109.55 miles (Total: 1908.01) Avg Speed: 11.9mph Max Speed: 22mph
Joe woke to a flat this morning which required attention before we could hit the road, Terry had up an left before we woke. Another Gas station breakfast was not cool but options were limited. We hit the road hard knowing it was going to be a long day. We were planning on reaching Larned which includes a stretch of 60 miles with no services.
First pit stop was in a town called Buhler, a friendly local heard me talk and came over to say ‘Gooday mate!’ before realising that was Australian and then responded ‘Cheerio!’, strange. The heat was insane again so we decided to take 2 hour stop in Nickerson for lunch to save ourselves from the hottest part of the day. Terry came just as we were about to leave and wasn’t up for the 60 miles afternoon stretch without services so decided to stay at Nickerson an catch up with the mileage tomorrow.
Nickerson, Kansas
It was difficult to stay focussed knowing the supplies we had needed to last us until Larned, and looking at my cyclometer the miles were crawling up. My water was going down quickly as my throat kept drying out. Very early in the riding it became clear we would have to ration what we had. It started to become uncomfortable when I was down to my last half bottle of, by this time boiling hot, water. We pulled over to the side of the road when we saw a pipe pumping out ice cold water. The sign read ‘Nonpotable’ Joe rang his mum to confirm this meant non drinkable. He does have a water purifier which we were about to bust out when a guy pulls up with his young son and offers us a keg of iced water to fill up our bottles. Its happened again, just when I need it most the only car all afternoon comes out of nowhere to save us.
Now well stocked we feel great and slowly but surely I grind my way to the first 100 of the trip, it was a great moment the best thing was I felt I could go on forever. We continue another 9 miles until reaching Larned and treat ourselves to a motel room, We haven’t showered properly for a few days. We order pizza to the room and I watch some more World Cup highlights. Looking at the progress we have now made in Kansas was great, we are destroying this map.
Bringing up the hundred
We just put a dent in Kansas.
Joe woke to a flat tyre that needed sorting before we could move, and Terry, true to form, had already gone. Another gas station breakfast — not ideal, but there wasn’t much else on offer — and then we hit the road hard, knowing the day ahead was a long one. Larned was the target, and it came with a sixty-mile stretch in the middle carrying no services at all.
Our first stop was Buhler, where a friendly local caught my accent and greeted me with a hearty “G’day, mate!” — then, catching himself, switched to “Cheerio!” It didn’t quite land either way, but the effort was appreciated. The heat had turned properly vicious again, so we took a two-hour break in Nickerson for lunch, timed to skip the worst of the afternoon sun. Terry rolled in just as we were leaving and decided the sixty dry miles ahead weren’t for him today — he’d stay behind in Nickerson and make up the distance tomorrow.
Nickerson, Kansas
Staying focused got harder once I understood how much depended on the supplies we were carrying — every mile that crept up on the cyclometer meant one mile closer to running dry. My water disappeared faster than I’d planned for, my throat drying out again almost as soon as I’d drunk, and rationing became necessary far earlier than I would have liked. By the time I was down to half a bottle of water gone lukewarm in the heat, things had turned genuinely uncomfortable. Then we spotted a pipe running ice-cold water by the roadside, with a sign reading “Nonpotable” — Joe rang his mother to confirm what we both suspected, that it meant not for drinking — and were just about to break out his water filter when a man pulled up with his young son and, unprompted, offered us a whole keg of iced water for our bottles. It happens again and again out here: right when I need it most, the one car all afternoon appears out of nowhere to save the day.
Restocked and feeling like a new man, I ground out my way through to the first century of the trip — a genuine milestone, and one that left me convinced I could ride on forever. Nine miles later we reached Larned and gave ourselves the treat of a motel room, having gone unwashed properly for several days running. Pizza was ordered to the room, World Cup highlights played on the television, and Kansas, looking back at the map, was starting to look thoroughly beaten.
Bringing up the hundred
We just put a dent in Kansas.
3 comments from 2010
Keep on trucking kid, awsome stuff. i spend my days in a boiling hot office working with 1s and 0s as coop dog him self would state. Peace
Ryan I have followed progress every day, and now wiggo et al have kicked off in the tour de France. Inspired. I am planning a Kenton Social C2C next May but I guess you would not be able to handle the 3 day pace! Martin (ps we never met properly)
Hiya rye,so a truck with a keg of ice water pulls up beside you,man you must say your prayers every night.Keep up the good work.