Day 27 : A Hot and Sunny Day of Cycling...

From Eureka, KS to Newton, KS - ~ 78 miles

Time on bike: 8:04:06

Max Speed: 26.6 mph

Average Speed: 9.7 mph

We left the park and headed to a gas station to grab something for breakfast. We managed to find individual cereal bowls…which we have been craving. So we bought 2 for each of us and a half a gallon of milk, which we ate and drank most of.

We had a tough (thanks to the wind), but pretty uneventful ride for the morning. It was 35 miles for us to get to one of our notorious gas station/grocery store/restaurant. When we first got to town, it appeared that there was no longer a place for us to get food, which made us quite concerned to say the least. However, after asking someone in town, we found the gas station.

The morning heat was getting pretty rough by the time we arrived…it was especially tough on cailyn. So, we decided that we would hang out there for a couple of hours before getting back out in the heat.

We set out from there again at about 2:30. We had 38 miles to ride with absolutely no services or stops to get to where we were going for the night. Thankfully, the ride seemed to go pretty smoothly and the heat didn’t cause too much trouble. About 5 miles before we got to Newton, we saw a speck in our rearview mirror that seemed to be slowly approaching. As it grew a little closer, we recognized it as a familiar sight…it was another loaded cyclist. It also quickly became apparent to us that he was moving much quicker than us. We exchanged pleasantries as he passed as we all continued pushing to the finish.

Before much longer, we arrived in Newton. We had planned to just find a place to grab dinner on our way to the park where we would be camping for the night. As we were almost to the park, we came upon a dairy queen and decided that would suit us nicely for the evening. And as we pulled into the parking lot, we discovered that the cyclists that had passed us had also chosen dq for the night. We went in, ordered food, and sat down next to him to find out a little bit of his story. turns out he is a teacher (physical education) from Virginia…and the craziest thing that we found out is that it was his 15^th day of riding (it was our 27^th day of riding). He is pretty much the only person that we have encountered that is doing it faster than us, and this guy isn’t even close. He is averaging more than 100 miles per day. Absolutely crazy to say the least!! As a side note, he was in what appeared to be amazing shape.

After finishing our dairy queen, all three of us cycled a few more blocks to a rather large city park where we camped for the night. It was another hot night…the one saving grace, was that there was actually enough wind to be able to get a little bit of breeze going through the tent…which helped at least a little.

With only a couple of towns along the route today, and less interactions with people, we had a little more time to observe the sides of the road today…so we thought that we would share with you a few of the things that we cycled past today. Here’s a list: a wrench, needle nose pliers, a lock, a steer (he was on the wrong side of the fence), part of a door, and plumbing supplies.

I think it is also time for the long awaited…Brad and Cailyn’s rules for Driving Around Cyclists:

Rule #1: Get Over (Substantially)

If you are not able to get at least half a lanes width over when passing a cyclist, then wait. If it is possible, get completely over into the other lane. This may not seem necessary, but from a cyclists perspective, this is much appreciated.

Rule #2: Don’t Pass When Approaching a Corner

If you can’t see clearly around an upcoming corner and make sure that there is not oncoming traffic coming around the corner, don’t pass. Wait until the cyclists have gone far enough around the corner that you can see clearly.

Rule #3: Don’t Pass When Cresting a Hill

If you can’t see over an upcoming hill to make sure that there is not oncoming traffic, don’t pass. Wait until the cyclists have gotten far enough up the hill that you are able to see clearly past the hill and you know for sure that you have adequate space to pass.

Rule #4: Be patient

I cannot begin to tell you have many times we have almost seen head-on accidents or oncoming cars forced onto the shoulder because a car was passing us (giving us plenty of room) when they couldn’t see if there was oncoming traffic or not…only to have oncoming traffic show up and then force them to have to make a split second decision to avoid an accident.

Day 26 : Kansas, Oh Kansas...

