Days 52-55
July 25, 2005
Hello from Manhattan, Kansas. I hope everyone is enjoying the comforts of their air conditioning as you read and get your fill of this continuing cross-country cycling goodness. The heat continues to make thing interesting out here; I’ve actually found it to be quite inconvenient. It affects everything.
We are sometimes faced with obstacles in life whose battles, if we are fortunate enough, may be waged with a sense of nobility. The trip has held a few such obstacles in the form of some of the hills back west. There were times when I’d be slowly sweating my way up a long road and a car with a bike rack would pass with a guy at the wheel fanatically giving me a thumb up as he passed. What an incredible, anonymous shot of confidence. With one small gesture I’d all at once be filled with an overwhelming sense of self-assuredness, reminded of all the support back home, and fueled with the energy to scale the pass and the next stretch of road after. And then, while now tackling the road ahead, I’d envision all the images of cyclists I’ve seen pounding their way up a hill and view the test as a rite of passage of sorts.
These days, there is a touch of nobility felt in the war being waged against the intense heat. However, unlike the passing, random shots of support found in the western mountains, the current locals do nothing to reinforce that feeling. In fact, the overwhelming assumed sensibility prompting my self-induced sweatfest is stupidity.
Long gone are the chance thumbs up by the passing cars. They have been replaced with raised eyebrows and concerned comments like: “Little hot to be doing that isn’t it..?” At times I begin to question my own sense of logic. No, more than questioning my sense of reasoning, I simply begin to question when it will end.
As I said, it affects everything. “Everything” only being the three or four elements of this simplified life of crossing the country by bike, but “everything” nonetheless. Let me quickly fill you in on the past few days.
After I wrote my last entry on the 21st back in Hoxie, a nice lady in a Blazer stopped to ask about “4pedals.com.” She saw the best bicycle billboard ever and stopped to inquire. Once we got to talking she told me she wasn’t just being nosey, she’s a reporter for the Colby newspaper. I gave her the scoop on the journey and the events leading up to it, she took a few pictures, and everyone was happy. She said she’d put together a little story and have it run in the Colby paper. Thank you Jan for being inquisitive enough to stop and ask about the bike, as well as do a little story on it.
The night in the Hoxie city park wasn’t bad at all. Other than the manmade daylight cast by the excessive amount of streetlights, the heat wasn’t too bad and I had a rather nice rest. I successfully got up to a nice early start as planned; I was on the road shortly after 7.
The ride that morning was the most peaceful of the trip. The picture I posted above Day 51 is of that morning; it’s one of the few pictures that manages to capture a sense of the real thing. I felt like I crept out of Hoxie as quietly as possible, so as not to wake anyone. The golden sun was just beginning to stretch through the clouds and warm the rolling hills I found east of town. On the road you could smell the morning coolness still coming from the damp wooded groves tucked away off to the side. It was one of the most peaceful scenes I’ve ever experienced, let alone the trip itself. As I said, I was pleasantly surprised to find nice rolling hills coming out of Hoxie. Not only were they not flat, they featured variety of natural vegetation unlike the Kansas roads I traveled the days prior. The land was still marked off like a sprawling quilt, only now between the contrasting patches of terrain were thin rows and clusters of trees scattered about. It reminded me of how I expect Tuscany to be. At times I’d allow myself to imagine I was already there, riding through the countryside. All it needed was a vineyard or two with handful of workers out pruning the vines…
It didn’t take long for the cool morning to give way to the dry heat of the early afternoon hours. I had planned on going Osborne that day, but with the intense heat and the word of heavy construction, I decided to stay in Stockton for the night. And yes, as you may have guessed, it didn’t take long for me to dive back into the motels.
It was only 3:30 when I decided to stay in Stockton. I had already killed close to two hours at the city pool, enough to burn the front and back of by upper body, and had a good 3 hours left of the intense heat. I didn’t want to get all sweaty again by hanging out at the park waiting for nightfall, so I dropped $25 to check into a little motel and spend the rest of the night in the AC – well worth it.
The next day was a full day of heat on the ride to Beloit. Nothing too exciting happened other than a late start followed by a late arrival, but it was a kind an intentional late start. Another problem with the heat: you get to your destination too early and have nothing to do in the small town except hang out in the shade and wait for dusk. I figured I’d take my time in getting to Beloit since knew there wouldn’t be anything waiting for me when I got there anyway. After a long ride and a lot of sweat I finally got to the Beloit Dairy Queen where I was greeted by a lovely Mint Oreo Blizzard.
