matter of time until I hit over 100, we plan on flying through this long flat state.

Terry was gone before either of us stirred, same as always, so Joe and I made do with a gas station breakfast — no meal for champions, but it did the job. We cruised out of Golden City holding some of our best average speeds of the trip so far, the land still not flat exactly, just gently, endlessly rolling.

Then, almost without ceremony, we crossed the state line. Kansas — smack in the middle of the country, and a milestone that meant different things to each of us. Joe was closing in on the halfway point of his own route, which cuts due west across Utah and Nevada, while Terry and I stayed true to the TransAmerica line, curving north from Colorado toward Montana before finishing out on the Oregon coast.

SDC11183 SDC11186

State No.5

In Pittsburg we went looking for one of the bike shops on our map, and I sailed straight past it — hidden behind a tree — with Joe stood right outside it, waving. I doubled back and found him about a mile behind where I thought I was, picked up a spare tube, and we went for lunch. Sonic, for reasons that made sense at the time, meaning we traded air conditioning for a parking space and ate too much, too fast, the way I always do, then rumbled and burped our way back out of town.

SDC11192

The land kept flattening from there, though the directions did the opposite. Several turns, the map insisted, came on “unsigned roads” — which begs the question of how you’re meant to know which road is which. We settled it by flagging down a pickup truck, whose occupants confirmed we hadn’t gone wrong yet.

SDC11195

Joe vs Tractor

Seventy miles in, we reached the small town of Walnut. Terry had it earmarked as tonight’s camp, but Joe and I wanted to press on to Chanute — I needed a motel with a television for the Slovenia game in the morning. We waited out a spell in a convenience store until Terry caught up and told us why he’d changed his mind: the campsite had no water, no restrooms, and a welcoming committee of extremely racist locals. He decided our plan sounded better.

A detour into Chanute stacked extra miles onto a day that was already flirting with a hundred, and for a while it looked like my first century might land today. It didn’t — I rolled into the Safari Inn Motel at 98.85 miles, close enough to taste it. I even considered pedalling to the nearest store just to round it up, but pizza and World Cup highlights made a stronger argument. In Kansas, I told myself, the century is only a matter of time — we mean to fly through this long, flat state.

73 days, one line across the country

1 comment from 2010