Tuesday, May 31st .... Today was a rest day in Emporia, Kansas. The day began with a trip to Verizon to start the process of obtaining a replacement for my lost phone! It took 2 hours, and I had a new phone, and it was about 70% up and running. I have a number of apps and issues to still work through before I am 100%. So, I am back in communication with the world and getting ready to ride to Topeka in the morning. Many thanks to my roommate, Casey for letting me use his cellphone to make calls and work thru some issues. At least I could remember my wife's cellphone number! For the month of May I rode 1331 miles! That's a lot of miles on a bicycle!
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Monday, May 30th .... Today was an interesting and ultimately expensive day! We were delayed by 3 hours due to extremely high winds. After much discussion we departed. When we left the hotel, the winds were 27 mph gusting to 47 mph out of the South creating a significant cross wind! After about two hours of riding, we were making good time, and everyone seemed to be adjusting to the high winds. Toward the end of the ride the landscape changed to beautiful rolling hills carpeted with lush green grass and increasing numbers of trees. I stopped to take photos to include with my posts. After taking the photos I returned my phone to the crossbar bag and resumed riding. Shortly after we turned onto a new highway which had rumble strips covering the entire width of the apron every 100 ft. This caused us to have a very rough ride and was hard on both bikes and riders. When I arrived at the hotel, my crossbar bag was unzipped, and my phone gone! Apparently, I didn't zip up the ba
Sunday, May 29th .... Today's ride was 64 miles with a strong cross wind. We were riding due east and the wind was 25 mph from the south. There were gusts up to 35 mph. We continue to follow the Old Santa Fe Trail. Like yesterday there were numerous monuments along the way. So far, the ride through Kansas has not yielded any new or notable scenery. It has been endless hay fields, oil wells or electric windmills. I am looking forward to some new scenery. Tomorrow's ride is 80+ miles and the wind is forecasted to be 5 to 10 mph higher than today! I have never experienced so much wind!
Saturday, May 28th .... Today was another 84-mile ride. We left Dodge City for Great Bend. The winds were high but mostly a cross wind with a little push! The scenery is something to see. The route we are on is the old Santa Fe Trail. The plains are just miles and miles of hay and windmills! As we rode the Santa Fe Trail there seems to be historical markers every mile or so about some event that occurred at that spot in history. If you stopped to read each one you would never get to your destination. We passed one spot that claims you are exactly halfway between San Francisco and New York. So, we must be about halfway to our destination. By the last of May, I will have ridden 1300 miles which will be a new record for me! It is still a great trip with much more to see!
Friday, May 27th .... Today's ride is why you ride! We had an 84-mile ride with a following wind that started at 10 mph. Within an hour it was at 30 degrees to our back at 15 mph. We stopped at Meade, KS to see the Dalton Gang hide out! Great tour and a fun time. It was interesting to see the tunnel between the house and the barn. When we got back on the road the winds were a little stronger. Within a few miles we turned north, and the wind was directly on our back! With little effort I was riding 24-26 mph! I completed the ride with an average speed of 16.2 mph and completed the ride in 5 hours!! It was a fun ride! Some pictures from the Dalton Gang hideout:
Thursday, May 26th .... Today was a short ride of 40+ miles! The winds we saw for the past couple days have calmed. It was a little in our face but nothing like the past two days! Our only rest stop was Hooker, OK. A lot of interesting stories about this town! It was an easy ride and really enjoyable. About 4 miles out of Hooker I had a flat tire! I found a small thorn had punctured the tire. I fixed it and was off to complete the remaining 16 miles. I went another 4 miles and again had a flat tire! This time it turned out to be a small tire wire! Again, I fixed it and rode the remaining 12 miles. Enjoyable day less the two flats!
Wednesday, May 25th .... Today's ride started out with an immediate problem. Yesterday, I had a flat tire which terminated my ride. I replaced the tube last evening and was sure I was ready to ride. As soon as I left the hotel, I felt a thump, thump, thump coming from my rear tire. I stopped and checked the tire and could see nothing wrong, so I rode an additional 14 miles and stopped and had one of the mechanics check it out. He noticed that the bead on the tire was not properly seating. After numerous attempts he determined we needed to replace the tube. Turns out the tube I had installed was the incorrect size. So, after about 30 minutes I was ready for the road, but I was so far behind I was transported to the first rest stop where I rejoined the ride. Like yesterday the winds were 15+ mph very close to directly in our face. I rode 22 miles and was blown off the road by big trucks twice. I did not fall and was able to regain control but just did not feel safe, so I s
Tuesday, May 24th .... Today started out cool, rainy and windy and only got worse! It was a 94-mile ride from Tucumcari to Dalhart, Texas. The wind was out of the north at 15 mph. For the first hour there were a number of showers and as the showers relented the wind picked up to 20 mph. The temperature was 45 degrees! With a strong wind in our face, it was like going up a mountain at about a 5 - 6% grade for the entire ride. After 72.6 miles my average speed was less than 10 mph. At that pace I would have to ride an additional three hours to finish! As I pulled into the final rest stop, 22 miles from the end I had a flat tire. I took the flat tire and being almost blown off the road three times by Semi Trucks as a sign to ride the final 22 miles in the van with 10 other thoroughly exhausted riders. But I passed the 1000-mile mark and into another state!
Monday, May 23rd .... Today started with us being bussed 22 miles past Las Vegas and news that one of the riders was out with Covid! He will be quarantining at the hotel for 5 days while everyone else goes on without him. After quarantining if he is feeling well enough, he can arrange transpiration to rejoin the group but most isolate himself from the other riders for an additional 5 days. Today the ride was different. For the first time the wind was to our side or at times in our face. It was a quartering wind but was blowing 15+ mph! It made the ride more difficult! There were some steep downhills, unfortunately into the wind. There were also some steep uphill climbs. Some of these were 1.5 miles long and ranged 4 to 9% grade. With the wind in our faces, it was very difficult. The road surface was bad!! The pavement was cracked and patched, and it was rough and difficult to ride on for long distances.
Sunday, May 22nd ... Today we would have been riding from Santa Fe to Las Vegas but because of the large wildfires near Las Vegas we are having a second rest day here in Santa Fe. Monday morning, we will be bussed away from the fire to some point on the original route to ride and get back on schedule. I enjoyed visiting Old Town Santa Fe with some of the guys.
Friday, May 20th .... Today's ride was taxing and mentally tough. The first 22 miles were a constant 1-3% climb. The balance was somewhat like a roller coaster except we went up more than we came down! There were some areas where the slope was as high as 10%. The wind was very strong and was a cross wind on some of the longer downhill stretches. Great scenery but a mental grind due to me being tired and my legs feeling the 500 miles in the past 7 days. Did a stumble and fall at the end but just a scraped knee.