Yesterday I made my way to Clay Center. Yesterday I began to get a little tired of the hills I gladly welcomed a few short days ago. Between the heat, the hills, and the long stretch without services, it was a long day. Thankfully my music helps cut up some of the madness that easily creeps in when battling so many variables.
Four miles outside of Clay Center I got a flat. I drained the last of my water 5 – 10 miles earlier and was already pushing to get to town to quench the rest of my thirst. It would have been a hard struggle to fix the flat in the heat of the sun without water or shade. So, for the first time, I walked back to the house I had just passed a quarter mile back, knocked on the door, and asked if I could steel some water. The lady kindly obliged, questioned my judgment for riding in the unrelenting heat, and wished me well.
As I was changing out the inner tube, three people stopped and asked if I was alright; everyone was right, people are really nice out here in Kansas. One guy who stopped even filled up one of my bottles with Ice Cold, great tasting, French water. I don’t know if it was French, but it was amazing.
I got to town, filled up at Pizza Hut, and turned down the best offer of the trip. After I ate, I asked a nice couple if they knew of a park I could camp for the night. They gave me a few ideas and we chatted a bit. As I was paying, the wife came up to me and said I could camp at their house, and actually, just stay in their extra bedroom. I asked if they were sure and she said absolutely, they just live 12 miles up the road. I thanked them very much but told them I’d be fine riding up to the park a few blocks away. If they were nearby I would have probably taken them up on it, and I’m sure they would have given me a ride in their truck I’m sure they had, but I didn’t want to be an inconvenience. It turned out to be a big mistake.
Last night was the worst night I’ve had in a long time. It was a warm night and I stupidly set up my tent in the worst place for air. I had a little washcloth I used to wipe the sweat away while I lay as still as possible, trying to cool down. I could hear the wind blowing the trees around me and thought about moving to a better vantage point. When the rain drops started to come I made that move. I threw the fly on the tent, waterproofed my gear, grabbed my sleeping pad, left everything, and headed to the picnic shelter at the top of the hill. It was a rather well-lit area with houses nearby. As I lay on a picnic table in the middle of the little community with my little mat, I came to know the difference between “camping” and just plain homeless.
It was a bad night. I ended up moving again to another shelter in a less conspicuous area where I became an all night buffet for the winged beasts of the night. After two hard fought naps on that picnic table, I ended up going back to the tent around 2:30. Thankfully the little shower had cooled things off, but it was still a bit of a struggle to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I was tempted to pack up and head for Manhattan right then, but just the thought of that made me tired. So I went with it and kept thinking of all the things I’d have to do to get on the road until I fell asleep…
Today I got up and thanked God I made it through the night. I got everything together and went on a hunt for breakfast. I asked a lady in town where I could find a bite to eat and she told me I should swing by the paper before I left so they could do a story. Of course, I thought that was a great idea and followed her advice. The news editor interviewed me, took a few pictures, and said he’d run a story for me. Thank you to all the kind folks I encountered in and around Clay Center for your kind hospitality.
I got to Manhattan, found the town paper, The Mercury, thanks to a little research from David, and went in to chat. A nice reporter sat down, took some notes about what I was doing, and said she’d fill her news editor in tomorrow. She said she’s the one who decided which stories to run. She was very nice and said, although she couldn’t make any promises, she’d see what she could do.
As expected, after my fun night last night, I didn’t have the energy to go to Topeka as I had hoped. So, once again, I checked into another fabulous Motel 6 and took a 2-hour nap. I got up, did some Much Needed laundry, got some groceries, and hung out with some good fried chicken. I also decided to re-wrap my handlebars. The tape had gotten pretty worn up top and I figured I could rotate it and get a refreshed, more comfortable, grip on the bars. I did that and it looks and feels great. However, in doing so, I had to take off my bike computer beforehand and remount it after. Well, I remounted it with two zip-ties and was trimming off the excess zip-tie with my pocketknife when I accidentally snipped the wire of my computer. I figured I could strip the wires and twist them together and wrap them with electrical tape, but the wires are too delicate to work with. In short, I killed my computer. I’m pretty bummed, but what are ya gonna do..?
So that’s how life’s been the past few days. Tomorrow I’ll get to Topeka and Wednesday I be in Kansas City. I’m looking forward to the days to come. Evidently there’s supposed to be a cool front coming through tomorrow too, we’ll see just how “cool” it is…
Day 52: 67.42
Day 53: 74.78
Day 54: 58.09
Today: 45.29 Total: 2,538.45
**And now without my computer, that’s the last of the “official mileage." I guess it doesn’t really matter. As long as I get home, that’s all that counts…
Hello from Manhattan, Kansas. I hope everyone is enjoying the comforts of their air conditioning as you read and get your fill of this continuing cross-country cycling goodness. The heat continues to make thing interesting out here; I’ve actually found it to be quite inconvenient. It affects everything.
