Day 61-Month 2 Complete, and More Kansas Kindness

If you could have heard the sound from the grain elevator in Nickerson that went on all night long, and if you could have seen how many lights were on in the park all night long, you would wonder how we managed to get any sleep. After two months on the road, I seem to be able to sleep through anything!

We got up in the dark this morning. I think I did one of my fastest packings because I was ready to go at 6:30 (got up at 5:30). 

Starting to get light. 

It was really pleasant on the road this morning. It was fairly cool and humid. 

There was a layer of fog on the ground. 

Doug and the sunrise. 

Not far out of Nickerson there was a bridge out. We knew about it from Quan, way back in Ordway, CO. We just ended up following the detour signs. 

It was one mile south on this sandy dirt road, then two miles east on another sandy dirt road, then one mile back north on more sandy dirt road. If it had been much longer, I would have let some air out of my front tire. It was a wee bit squirrelly. 

At about 20ish miles in for the day, we came to the town of Buhler. The services were off the route a bit, but we decided to check it out anyway. We came to a place called the Mustard Seed. Looked like a place for some second breakfast. 

I enjoyed a freshly baked cinnamon roll of awesomeness, and Doug had eggs and bacon. While we were there, a gentleman named Aldin came over to talk to us. Turns out his kids own the place. He thanked us for coming into their town, and then bought our breakfast! The town was very nice. It would have made a good overnight spot, but it was only 8:30.

Back out on the route we went by this. 

Finally, something about sunflowers!

Ah ha, now we know why we haven’t seen any fields yet. There not grown up! They have a long way to go. Probably won’t see any of the Kansas Sunflowers (if this field is any indication).

We stopped for a brief snack in Hesston before riding the 5 miles to Newton. Newton is a much bigger city. Almost as big as Great Bend. We stopped at a natural food market and deli for some lunch. The sandwich I had wasn’t all that great, but the carrot cake was delicious. We talked to a guy at the deli who offered to call some cyclist friends and see if we could pitch our tents in their backyard. They didn’t answer, though. That was fine because, for the first time in 10 days, we were going to stay at a campground (as opposed to a city park). Don’t get me wrong, the city parks are awesome, it’s just nice to be in a campground (on a lake even).

There are free showers here too!

Doug’s leg is bugging him, so he was a little slower today. Reminds me of when we were in Idaho, and my leg kept hurting. Then it went away on its own. Hopefully, Doug’s will do the same. 

For this, the second month, here are some stats. 

Miles ridden: 1515 (give or take)

Average/day: 48.8 miles

Days off: 3 (really just two for Doug, but we’ve ridden the same miles)

Free nights: 11 (thanks to amazingly welcoming churches and city parks)

In the second month, we finished Montana, rode across Wyoming, rode across Colorado (and over the highest point on the Trans Am), and have made it about 3/4ths of the way across Kansas. While we are not 2/3rds of the way done yet, we are looking pretty good for a mid-September finish. Of course, things can change…(for example…Kentucky…there have been some floods on our route…May necessitate some detours).