Saturday, August 6, 2011

Day 29

Friday, August 5

Miles today: 64


This morning we made a last minute decision to deviate off route so that we could go to Wichita. Many other cyclists have told us that there is nothing going on in Kansas- it is just flat and hot and boring. So we thought that we would try to make Kansas more interesting by going to the biggest city. The thing about Kansas is that all the roads are designed like a grid so there is no way to save mileage with different routes. We are heading northwest into Colorado but if we go west first and then north it is just the same as going north first and then west, so we decided to go for it. Wichita is 110 miles away, so we knew we might not make it the whole way in one day. Well, we went the first 50 miles with no gas station, convenience store, or anywhere to get water. Even though we carry a lot of extra water, it gets hot so we were so happy to get to that gas station and drink cold water, have lunch and enjoy the AC. After our break, we got back out on the road and we knew there wasn't another gas station for 40 miles (there is absolutely nothing in between towns here, except for farms).




It had gotten so much hotter outside that we could not drink enough to stay hydrated- our mouths were so dry and we just could not go very fast at all. We made it about 15 more miles, and came across a rest area- it was like a beautiful oasis in the desert. We drank the cold water and sat in the air conditioned bathroom lobby. We got to talking to the cleaning lady and she said that many bikers had stayed there overnight and that it was safe, so we decided to stay! We set up our tent the grass, cooked a great dinner of pasta, pinto beans, lemon and spices and ate like homeless people on the floor inside the rest area.





We've stopped being embarrassed by things like this for a while. We just laughed when people came in the bathroom and give us weird looks.

We booked a hotel in Old city, Wichita, which was suggested to us by the regular coffee drinkers at Mcdonalds (they brought their own McD mugs for their coffee everyday!). It's supposed to be an awesome place, so we are excited! Only 45 more miles so we'll get there early an have time to enjoy the city.

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