Life by Milkshakes

These youngin’s walked by our tents last night at 2 AM blasting incredibly bad rap music from a boom box. We all woke up from our slumber like “What the helicopter is going on?” I rolled back over. With a sweaty body, I knew I wouldn’t easily falling back asleep, but that’s the name of the game. 5:30 AM came around, and I was ready to just start the day. I packed up my wet, dew-laden tent, and ate some plain oatmeal. Beating the heat and wind was our goal, and by 6:30 AM we were rolling away from the rising sun. Our league of extraordinary gentleman set out for an 80 mile day, with our first service 30 miles on route. Basically, that’s about 2.5 to 3 hours of biking time before most of us had any coffee or a solid breakfast. You would think with the absolutely gorgeous weather and picture perfect temperature/wind that this would take our mind off 30 miles, but this isn’t true when you’re hungry and needing caffeine.

The first 20 miles were doable, but for some reason the final 10 were really a push. I was focusing hard on not watching the bike computer, so I covered it with my handlebar bag strap. I only ever look at the time on thenbike clock every hour, but today I was just ready for town. We did a great job pace lining with a slight headwind, and we’ve started to really understand our limits for keeping control in line. Eventually, we pulled into town in desperation for a Mom and Pop breakfast shop, and that’s exactly what we found. The dining room was filled with old signs and memorabilia. I smiled thinking this is exactly what I wanted for a diner. Our waitress took our order. I asked how large the one pancake would be, “depends on who’s making it, but I’ll make sure it’s big”. Excellent. I order the pancake and a three egg veggie and cheese omelet. I down two cups of coffee before the food even comes out. Then here comes the thick, bigger than my face pancake, and a huge omelet with rye toast. We all scarfed down breakfast. The owner was an amazing man, and was announced Keith’s hero of the day. He was full of life and laughter, and briefed us on his little town and life. He convinced us his milkshakes were the best in the world, so we had to try one. One chocolate milkshake please!

We left the diner and I was feeling incredibly full. I legit had cramps for the first 15 miles after the meal, but I had to get over the pain because a huge achievement was about to happen. 2000 miles!! It’s hard to put into words how it felt. Thinking about how far we’ve all come was a neat part to share together, and we lined up for pictures holding our hands up in excitement. After the butt break was over, we continued on averaging 12-14 mph. We pushed pretty hard into town with a beautiful tail wind, and stopped at the local library for a break from the heat. The A/C felt fabulous. We charged up some gadgets, and connected with the world through wifi. It was pleasant spending some time journaling in the cool, and even Old Timer was able to catch some Zzz’s.

Jim’s friend was flying into town to join us for a few days as we pushed through Kansas into Colorado. Jet, Jim’s friend, decided to role 30 miles after landing to stay in another town with us. We easily rode the miles into town with a lovely tailwind. Even Old Timer cruised in leading the pack at 17 mph. Sometimes I wonder if he’s actually an Old Timer or Young Timer. We finally found a dairy bar in town that was OPEN in Kansas, so we had to celebrate. I cooked up my dinner of rice, beans, and chicken, then had an ice cream cone dipped in chocolate. It was a sloppy mess when she handed the cone to me, so she gave it to me for free! I couldn’t do that to such nice people, so I went back up and ordered a cherry milkshake to even things out. Yeah, just to even things out, not because I was still hungry or something. DISCLAIMER: Those worried if my eating regimen will stay like this when I return home can be at ease, it will be normal once again.

We made our way to Leoti’s city park, and upon arriving noticed a public pool, which usually means showers. Jim quickly approached the staff there as the rest of us prepared under the pavilion by drying out tents and sleeping bags. The kind pool supervisor had the locker rooms stay open so we could clean up. Some towns really love bikers, and feeling welcomed makes all the difference. She then proceeded to donate some bottled waters and Krispy Kreme glazed donuts to us. I almost cried, but I decided the donut would be better with coffee and oatmeal the next morning. l reluctantly held off.

I setup my Tyvek groundsheet on the picnic table and blew up my sleeping pad. Then, I stuffed my sleeping bag stuff sack with clothes for my pillow, and draped my warm, smelly sleeping bag over my freshly cleaned body. I knew tonight I would sleep well, and as soon as I laid down to begin journaling, I fell asleep to the gentle lion-like snore beside me. What a great night to be alive.

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