Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Day 33

Tuesday, August 9
Miles today: 75

Sorry to sound like Debbie Downer in these posts, but today was nothing special. I woke up to a flat back tire, we rode 18 miles into Ness city and had breakfast at the Cactus Club. Breakfast burritos and coffee- I guess that was exciting for us. We rode 32 more miles into Dighton (there is absolutely NOTHING between these towns) where we sat in a gas station and had sodas. Gas stations out here are more like cafes. They all have tables and chairs, hot food available to order, coolers of premade food, and tons of convenience store type items. I am actually excited to come into a town with a Shamrock or KwikStop because I know they will have tables for us to sit and relax and we don't have to actually get anything if we don't want to. 22 more miles to Scott City. I stopped to stretch my legs and saw a piece of wire in my front tire, which I pulled out. I immediately regretted it because the air began to spew out. This is the 5th day in a row that I've had to change a flat. Kansas has been one long Groundhog Day. I patched the tube in the wrong spot, so i had to do another patch. 30 minutes later we were back on the road. For the last 10 miles we had a strong side/head wind and pedaling was a huge struggle for my tired legs. Ben was feeling stronger so he took one for the team and let me hide behind him from the wind.

We arrived at the Atheticlub, which is a gym that has a bike hostel. We went for a swim (thinking about getting to that pool got me through the day) and cooked a great meal- annies pasta, broccoli, tomato, and beans.


We stocked up on food because grocery stores are few and far between around here. Food is also extremely expensive in these rural areas. It is such a shame that you can have dinner at Wendy's down the road, and save money compared to cooking a healthy meal with food from the grocery store. We had to splurge on fruit and veggies because we can't eat Wendy's every night and expect our bodies to work for us all day!

We are getting the heck out of Kansas tomorrow! We are ascending more than 2,500 feet in the 200 miles to Pueblo so there will be some climbing in our future. The high for tomorrow is 82 degrees so at least riding will be more enjoyable!

2 comments:

  1. I appreciate the Groundhog Day reference. Soon you'll be able to reference another great movie with the line "We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto". It won't be long before you are basking in the lap of luxury as you take your mid-trip break. The thought of sleeping in and ordering room service should bring a smile to your faces. See you in Pueblo!

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  2. I should be cast as the new Toto in the remake of the Wizard of Oz. I'm not only cuter than that mutt from the original, I am also a cat. What more need be said?

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