Pittsburg, Kansas, to Everton, Missouri -- Biked 62 miles, drove 20 miles to Springfield

We woke at 5 am, and began biking at 5:50 am. We passed a buffalo farm and nearly caused a stampede as we rode by. Lorraine joked that we were “pedaling for pies” because we planned on stopping at Cooky’s Cafe in Golden City, Missouri – they are famous among bikers for having 20 different kinds of pies! We had 6 slices – one chocolate, one coconut cream, two strawberry, and two blackberry.

The hills became like a roller coaster ride – and we haven’t ridden hills at all since we left Colorado. In Everton, we stopped to get sodas and Lenny noticed that one of his spokes had pulled a round chunk of the rim out. The wheel was still true, but we were afraid that the rim might collapse if he rode on it.

A few days ago, we had arranged for Lenny’s colleague Curtis Horton and his wife Becky to pick us up in Walnut Grove. We called them and asked if they could pick us up here instead. Curtis and his son Andrew rescued us and our bikes. Andrew (who is 8 years old) gave us a $10 donation toward the scholarship fund. Curtis showed us where he grew up in Willard; we also rode past his office and then came to his home. He has a gorgeous new house on 10 acres of land. We met Becky’s sister Bonnie & her husband Gerald Burkhart, who live next door. We also met another sister Pat Hoppis, who lives near Walnut Grove. She is a mail carrier and has a jeep with the steering wheel on the right side of the car!

We got settled in, played with their pets, and went swimming just as it was starting to rain. We floated in the pool as the rain poured down, but got out when we heard thunder. Suddenly, the wind started blowing at about 60 mph; it was pushing the hanging ferns out sideways and moving Andrew’s swingset across the yard for about 2 minutes. We saw our photos on the website for the first time (we haven’t had access to the internet for awhile). Lenny played Nintendo, and Andrew kicked his butt! We had a delicious dinner of steak, corn, salad, wild rice casserole and the best carrot cake we’ve ever had.

Chanute, Kansas, to Pittsburg, Kansas -- 58 miles

We got up at 6 am and got on the road at 6:50 am. Biking was tough because of the serious headwind that pushed against us. We saw two clever church signs along the way – one said, “You think it’s hot here?”; the other said, “Exposure to the SON prevents burning!” Lenny rescued a turtle from being run over in the road. Lorraine wanted to know where all the live armadillos were, since we already saw several dead ones on the road. 

We arrived in town at 1:00 pm and stopped at the Tailwind Cyclists bike shop to have our bike chains checked; they were fine. The owner filled us in on the Tour de France; we found out that unless Lance Armstrong crashed, he would have his third Tour de France victory in a row. It started raining about 30 seconds before we pulled into the Holiday Lodge motel parking lot! We relaxed in the motel room, and talked to Lorraine’s parents on the phone. We told them about the past week, and that we averaged 10 mph today – Lorraine’s dad helpfully reminded us, “Lance Armstrong averages 30 mph!” We went to Wal-Mart to get camera batteries and groceries, then had dinner at Applebee’s and dessert at Dairy Queen. We watched an interesting National Geographic show about bears.

Eureka, Kansas, to Chanute, Kansas -- 63 miles

We woke at 6 am and began biking at 7 am. We could hear thunder in the distance, and as we left town, the rain began. We stopped on the road to put on our rain gear. It rained steadily for about 2 hours, then cleared and turned sunny by the afternoon. We met Stuart and Sandra Waterhouse from Lancaster, England, who are taking two years to bike around the world. Stuart is a postman, and gets a 1- to 3-year leave of absence from work as part of his service contract. They sold their cars to purchase their plane tickets, and are renting out their home to pay for other travel expenses. We spoke about the route they had traveled thus far, and they told us about the “Dog Dazer,” an electronic device that they used to deal with the aggressive dogs in Kentucky.

We stopped at the grocery store in Chanute at 3:30 pm, and spoke to Orval and Margaret Peterson about our trip. We stayed at the Guest House Motel, and had a buffet dinner at the Holiday Park Restaurant.

Newton, Kansas, to Eureka, Kansas -- 74 miles

When the alarm went off at 5 am, we could hear heavy rain coming down, so we rolled over and went back to sleep! When we woke at 8 am, the rain had stopped, so we decided to get on the road. We started biking at 8:45 am. Lenny’s front tire was low on air; we stopped for him to fill it up. It was overcast and breezy – much more comfortable for biking. Lenny hit his fender with his foot; the fender caught on the moving tire and and bent completely in half. Fortunately, the fender is made of a flexible and durable type of plastic, so it popped back into shape when he took the tire off. 

We stopped in Cassoday – “The Prairie Chicken Capital of the World” – to fill our water bottles and have a Pepsi. We didn’t ask where the prairie chickens were. As we were heading out of town, two young children waved and yelled “Hi!” then “Goodbye!” to us. We were heading south for about 18 miles, and there was less wind, but when we turned east at Rosalia, the headwinds hit us full force. We were exhausted when we finally reached Eureka at 5:30 pm. We stayed at the Carriage House Motel – the proprietor was very jovial and gave us a biker discount. We bought groceries, then had awesome fajitas at The Paddock Restaurant.