We are sometimes faced with obstacles in life whose battles, if we are fortunate enough, may be waged with a sense of nobility. The trip has held a few such obstacles in the form of some of the hills back west. There were times when I’d be slowly sweating my way up a long road and a car with a bike rack would pass with a guy at the wheel fanatically giving me a thumb up as he passed. What an incredible, anonymous shot of confidence. With one small gesture I’d all at once be filled with an overwhelming sense of self-assuredness, reminded of all the support back home, and fueled with the energy to scale the pass and the next stretch of road after. And then, while now tackling the road ahead, I’d envision all the images of cyclists I’ve seen pounding their way up a hill and view the test as a rite of passage of sorts.
These days, there is a touch of nobility felt in the war being waged against the intense heat. However, unlike the passing, random shots of support found in the western mountains, the current locals do nothing to reinforce that feeling. In fact, the overwhelming assumed sensibility prompting my self-induced sweatfest is stupidity.
Long gone are the chance thumbs up by the passing cars. They have been replaced with raised eyebrows and concerned comments like: “Little hot to be doing that isn’t it..?” At times I begin to question my own sense of logic. No, more than questioning my sense of reasoning, I simply begin to question when it will end.
As I said, it affects everything. “Everything” only being the three or four elements of this simplified life of crossing the country by bike, but “everything” nonetheless. Let me quickly fill you in on the past few days.
After I wrote my last entry on the 21st back in Hoxie, a nice lady in a Blazer stopped to ask about “4pedals.com.” She saw the best bicycle billboard ever and stopped to inquire. Once we got to talking she told me she wasn’t just being nosey, she’s a reporter for the Colby newspaper. I gave her the scoop on the journey and the events leading up to it, she took a few pictures, and everyone was happy. She said she’d put together a little story and have it run in the Colby paper. Thank you Jan for being inquisitive enough to stop and ask about the bike, as well as do a little story on it.
The night in the Hoxie city park wasn’t bad at all. Other than the manmade daylight cast by the excessive amount of streetlights, the heat wasn’t too bad and I had a rather nice rest. I successfully got up to a nice early start as planned; I was on the road shortly after 7.
The ride that morning was the most peaceful of the trip. The picture I posted above Day 51 is of that morning; it’s one of the few pictures that manages to capture a sense of the real thing. I felt like I crept out of Hoxie as quietly as possible, so as not to wake anyone. The golden sun was just beginning to stretch through the clouds and warm the rolling hills I found east of town. On the road you could smell the morning coolness still coming from the damp wooded groves tucked away off to the side. It was one of the most peaceful scenes I’ve ever experienced, let alone the trip itself. As I said, I was pleasantly surprised to find nice rolling hills coming out of Hoxie. Not only were they not flat, they featured variety of natural vegetation unlike the Kansas roads I traveled the days prior. The land was still marked off like a sprawling quilt, only now between the contrasting patches of terrain were thin rows and clusters of trees scattered about. It reminded me of how I expect Tuscany to be. At times I’d allow myself to imagine I was already there, riding through the countryside. All it needed was a vineyard or two with handful of workers out pruning the vines…
It didn’t take long for the cool morning to give way to the dry heat of the early afternoon hours. I had planned on going Osborne that day, but with the intense heat and the word of heavy construction, I decided to stay in Stockton for the night. And yes, as you may have guessed, it didn’t take long for me to dive back into the motels.
It was only 3:30 when I decided to stay in Stockton. I had already killed close to two hours at the city pool, enough to burn the front and back of by upper body, and had a good 3 hours left of the intense heat. I didn’t want to get all sweaty again by hanging out at the park waiting for nightfall, so I dropped $25 to check into a little motel and spend the rest of the night in the AC – well worth it.
The next day was a full day of heat on the ride to Beloit. Nothing too exciting happened other than a late start followed by a late arrival, but it was a kind an intentional late start. Another problem with the heat: you get to your destination too early and have nothing to do in the small town except hang out in the shade and wait for dusk. I figured I’d take my time in getting to Beloit since knew there wouldn’t be anything waiting for me when I got there anyway. After a long ride and a lot of sweat I finally got to the Beloit Dairy Queen where I was greeted by a lovely Mint Oreo Blizzard.
Yesterday I made my way to Clay Center. Yesterday I began to get a little tired of the hills I gladly welcomed a few short days ago. Between the heat, the hills, and the long stretch without services, it was a long day. Thankfully my music helps cut up some of the madness that easily creeps in when battling so many variables.