From Chanute, KS to Eureka, KS - ~ 70 miles

Story [in numbers]:



Story [in words]:

we enjoyed a great dinner last night at a mexican place in town with the people that cailyn used to work with. (one small correction....mark brought his wife, not his husband) thanks matt!! after dinner, we returned to the campground and got our tent set up for the night. after getting our tent set up, we noticed a nice looking older couple sitting in lawn chairs outside of their very nice camper. so we decided to journey over and chat a little. we had a great conversation with them about all kinds of different things. really nice folks to say the least! and a great experience in getting out of my comfort zone.

this morning we were tired. it was hard to get up and getting going for some reason. but by a little before 6, we were finally up and going. we packed up and quickly rode over to the walmart to pick up a couple of essentials that we were running low on. then we headed to the grain bin, a great little place for breakfast that we had learned about from one of the firemen when we stopped at the station last night. the breakfast did not disappoint, the community was great, and we had a great conversation with the lady at the table next to us. she even gave us her name and phone number in case we were even in town again and needed a good home cooked meal. people really are amazing with their hospitality. we finished our meal, paid, and got ready to get on the road. as we were about to jump on the bikes, this cute little 89 year old man walked around the corner, and just started talking our ears off. i am not sure of a lot of what he said...but i hope that it made his day to be able to sit and talk with us.

we finally got on the road at about 8:30. and i have to say, the morning ride was pretty average and uneventful. kansas has been fairly boring as far as the scenery goes, and we were out in the middle of nowhere, so we really didn't run into anyone. although, a little before noon, we did cross paths with an eastbound cyclist who we stopped and shared some good conversation with. we exchanged some tips about what was ahead and great places to stay and eat, and then we both got back on our way.

the eastbounder we met told us that there was a great little gas station/restaurant/grocery store just on the other side of toronto...so we decided we would stop there for a later lunch. it seemed like the place would never come...cailyn was especially ready for a break. but it finally did...and the cyclist was right...it was a great place. nothing terribly special...accept that the people were super hospitable. they had a cyclist log for us to sign and their name had something to do with lizards...so they gave us each a little toy lizard to take with us. as i was talking with the guy at the counter, he started into a story by saying, "back when i lived in fort wayne, indiana"...and i was like, "what, wait a minute...i grew us in fort wayne, indiana". and as if that was not weird enough, it turns out that he was a teacher and played organ at bethlehem lutheran school. so, we shared a few stories about fort wayne and he asked me some questions about what it was like now as he had moved away from there back in the late 70's. it really is a small world to say the least.

i had one particularly interesting and thought provoking conversation with this guy who had lived in fort wayne so long ago. i asked him if he was still involved in a lutheran church out here. to which he replied with something along the lines of..."you know how it is when you are lutheran...you learn to like it a certain way. and nothing out here really fits my needs." in the moment i just kind of nodded my head and let the comment go. but when we were back on the bikes and riding again, i began to replay that conversation in my head, and i began to think about what i said...or more importantly what i didn't say to him, and i was really kicking myself. i wish that i would have said something to him about the fact that being a part of a church is not about being a consumer and it is not about getting your needs met...it is about being part of a family and meeting the needs of others and then in the process we find that our needs get met. it is about being that change if it is not exactly what you want. the Bible is not a guide to help us find what we are looking for...it is a guide to show us how to act and live to bring those stories to life. it just seemed like this guy had gotten burned out...and i don't know what caused that...but i wonder if at least part of it was that he had the wrong attitude...the wrong perspective. i don't know for sure...but i do wish that i would have said at least a little more than what i did. because as i grow more and more in my faith, i have become increasingly aware that although we live in an incredibly consumeristic society, church is not about being a consumer.

we enjoyed our food, filled our waters, and were excited to get back on the road. we had about 19 miles to ride, and rumor had it that the city park we would be camping in had a pool that we would be able to swim in. we seemed to really just cruise through the last 19 miles. it is funny, because the people here in kansas seem to be proud of their "hills". they tell you that you are going to be climbing for the next 45 miles. and don't get me wrong...kansas is not flat like you might expect. there are hills and you are climbing, but they are just that...hills. it is really nothing at all. i feel like i could do these hills in my sleep. they are almost a little bit inviting so that we are not just cycling along on completely flat ground.

we got into eureka a little after 5 pm and quickly located the city park and pool. we asked if we would be able to swim and shower, and they said that we would be able to for free...but we would have to be quick, because they closed at 6. so we quickly got our clothes out and changed into our swimsuits and enjoyed some nice refreshing water. we cleaned up, and hopped back on the bikes and rode to the pizza hut that we had passed on the way in. we enjoyed a great taco pizza (made me think of you, mom)...some great conversation...and some relaxation in the air conditioning. after we finished our food, we headed back to the park and set up our tent for the night.

i can definitely tell that the story of kansas is going to be sun and wind. hopefully we can catch both at the right time. sure will make this state a whole lot easier.

Day 25 : Anybody Got an Extra Sail???