Sterling, Kansas, to Newton, Kansas -- 61 miles

We woke at 5 am, and started biking at 6 am. We stopped in the town of Nickerson at Hendrick’s Exotic Animal Farm for about an hour. The donkeys were biting each other and fighting over who was getting fed; one drew blood on the other’s nostril. We saw the strangest-looking bulls, with a rounded hump on their back, a frilly flap of skin on their chest, and long floppy ears; it turns out they were Brahma bulls from India. Lorraine fed grass to the camels, zebras, giraffes, and gazelles. We especially liked the gentle giraffe – he would slowly lower his head and then scoop up the grass with his long tongue.

When we started biking again, the wind was gusting from the southeast at 10 mph. We stopped at 11 am to eat lunch under a tree by the road. It had been relatively cool, but started getting warmer. We stopped at the Hesston Chiropractic Center to drop off a brochure. We arrived in Newton at 1:30 pm and checked into the First Interstate Motel, then ate at the diner next door. We called Curtis Horton (a chiropractor in Springfield, MO, and fellow member of the Sherman College Board of Trustees) and made arrangements to meet on Sunday. He would pick us up in Walnut Grove, Missouri at around 3 pm, and we would call on Saturday to confirm.

Larned, Kansas, to Sterling, Kansas -- 55 miles

We woke at 5 am, and began biking at 6 am. Streetlights lit the route and the sky was overcast with clouds. Lenny noticed that his tire was almost flat, and had succumbed to the “Texas tacks,” so he stopped to inflate it. It started raining big, fat raindrops for a few minutes, and stopped just as quickly. After 30 miles, Lenny had to patch the tire tube because it wasn’t holding air. Several Adventure Cycling members stopped to say hello and see if we needed help. They were headed to the church hostel in Hutchinson, a larger town of about 40,000 people. We decided to go to Sterling instead (a smaller town of 2,000 people) and stay in a motel. 

We arrived at 12:30 pm and checked into the Sterling Inn. Lenny went to the post office, and we had lunch at the Sterling Café. The waitresses were wonderful as usual – they let us sit with our iced teas until our brains began to function again. We spoke with them about our trip and our cause. Lenny dropped off a brochure and chatted with Dr. Shannon Sauer at the Sauer Chiropractic Clinic in town. We returned to the motel and watched Dr. Phil on Oprah. We were still hungry, so we went to Gambino’s Pizza for dinner.

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.

Scott City, Kansas, to Ness City, Kansas -- 56 miles

We woke at 5 am Central Time and started biking at 6:15 am. The sun was just coming up and we navigated by the streetlights. As we were leaving town, the sign on the bank reported that it was 78 degrees. It was overcast, with little wind – comfortable for biking. As the sun rose higher into the sky it made for an amazing light show. Scott Krizek caught up with us, and we rode together and talked. After riding a short distance, we passed a huge field of bright yellow sunflowers that seemed to go on forever – it was an amazing sight.

In Dighton, we ran into Lou, the leader from the Adventure Cycling group. He said that they only biked 24 miles yesterday, in order to spend some time at the county fair. When we arrived in Ness City, we all had lunch at the Derrick Restaurant. When we were in line to pay for our meal, a couple asked us about biking in the heat. We told them that today was much better than yesterday. We told them we heard that it got as high as 106 degrees yesterday. She mentioned that she works for a construction company and on days when it is this hot, the pavement is between 130 to 150 degrees. She also mentioned that if there is no rain soon, the crops are going to die – especially the dryland crops.

Scott continued biking on to LaCrosse, to meet the Adventure Cycling group. It was getting very hot, so we decided to stay put and get into some air-conditioning at the Derrick Inn, the only motel in town. We watched the movie “Look Who’s Talking” with Kirstie Alley and John Travolta. When we left the room to get pizza for dinner, it was like walking into an oven. At 6:30 pm, the bank sign said it was 103 degrees.

Sheridan Lake, Colorado, to Scott City, Kansas -- 76 miles

We woke at 5:30 am and began biking just after 6:30 am. After 15 miles, we crossed into Kansas and, of course, we stopped to take pictures. After 30 miles, we stopped in Tribune to buy Pepsi and fruit. The route was flat, and we were biking from one grain silo to the next!

After 50 miles, we stopped in Leoti and ate lunch on a bench by the grocery store, out of the sun. According to the sign on the bank, it was 98 degrees. We ran into Scott Krizek from the Adventure Cycling group – he had gone off on his own to spend a few days in Boulder, CO, and now he was going to catch up with the group again. We continued another 25 miles – it felt like the wind was coming at us from all directions. Lorraine was getting exhausted and had difficulty coping with the heat, so we decided that in the coming days, we would attempt to get off the road by noon. We reached Scott City by 2:30 pm. The time changed from Mountain to Central time when we entered Wichita County so we set our watches ahead one hour.

We checked into the Chaparral Inn Motel and relaxed in the air-conditioned room. We went to the grocery store, and as we left, Lenny asked the clerk to recommend a restaurant. She said the bowling alley had some of the best food and certainly the biggest burgers in town, so we walked 8 blocks to go there. The cook was telling us about her sons who are in the service, one in Washington state and one in Cherry Point, NC. When she visited North Carolina (having lived in Western Kansas her whole life), she said, “There were so many trees, I couldn’t see the countryside!” She said she would like more trees in Kansas, but not that many. It was an interesting perspective that we never would have considered. We found out that the temperature reached 101 today and may hit 105 tomorrow!