July 19, 20, 21

On Friday, we biked 56 miles, leaving Kansas and moving to Colorado. The first portion of Colorado looked very much like Kansas; flat and with grain elevators in every small town. We stayed in Eads, a tiny town.

On Saturday we biked 115 miles from Eads to Pueblo Colorado. This is the distance record for my biking career. It was surprisingly pleasant. The train was fairly flat, but as we went west, it became more textured and interesting. By the time we reached Pueblo we could see the mountains in the distance. Sunday was a rest day; Kathy met me in Pueblo and we drove through the  foothills. There was an amazing structure called Bishops Castle, a completely random collection of spires and staircases that couldn’t have passed any building code, but which had hoards of people, including us climbing all over it.

Tomorrow we seriously head into the Rockies. There is a 9000 foot pass that we traverse as a prelude to the 12,000 foot pass we will encounter two days later.

July 18

Today we biked 102 miles due west towards Colorado. We reach the border in about 15 miles. Today was much less hot than previously and the wind wasn’t in our face so the miles went fairly quickly and pleasantly. Now that we’re almost through Kansas, I can say that it’s a pretty homogeneous state. A few hills sparsely situated and towns that all seem to be organized around a train track and a grain elevator. The people have all been very cordial, but the towns seem to be about only halfway populated.

We stopped today in Tribune Kansas, which is the county seat which has 770 people.
The county is Greeley county, named after Horace Greeley, even though he never came anywhere close to Kansas. I went to the county historical museum, which is a lovely old former courthouse. The people working there also had no clue how Horace Greeley ended up the namesake of the county.

July 16

Today we biked 102 miles on our way west. The morning was cool and cloudy and the first 50 miles were lovely. We started just before sunrise. Sadly, the afternoon got sunny and hot and the last 35 miles or so were in 95° and muggy.

On the positive side, my bike is fixed, which made life much easier. The heat dome in the west is evidently moving east and so the next few days I hope will be much more temperate. We encountered some cows on the road. As we rode toward them, they stayed on the road and galloped away. We probably followed them galloping for about a half a mile before they got tired and gave up.

July 14.

Today we biked 64 miles further west into Kansas. It was a hard day. The wind was against us and the temperature was about 105. As an added bonus, my gearshift stopped working about 3 days ago and I’ve been biking in one gear for the last three days. With the wind and a few hills it was pretty challenging.

Tomorrow, I hope to have a battery shipped to a bike shop in Wichita. I will get a ride there, hopefully get things fixed and catch up with the rest of the group tomorrow evening.

Today was a flat 61 miles through Kansas. Lots of farmland, lots of small towns, mostly boarded up. It was cloudy and drizzly in the morning which made for great riding, as it got really hot and muggy later in the day. We are staying in Chanute, Kansas, which was named for octave Chanute, a collaborator of the Wright brothers. There is a cool statue and model of the Wright brothers’ plane. Tomorrow is more of the same.

I got a chance to talk with one of my co-riders Paul, who left Vietnam in 1975 just as the Viet Cong were rushing his village. His story of escape and challenges and successes in the US is pretty amazing.

Yesterday we passed from Missouri into Kansas. The geographic transition was dramatic. Missouri was all rolling hills, woods, and farmland. Kansas is completely flat and completely agricultural. We stayed in Pittsburg, Kansas last night and have a rest day here today (July 12). The ride was less effortful as the hills died away. I think we have five more days of riding with no hills bigger than rises encountered when you go over an interstate. People have been very generous with food being prepared and some local attention from TV and newspaper. This has been six straight days of riding for me, and I am starting to get into the groove.

July 9 and 10th.

Yesterday we biked 81 miles and 6500 feet through the remnants of hurricane Beryl. Driving rain and wind all day. The country was quite beautiful, but it was hard to notice much. Today, it was lovely. 76 miles through rolling hills of the Ozarks. Mostly farming communities and open space. We have been staying primarily in churches. Even though it’s in the middle of the week, they are buzzing with activity. Bible classes, AA meetings, recovery meetings, and other events. You get a different picture of how important religion is in rural America than I would have perhaps guessed.

Tomorrow we bike into Kansas. Should be much flatter, but perhaps more windy. We will see.

Today was a long day, and I don’t have a ton of energy to write anything particularly creative. Here is a short update.

We continued our ride through the Ozarks. 92 miles, and nearly 7000 feet of climbing. It was a long day of riding. As usual, I am the oldest person in the group. Maybe that should tell me something. However the country is beautiful and many of the towns are well-maintained and very cute. We are staying in Eminence Missouri tonight. It had a very nice sleazy bar to hang out for an hour or so. Lots of Trump signs in this region, but that’s not particularly a surprise.

Today we biked over the Mississippi River and entered Missouri. After a bit of flat farmland, we entered the Ozarks; very healthy but quite beautiful. We stay tonight in a bike hostel which used to be a jail until a locally famous breakout in 1932.

Today is Day 1 of biking to San Francisco for me.  I met the group yesterday; most started Jun 15 in Virginia, and biked to Carbondale Illinois, arriving July 4.  Very nice group of folks; mostly retired people except for one 22 year old who must be wondering what the hell he is doing with this geriatric group.  Today we biked from Carbonale to Chester Illinois; a very nice ride through farming communities.  Chester is the home town of Elzie C. Segar, the cartoonist who developed Popeye the Sailorman cartoons in 1919.  The town has more than a dozen statues of Popeye related characters. There is also a Popeye museum, which held at least five minutes of fascination.  The political nature of the town can be gleaned from the firetruck which I got a picture of.

Tomorrow we cross the Mississippi River to Missouri; I would guess more rolling hills and farmland.  The roads here are perfect for biking; empty, well maintained, picturesque.  It is warm but not oppressive; however, we are apparently heading to another heat dome.

More tomorrow.

Activity Type: Cycling
Date: 7/6/24, 7:05 AM
Sensors Used

Total Distance: 9.52 mi

Duration: 40:20
Active Time: 40:20
Paused Time: 00:00

Activity Type: Cycling
Date: 7/6/24, 7:56 AM
Sensors Used

Total Distance: 37.04 mi

Duration: 3:39:39
Active Time: 2:58:31
Paused Time: 41:08