From Pittsburgh, KS to Chanute, KS - ~ 60.2 miles

{note}
thanks to our friends justin and tracy, the story in numbers is back...they gave us the cycling computer off of his bike...

Story [in numbers]:

Time on bike: 5:25:57
Max Speed: 26.8 mph
Average Speed: 11.1 mph


Story [in words]:

since we had ultra nice accommodations for yet another night, we decided to sleep in till 7 and grab some really good food at the free continental breakfast, before getting the bikes loaded up and heading back on the road. it was about 9 before we were out of the hotel.

as we came out of the hotel, i quickly noticed what i thought was a good sign. i headed over to a section of grass to see if i could confirm what i thought was the good news. i grabbed a few blades of grass, threw them up in the air, and sure enough...just as i had thought...the wind was coming straight out of the east. i felt like we couldn't get on the bikes soon enough...and if we would have had a sail, i would have thrown it up for sure. having the wind in your direction makes all the difference in the world. it is amazing what a new day brings.

we cycled with little effort as the wind blew us along from behind. although, we did have to go about 12-15 miles north today, so the wind did have it's drawbacks at times. at about 11:45, we were passed by a car out in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere...after passing us, it pulled onto the shoulder and driver rolled down the window, waiting for us to pull up next to him. it was a older looking gentlemen...his speech was a little hard to understand...but he was excited to tell us that there was a lutheran church just up the road that serves lunches on thursdays. we thought that sounded great...so we cycled on a couple of miles and found it just as he had said. a church with a full parking lot...we parked our bikes, and headed in.

it is always so funny to see the looks you get as you walk in. it is not one of shock or surprise really...since they are on this route, they are pretty used to seeing the cyclists...it is more one of excitement that you are there, and a desire to take care of you and make sure that you really enjoy their town. we quickly were engaged in some great conversations with people...then we grabbed some good food as well! they were even excited to give us a tour of the church...truly a small town community. they were just great people, though, a real bright spot in the middle of a bunch of farmland! it is so heart warming to be reminded of how good people are...we are created in the image of God...every single one of us, whether we realize it or not...and i am reminded of that at times like that.

we got back on the bikes and continued on towards chanute. today was the first day that we listen to headphones for a good portion of the day. cailyn started listening to the harry potter books on her ipod, and i was able to get espn radio reception on my phone pretty much all day, so i enjoyed some sports talk. it was the kind of day that just seemed very appropriate to just listen and ride...so we did, and it was quite enjoyable to say the least.

we are now sitting at a great little sub and yogurt shop in chanute. we are going to go and find our campground for the night and hopefully get cleaned up, before mark (cailyn's old boss), his husband, and two of the people she worked with meet us here for dinner. they are flying down in mark's personal private jet. it will be nice to have one more visit before we really head west for the next couple of weeks.

as a small sidenote...keep your eyes out in the next day or two...i am going to have a special section in a post entitled..."Cailyn and Brad's Tips for Driving Around Cyclists"...

Day 24 : State Number 5...Really???

From Everton, MO to Pittsburgh, KS - ~59 miles

since we had such nice accommodations last nice, we stayed up a little later watching tv and whatnot, so we decided to sleep in just a little bit. so, the alarm went off at 6 am and we were on the bikes and headed out by about 7. as we got back to the route, we ran into a number of the guys from the adventure cycling association group that we have been riding in the same area of for the last few days.

the first 10-15 miles of the morning were still somewhat rolling, with a couple of decent hills to climb. then, things began to flattened out, however, the wind began to pick up as well, which as i have mentioned before, is not terribly fun. at about 22 miles for the morning, we got to make a turn to the north, which put the wind straight at out backs for the four mile ride into golden city.

golden city, is the home of cooky's cafe...which we had been hearing about for the last couple of days. they are known for their mile high pies. we rolled into town and quickly found cooky's. we went in and found a table, and a few minutes later, jerry...the 70 year old that has already ridden the southern tier and is now riding back to the west coast on the trans am...joined us at our table. we enjoyed sitting and getting to know a little more of jerry's story...his family and home life...while we also enjoyed some amazing pie. the rumors were definitely true about the pie...they must have had 25 types of pie or more! i had an amazing dutch cherry pie, and cailyn enjoyed a rhubarb pie.

we loaded our waters as full as we could get them, as we were going to have 33 miles to ride with no services of any kind. by about 11:30, we were back out in the heat and wind, headed for pittsburgh. we had heard that the winds are the biggest challenge in kansas, and as we drew closer to the kansas border, it seemed like the wind was getting stronger and stronger. needless to say, it made for a challenging afternoon ride. the only benefit of the wind, was that it kept us feeling a little cooler as there is not a bit of shade in the middle of all of these fields of corn, beans and hay.

