Hello everyone,

I apologize for the delay in posting but we were somewhat pushed off schedule andI needed more rest …

Ride to Topeka – the ride to Topeka was long at over 100 miles and the wind started to change plus we had about 6000 feet of climbing. I actually got a late start of about 1 minutes when my cleats wouldn’t lock into the pedals. Tracy fixed them but by then everyone was gone. Before the first SAG, I hit some pretty rough road that had been cut in preparation for repaving – you know that waffle-like surface. AT the first SAG, I saw the first riders of the day but everyone left before I departed.

From that point on, I kept catching ride sand eventually caught everyone but Howard. The climbing was hard but not too sp. The Flint Hills of Kansas are very pretty so the time went by quickly. At some points you can see for many many miles. On the ride into town, I ran into a detour so I added a few extra miles. I could have rode through the construction site but since I was riding along, I just went with the flow.

At the hotel came another surprise, the hotel had lost our reservations but offered to upgrade us to a better hotel. The problem was that hotel was in Lawrence Kansas over 30 minutes away by car. Consequently, I arrived in my room after 5. We had a halfway celebration at the Hotel which sits right on the Kansas River. Russ a 77 year old rider who does the ride in 3rds was also leaving us. He had completed the cross country ride in multiple years and this was his last leg. Actually he still had to ride to St. Joe, but had bought us beer and wine for the half way celebration. Russ gave an inspirational talk but we all got to our rooms late than usual. We also had to be ready to leave earlier than usual so we could drive back to Topeka.

Ride to St.Joseph, Mo. – Another star line crossing and another beautiful day. However, humidity is starting to increase and although still low by Missouri standards, it is heavy to us who have been in a dry climate fro a month. We had two SAGS on the 86 mile ride most of it through the Kansas farm country. The second SAG was in Atkinson Kansas right on the border. I enjoyed the SAG food but didn’t linger too long.

The final part of the ride through ST. Joe sone of my favorites of the trip. It has a very long narrow park that is full of hiking and cycling trails and athletic facilities along the way. It meanders through neighborhoods but is very cool for riding through a city. I arrived at the hotel ahead of most of the riders and took a nap. Our day started earlier than usual in Lawrence and we had the 30 plus minute car ride.

This was also Carol D’s last day o SAG support. She and her husband had just moved to Oregon from California and they didn’t even unpack when she came to support the riders. That is Carol’s dedication to us and Tracy. She is a marvel and all the riders love her. If you are having a bad day, she is there for you. Carol, we will miss you!

Ride to Chillicothe MO. – This is a special day for two reasons, one we have our SAG in Maysville Mo and the town comes out to greet us and secondarily we pass the sign that personifies the ride and riders “Happy are those who dream dreams and are willing to pay the price to make them come true.”

We ride about 31 miles to the first SAG in Marysville and we linger fro over an hour, talking to the locals and basking in their generosity. The town also had a legendary rider who rode around the world on a penny farthing – you know the bike with a big wheel and a tiny little wheel. I spent some time talking to Glenn a former state senator and cattle rancher. I also met a lady whose sister just moved to Dither where my sister lives. It was a lot of fun but the legs tighten up from standing so long.

The hills on this ride are very difficult and not riding for s pell makes us feel like we have been doing squats with heavy weights when we start out again. The last 50 miles were brutal with bad headwinds and nasty climbs. I didn’t recall this ride being that tough in prior years but we been living the dream on tailwinds and paybacks come eventually. I think the winds were from a storm blowing in as the sys are now cloudy.

Over the last part of the ride, I lost contact with Low and Howard, kevin passed me and so did Ted but I eventually caught him on the ride into town. It was a tough day on everyone but maybe not Howard as he seems to like the challenge.

As an aside note, on the Topeka day – Howard had stopped in the legendary pie hop and was talking to a local and discovered they had an English friend in common through a common interest in motorcycles. It is truly a small world.

I probably left a lot out in this recap and will certainly bring up some parts in future posts as I recall them.

Thanks for reading!

~Chuck