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Good day of riding today. I woke up around 6 and started packing. Sue and Glen got up around the same time and did the same. I had a breakfast of a day old southwest chicken sandwich. We all got packed around the same time and I headed to a coffee shop in town to upload last night’s post. I got a tea and the owner said to was on the house. I talked with her and another customer about the ride and the town. We discussed a cyclist that I’d heard got hit the day before outside town, but they didn’t have any more info. I got an orange juice and the other patron paid for it. Sue and Glen rolled up and I got them inside. We chatted about stopping points and decided on Great Bend. I said goodbye to everyone then rolled out around 8.
The air was cool but warmer than previous days, and you could tell it’d get warmer later in the day. I had a hint of the tailwind from yesterday but nowhere near as crazy. The bike and I both felt good and we made decent time to the town of Bazine. This is where we’d heard that the cyclist got hit the day before. I kept moving. I saw this massive sign on a hill. 

There was a nice shade from the clouds going over the sun that kept it cool through here, and I made it quickly to the town of Alexander. There was a nice rest stop here with water and indoor bathrooms which I enjoyed. A historical marker informed me of the Fort Hays/Fort Dodge trail, and how Alexander was a part of it. Entering town I saw a sign for the coolest town name in Kansas

A few miles outside town I saw a woman on her own going the other way. She said her name was Shelley and her and her husband were alternating between riding and driving segments of the transam. As we chatted a guy in a sedan pulled up and asked us if we were ok. We said yep and he asked if we were lost. I said it’s hard to get lost when there’s one road to follow. He told us that nowhere was west and then you could see nowhere out east if you stood on a stump. I laughed pretty hard. Shelley and I parted ways.
As I rode I contemplated taking more pictures, but there’s only so many pictures of corn fields you can post. Regardless, here’s a few more

I pulled into the town of Rush Center and stopped at a gas station. I saw two touring bikes parked outside. I went in and grabbed a cheeseburger (just cooked outside on the grill), cantelope slices, pie, and an iced tea. I got some good info from the touring couple about staying in Great Bend: they said to contact a church in town who hasn’t hosted before. I offered them my bear spray (I’m tired of carrying it) but then I forgot to hand it over :_( We had a really nice chat over the meal. I went back and got a donut and soda and extended the chat some more. I said goodbye then headed out the 20 or so miles to Great Bend. 
As I left a hill rose in the distance, literally the first in Kansas. I went up it, then down and up the next one, and so on. I think there were about 6 rolling hills over 10 miles. It was actually a nice change of pace from the previous few days.

There were a few pleasant streams through here

Eventually I came over the last hill and got an expansive view of the valley below. 

I got a downhill then took a right which gave me a mild headwind and strong sidewind. I slowed down and took it easy. I then turned right again and got a stronger headwind. This was definitely slow going, but it was over after a few miles. I turned onto Broadway street in Great Bend and saw a cyclist coming from the opposite direction. I rode behind him for a while then caught up with him. His name was Osiris from Las Vegas. I’d actually seen his name forever in guestbooks ahead of me for literally a thousand miles. He was headed to an outdoor hostel. I told him about the church that was hosting cyclists and we called them (we got lucky and picked the correct church out of 4 candidates). They said we could totally stay there for the evening! We headed over. They met us and took us downstairs to the kindergarten room and said it was ours for the evening. We got settled then headed to the rec center for a shower, but they closed their showers for covid. We headed instead to a water park. They charged $4 for entrance. I took a shower in cold water, but it was hot enough that it felt great. Osiris went down a water slide the grabbed a shower. I got some crappy food then we left and rode over to a skate park and took our touring bikes inside. We messed around on the ramps and it was fun as hell, though I did bash my big chainring on a ramp, I hope it’s fine 😮
We then headed to a laundromat so I could clean my nasty ass clothes (not washed since Breckenridge). I started them then we went back to the church to stash bikes and grab dinner. We got some Mexican food that was good and damn cheap ($20 for two large meals). I grabbed my clothes then we headed back, we’d been told to be in for the night by 7 otherwise there’s be no one inside to let us in. We got in and settled in for the night. We just chilled, listened to music, talked about the ride, and ate. It was super chill. 
I’m just finishing up this post then gonna head to bed around 10, night!

Distance: 60ish

Consumption:

  • Southwest chicken sandwich
  • Tea
  • OJ
  • Peppermint bark
  • Honey stinger
  • Burger
  • Pie
  • Cantelope
  • Iced tea
  • Donut
  • Cliff bar
  • Hot dog
  • Slurpee
  • Pretzel
  • 3 mini burritos
  • Chips
  • Soda
  • Iced tea
  • Oreos
  • MnMs
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