due to the wind, it definitely took us a little longer than i anticipated to ride this afternoons 33 miles, but by about 3:30 we arrived at the comfort inn in pittsburgh, where we will be staying with justin and his wife tracy. right after we found the comfort inn and met up with tracy...drew woolery, who i had the pleasure of performing his wedding service right before we left on the tour, also met up with us. justin, cailyn and i showered up and then we all headed over to applebee's to share some food and stories. we had some great food and enjoyed catching up on stories from the tour thus far. it was especially great to be able to catch up with drew for a while. a special thanks to drew's mom, melissa for buying us our dinner. also, a big thank you to mike and kem selman for the gift to help us along on our journey. it is a true blessing to have so many people following along with us on the blog and helping us and encouraging us in so many ways. so to all of you that are reading along, thanks!

after finishing our dinner, we returned to our hotel room to watch so you think you can dance...a show that we have enjoyed watching with justin and tracy for quite some time. it was a great blast from the past! now we are enjoying a very nice hotel room and a little more time hanging out with our great friends before we head back out on the road in the morning to begin to conquer kansas.

oh, and speaking of kansas, it is crazy that we are into our 5th state of the trip. it seems like it was just yesterday that we entered into missouri. it is going to be interesting to see what kansas brings as far as the cycling is concerned. it is going to be all about the wind...hopefully we can find some moments where the winds are down...or even better, maybe we can find a few moments where the winds are behind us. also, we are looking forward to what we have heard about kansas being the friendliest state.

Day 23 : A Hunting Preserve???

From Marshfield, MO to Everton, MO - ~ 49 miles

what a great morning...we didn't even get out of bed until 7:30. then we enjoyed an amazing breakfast of quiche, sausage, bagels, fresh fruit and coffee. simply another amazing meal! we stuck around for a little while after breakfast to finish up blogging and to enjoy the nice home and low humidity for a little longer.

we returned to the dairy queen parking lot where dave had picked us up last night. we got our gear all loaded back up and were ready to get back on the road just before noon. we rode just a couple of miles down the road when cailyn said, "i can hear my tire". we stopped to figure out what was going on, and it turns out that he front tire was rubbing on her front brake cable. so, we took a look at things, and decided that it would be best to reroute the brake cable. so we ran the cable a different direction, got everything back in place and working properly, and were on the road for good at about 12:30.

dave had told us that there was a great coffee shop in fair grove, which was about 15 miles into our ride. after stopping at the gas station in town to ask for directions, we were able to find the coffee shop. and man were we glad we found it...it was a really well done coffee shop. really hard to believe they are able to keep it open in such a small town. they told us that they get quite a bit of business coming out from springfield. we enjoyed some mimosa's and some great conversation, got our water bottles filled, and then got back on the road.

about 2 or 3 pm we passed another pretty major milestone on our tour. we came upon missouri highway 13, which runs about 2 blocks from our house in warrensburg. it felt quite close to home. and now we are also officially cycling west of home. in some senses it doesn't seem like a big deal...in another sense, it seems like a real monumental milestone as we really are west of home.

we continued on into the town of walnut grove, where we found another one of our favorite locations on the tour. a gas station/convenience store where they make sandwiches. we each ordered roast beef sandwiches with our choice of toppings. we loaded more ice into our water bottles and then got back on the road with about 22 miles left to ride.

this morning before we left dave's house, i looked at the maps and discovered that there was a town just 7 miles past where we were originally planning on stopping for the night, that had a hunting preserve listed with camping available. we weren't really sure what that meant, so i decided i would give them a call and see what it was about. they said they camping was free and they also had showers, and so we decided that would be a great option for tonight...free and showers is a great combo! as we got into everton, we followed the signs to the hunting preserve...when we finally got down the gravel road and to the preserve, it was a beautiful looking place. a quail and pheasant place...however we weren't sure where we were supposed to go. we parked our bikes outside what looked to be an out building and began walking towards the house. as we headed that direction, a guy came out of the house towards us. we had called ahead and told them we were coming and were interested in camping...as he came up to us, he immediately told us that it was too hot to be riding bikes across the country and that we were crazy. turns out they have a lodge here as well, and they allow cyclists to stay for $20 a person. so he asked, "are you sure that you don't want to stay inside in the air conditioning?" to which we said, "we just don't have the budget to do that." ultimately, the guy told us, "here's the deal...i've got these cots that you can put out inside and sleep on and i will charge you $10 total for the 3 of you. so, we are "camped" inside of what amounts to an entire house, all to ourselves for $!0. we are sitting, getting ready to go to bed, watching the college baseball world series.

man am i glad that we made the trek down the mile of so of gravel road!! this is quite the deal! it is just amazing what people offer you and what you come across out here!

