Last night we got to see John and Donna (they came over to let Dylan, another cyclist into the church) again. I made sure to get a photo.
With their tandem! Such amazing people!
Then later, Deanne came by to check on the phones. I asked her if we could take a selfie together.
Another amazing human being right there!
This morning I was at the post office door right at 8:30 when they opened. I got the tire, slung it over my shoulder, and headed back to the bike camp to put it on. On the way back, who should come riding up the road? John, of course! He came back to the bike camp with me, and we got the new tire on. Unfortunately, in the process, the tube got pinched. It was covered in remnants of sealant, that made it really sticky. We kept trying to inflate it, but it wasn’t working. John went home to get his floor pump. Doug and I figured there must be something wrong with the tube. Fortunately, I had bought another one at the bike shop on Saturday. New tube in, and the tire inflated just fine. John got back with the floor pump, and I was able to get the bead fully seated.
Tilmann at the bike work station waiting to get his new tire. The pump didn’t seem to work on Presta valves.
We said our final goodbyes to John. They really went above and beyond! We pulled out of Great Bend at 9:35. Lucky for us, today was overcast, and considerably cooler. It was actually pleasant to ride. Plus, we had a tailwind for the first 16 miles!
Loving the tailwind, and the cloudy skies!
Of course, since we were heading south, we eventually had to turn east again. Back to crosswinds…and miles of a straight road. Saw this sign for the first time.
There was more than one!
We cycled through the Quivera Wildlife Refuge. We didn’t see any wildlife. We stopped for lunch at a “Woodlot”.
A small grove of trees provided a nice shady spot for lunch.
Back on the straight road, we came across this.
There was a cooler filled with ice and bottles of water. Amazing!
We finally made a few turns, then rolled into Nickerson. We stopped at the Kwik Mart and got something to eat and drink. The clerk told us where the city park was, so we rode over, and called it a day.
First thing I noticed at the park was a splash pad. Yay! We could have showers of sorts! Then I went into the restroom, and lo and behold, there was a shower…and it worked!!! Happy dance right there!!!
As we were sitting for a moment relaxing, a woman named Judy walked over to us. She told us there was going to be a dinner at the Community Center tonight at 5:00, and we would be welcome to come. It was about 3:50, so we hurried up and took showers and set up our tents. Then we rode over to the Community Center. We were immediately welcomed by the community. June was the person in charge.
The amazing June!
We sat with Sandy and Billie, two wonderful women. The lucky horseshoe was at it again because they only do this dinner once a month, and it happened to be when we were here! How lucky is that! We had wonderful conversations with all the folks around us. We had fried chicken, baked beans, corn salad, cucumber salad, rolls, and chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert! Way way better than anything we could have pulled out of our panniers! June also offered up the Community Center for us to sleep in, but since the temps are not so high, we are happy to sleep in our tents (although, the grain elevators across from the park are awfully loud).
We still have a few days left in Kansas. I’m sure we’ll be meeting more of the wonderful Kansas people, and experience more of that Kansas hospitality! It really is awesome to meet so many great people!
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