Yeah, Kansas today. Sorry this is late. I had no internet connection. Out here in the boonies.
Woke up to weather forecast of cloudy to partly cloudy all day. First day in a long time no mention of rain. However, as I stepped out to go, it started to sprinkle. Yeah, right. So my first 20 miles was all in the rain.
About two miles out of town, a fellow by the side of the road waves me down. Turned out to be Irv, a friend of a mutual cycling friend. He just wanted to meet me and talk. He was very encouraging of my trip. Nice way to start the day.
After 10 miles of hills, I dropped into the MO River Valley for the next 15-20 miles. Easy going, all flat, and soon became somewhat boring. (yeah, I know). I enjoy the ups and downs more than the never ending flat.
I went thru one ‘town’ today and if I can get the photo to upload, you will see the sign of the town I was to enter, a road coming from nowhere and the sign on the other side of the road. No buildings, nothing. I just stood there and gawked. This was a ‘town’? Funny to me.
I was to call a friend at 11:00 who was going to meet me today but I was at the bottom of a hill and no Mobil service. So I climbed out of the MO River valley and at the top of the hill, we connected.
As I approached Atchison, there was a huge mile + long hill that looked like an S. The highway I was on had no shoulder and plenty of semis. On shorter hills I always made sure no trucks were coming before I headed up and if one did come, I’d get off my bike and stand just off the road. Usually only had a foot of gravel to stand on without being in the ditch. Always a frustrating and nerve wracking situation but better than riding on the road with a truck who doesn’t want to get over on a hill and then risking being sucked in or blown over. When riding uphill, one is not always as stable as you’d like to be anyway. And, trying to start riding uphill after stopping is always a challenge because of no momentum and all the weight.
So when I saw that ongoing hill with no shoulder, I made the decision to wait for Fred Rose to get to me. I had just had a 2-3 mile downhill and really wanted to end my day on that rather than struggle up a long, dangerous hill. Anyway, Fred lives an hour from Atchison and he was going to pick me up in town so I could spend a day with him before going on so this was the perfect solution. He was only 15 minutes from meeting me when I called him. And while waiting for him, nine semis passed me that I would have had to get over for.
As we drove through Atchison, Fred pointed out historical facts about the town, one being that Atchison was the home of Amelia Earhart. We didn’t take time to visit the museum. Not really my thing.
Dinner at Fred’s house was fun. He invited several biking friends over so we all had lots to talk about. Thanks Fred and Mary Ellen for a fun evening.
Sorry about the double photo. Operator error. Don’t want to risk losing everything if I try to delete one.
48.5 miles today. 805.8 total
BikerAl Across America 2018 