Day 22 : An Amazing Oasis on the Transam...

From Houston, MO to Marshfield, MO - ~ 64 miles

we got up early a headed out on the road in another attempt to beat the heat. we rode about 38 miles into the town of hartville, mo, which was a pretty easy and enjoyable ride. when we got to hartville, we found a great little diner with another cyclists welcome sign outside. we headed in to find, what i assume was the owner who also was the waitress, who was just one of the sweetest ladies we have encountered on the trail. she took amazing care of us, including taking all of our water bottles back into the kitchen and filling them with ice and water.

as we were just about ready to leave the restaurant, there was a blind woman who came in and sat at the table next to us. she was quite the talker...turns out that 28 years ago she lost both her child and her eyesight in the process of having a c-section. the amazing part is that she told us that it was through that whole experience that she came to believe in God and to believe that He was the one in control of what was happening to her.

after finishing our conversation with the blind lady, we took our full water bottles and got back out on the bikes. we had 27 miles, all without services, to get to marshfield. it was a rather easy ride all things considered...a few decent climbs, but nothing like the few days prior. we made it into marshfield around 3 pm, and found ourselves a nice spot at the dairy queen to get some ice cream to end our day or riding, and to wait for my friend, dave embree to come and pick us up.

dave is the campus minister at missouri state in springfield, which is about 25 miles from marshfield, and he offered to bring a van and trailer down, pick us and our bikes up, and take us to his house for the night for some air conditioning, a bed, and a chance to do some laundry.

so, shortly after getting our ice cream, he met us and picked us up and brought us to his house. turns out, the thing we didn't know, is that he also has a swimming pool in the back yard. so, we got some laundry started and then quickly got into our swimsuits and jumped into the pool. after cooling down, we spent some time blogging and chatting to people on the phone, before grabbing a shower, and then joining dave and his wife joyce for dinner. and man was dinner amazing...it was by far the best meal that we have had on the trail. fajitas, fresh salad, fresh fruit and homemade ice cream. quite the dinner to say the least. and great conversation to boot.

tomorrow we will sleep in and enjoy the bed and air conditioning...hopefully we will be back to the trail by 10 or 11. we are only planning on riding about 42 miles tomorrow, so a late start shouldn't be much of a problem at all. needless to say, this has been an amazing oasis. it continued to be humbled, amazed, and taught by the amazing hospitality that we have experienced as we have been on this trip. people have simply continued to amazing me! i hope that when this is all over, i can be more like these people that we have encountered.

Day 21 : A Short Day to Recover...

From Eminence, MO to Houston, MO - ~ 41 miles

in an attempt to beat the heat, we got up early and were on the bikes by 6 am to try to save ourselves from dying of exhaustion. we stopped in town to grab some breakfast (another fairly unhealthy gas station breakfast)...and then we were back on the road trying to beat the heat.

the first 7 miles out of eminence were quite similar to yesterday...some pretty steep climbs and the legs were really screaming as we began. thankfully, about 7 miles in, the ground started to even out a bit, and the riding got substantially easier. about that time, we got passed by a couple of riders without gear...turns out they were part of the adventure cycling association supported group ride. there are 14 of them riding along with a support van that carries all of their gear. the most encouraging part is that we found out that they have been riding 9 days longer than we have...which made us feel really good about the number of miles we have covered thus far.

we also came across another guy in the adventure cycling association group who made us realize that what we are doing is really nothing that impressive. this guy is 70 years old...started riding in march in california...rode with another aca group across the united states on the southern tier route...he then rode up the coast and joined the transam group riding east to west. he will be riding for a total of 5 months...at the age of 70...that is just crazy.

we finished our ride into houston, and found our camping spot at the local city park. it seemed like a very nice park..during the day that is. turns out that we were close to a fairly busy road, there were obnoxious teenagers screwing around at about 10pm, and the pavilion we were sleeping close to had lights on it that stayed on the entire night. add to all that, the fact that the humidity was super super high, and the sleeping was not terribly enjoyable.