Ness City, Kansas, to Larned, Kansas -- 67 miles

We woke at 6 am and got on the road at 6:30 am. It was windier than yesterday, which slowed us down a lot. When we turned to head south along the route, the wind hit us head-on. We met Sam from Rhode Island, and Marty from Seattle, who are biking east-to-west. We stopped at the Fort Larned Historic Site; this fort was used to protect the Santa Fe Trail for commerce for 19 years, and it’s one of the most well-preserved forts in the U.S. We met Jim from the Adventure Cycling group and chatted with him for a while.

When we reached Larned at 3:30 pm, we stopped at a diner to rehydrate with iced tea and have a bite to eat. We met Bob Grubb, who invited us to stay at his home. Bob was probably in his 70’s although he was as physically fit as a healthy 50-year-old. He had been in the oil business and owned his own company at one time. He now owned a farm where he raised cattle and grew hay. He started talking to us in the diner, and many people seemed to know him, so when he invited us to his home, we accepted. He said to have a friend, you have to be a friend and someone has to make the first move. 

He told us about farming and his frustrations about it. He also told Lenny about his perspective on the Civil War. He let us borrow his truck to pick up groceries and then brought us to his farm. We drove around the farm in his pickup and got to see his cows (that he calls his “pets”) up close. They were like big dogs! We stayed up past our usual bedtime, as Bob talked late into the night.