Four miles outside of Clay Center I got a flat. I drained the last of my water 5 – 10 miles earlier and was already pushing to get to town to quench the rest of my thirst. It would have been a hard struggle to fix the flat in the heat of the sun without water or shade. So, for the first time, I walked back to the house I had just passed a quarter mile back, knocked on the door, and asked if I could steel some water. The lady kindly obliged, questioned my judgment for riding in the unrelenting heat, and wished me well.
As I was changing out the inner tube, three people stopped and asked if I was alright; everyone was right, people are really nice out here in Kansas. One guy who stopped even filled up one of my bottles with Ice Cold, great tasting, French water. I don’t know if it was French, but it was amazing.
I got to town, filled up at Pizza Hut, and turned down the best offer of the trip. After I ate, I asked a nice couple if they knew of a park I could camp for the night. They gave me a few ideas and we chatted a bit. As I was paying, the wife came up to me and said I could camp at their house, and actually, just stay in their extra bedroom. I asked if they were sure and she said absolutely, they just live 12 miles up the road. I thanked them very much but told them I’d be fine riding up to the park a few blocks away. If they were nearby I would have probably taken them up on it, and I’m sure they would have given me a ride in their truck I’m sure they had, but I didn’t want to be an inconvenience. It turned out to be a big mistake.
Last night was the worst night I’ve had in a long time. It was a warm night and I stupidly set up my tent in the worst place for air. I had a little washcloth I used to wipe the sweat away while I lay as still as possible, trying to cool down. I could hear the wind blowing the trees around me and thought about moving to a better vantage point. When the rain drops started to come I made that move. I threw the fly on the tent, waterproofed my gear, grabbed my sleeping pad, left everything, and headed to the picnic shelter at the top of the hill. It was a rather well-lit area with houses nearby. As I lay on a picnic table in the middle of the little community with my little mat, I came to know the difference between “camping” and just plain homeless.
It was a bad night. I ended up moving again to another shelter in a less conspicuous area where I became an all night buffet for the winged beasts of the night. After two hard fought naps on that picnic table, I ended up going back to the tent around 2:30. Thankfully the little shower had cooled things off, but it was still a bit of a struggle to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. I was tempted to pack up and head for Manhattan right then, but just the thought of that made me tired. So I went with it and kept thinking of all the things I’d have to do to get on the road until I fell asleep…
Today I got up and thanked God I made it through the night. I got everything together and went on a hunt for breakfast. I asked a lady in town where I could find a bite to eat and she told me I should swing by the paper before I left so they could do a story. Of course, I thought that was a great idea and followed her advice. The news editor interviewed me, took a few pictures, and said he’d run a story for me. Thank you to all the kind folks I encountered in and around Clay Center for your kind hospitality.
I got to Manhattan, found the town paper, The Mercury, thanks to a little research from David, and went in to chat. A nice reporter sat down, took some notes about what I was doing, and said she’d fill her news editor in tomorrow. She said she’s the one who decided which stories to run. She was very nice and said, although she couldn’t make any promises, she’d see what she could do.
As expected, after my fun night last night, I didn’t have the energy to go to Topeka as I had hoped. So, once again, I checked into another fabulous Motel 6 and took a 2-hour nap. I got up, did some Much Needed laundry, got some groceries, and hung out with some good fried chicken. I also decided to re-wrap my handlebars. The tape had gotten pretty worn up top and I figured I could rotate it and get a refreshed, more comfortable, grip on the bars. I did that and it looks and feels great. However, in doing so, I had to take off my bike computer beforehand and remount it after. Well, I remounted it with two zip-ties and was trimming off the excess zip-tie with my pocketknife when I accidentally snipped the wire of my computer. I figured I could strip the wires and twist them together and wrap them with electrical tape, but the wires are too delicate to work with. In short, I killed my computer. I’m pretty bummed, but what are ya gonna do..?
So that’s how life’s been the past few days. Tomorrow I’ll get to Topeka and Wednesday I be in Kansas City. I’m looking forward to the days to come. Evidently there’s supposed to be a cool front coming through tomorrow too, we’ll see just how “cool” it is…
Day 52: 67.42
Day 53: 74.78
Day 54: 58.09
Today: 45.29 Total: 2,538.45
**And now without my computer, that’s the last of the “official mileage." I guess it doesn’t really matter. As long as I get home, that’s all that counts…
posted by SuperByron3000 at 7/26/2005
2 Comments:
This is absolutely beautiful, what a great friend you are to educate others about this terrible disease. Keep it up and stay safe.
We'll be thinking "cool" for you here in Richmond, VA!
Go man, go ! Nice work. Stay cool.
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