One of those memorable days

I tried to sleep without a sleeping bag last night because it was so comfortable as my pillow, but I failed. After my midnight nature break, I broke it out and slept relatively comfortably the rest of the morning. We try to limit technology and avoid alarm clocks, so most mornings we wish to naturally wake up via sunrises or bird chirping. Today was flatulence. Immediately we all cracked up and packed up, hoping the gas cloud hovering above us wouldn’t pour down acid rain. I’m becoming more efficient packing up then when I began, which was now 31 days ago! Man the time flies.

The clouds from the storm last night hung around the early morning sky, and offered some extraordinary views as we started. Eastern Kansas is absolutely gorgeous, the luscious green land with cows and horses offers spectacular cycling scenery. I don’t know how many times I said look at this or look at that. Just look at it. It’s hard to put what I’m seeing into words, but trust me when I say this country is damn magnificent.

We were ready for some breakfast, but the town on Toronto seemed like a ghost town. We researched for other options, and found a convenience store on route 3.5 miles away. Jim and I were very much hoping for the place to be open for some coffee, and to our amazement it was. We walked in like hungry dogs, and instantly the woman pointed out coffee, water, bathrooms, and food. She knew what she was doing. While sipping on some coffee, we got to talking with her and her daughter, and they shared stories of traveling cyclists and the origins of their store. The name was Lizard Lip’s Cafe. The story goes as this. One day they were in the basement of the store pondering ideas for what their name should be. They had noticed a lizard running around, and someone asked, “Do lizards have lips?” The rest was history. Now stands a lizard decorated store that supplies hundreds of cyclists every year. We signed the guest book, said our goodbyes, and got to the road.

We couldn’t believe ourselves when we realized we had ourselves a tailwind! We were FLYING down the road at 20 mph and pedaling up hills in the third chain ring. You feel absolutely invincible. It’s honestly one of the best feelings one can experience while on bike. With that being said, you better believe we flew into town 18 miles away with ease. Before 9 AM we had already rolled 26 miles into the town of Eureka for second breakfast. A quick stop at dollar general allowed me to resupply my groceries. We pulled into the Copper Kettle restaurant and were extremely happy with our decision. Mom and pop shop, comfort food, and good prices. After much debate, I went with the breakfast burrito, and wasn’t disappointed. We sat here for a while and Old Timer/Jim versed Alex on American gun laws. He’s a funny dude.

We applied some sunscreen and hit the moderately busy road. We had a three foot wide shoulder most of our ride, but some of these 18-wheelers have a nasty turbulence when they pass you. Just a matter of knowing what’s coming and holding tight and strong. We took advantage of the wonderful tail wind we had during the last of the Flint Hills. It’s said once you finish these, the land is as flat as a pancake. Hmmm, pancakes. After passing some eastbound cyclists and accomplishing the majority of the Flint Hills, we took a break in Rosalia. Off route we noticed a school playground, and instantly went to the swings. Jim is an expert child, so he was swinging high like the amount of sodium in his package of ramen and spam he ate for supper last night.

With 19 miles to our destination, and tail wind to our backs, we again were sailing down the rush. The day barely felt like we exerted much effort. We stopped halfway through in such open land and admired what life must have been like when this was all undiscovered. The vastness of what it seems to be now must have felt like eternity when being explored. It’s almost difficult to think about what life was like 200 years ago in this exact position. Now, it was barbed wired fences with hundreds of open-range cows and horses (mustangs, if I’m not mistaken). ‘Twas absolutely stunning, and probably one of my favorite stretches of road on this trip.

We reached the town of Cassoday, a population of about 130 people. Fortunately for us, this town was just off the interstate, which meant at least a convenience store. We all walked in and headed straight to the food. The lady must have noticed our situation, and offered us free-for-all on the lunch buffet. TRAIL MAGIC WARNING! We all filled our plates up with salad, hamburgers, deviled eggs, cooked beans, and cookies. The four of us went to town. By the end, we could have went horizontal and slept on the benches. We hugged the owner and promised we would be back for supper and breakfast. What a completely generous and kind gesture she made, I’ll never forget how delicious those monster peanut butter cookies tasted.

We basically rolled back on our stomachs to the city park, where we hung out for a while, showered under the water spicket, and made some coffee. Our friend Patrick from a few days ago pulled a 100 mile day to catch up with us. He arrived feeling great, even after the century ride. That’s was a tailwind will do for you.

We eventually traveled back for supper, cause what else do we do other than eat. The dudes ordered some sandwiches and sides. I was stuffed from earlier, so I waited longer for my peanut butter sandwiches. We discussed some options for tomorrow, and sat on the swinging bench outside with locals. I then talked with my better half watching the sunset, which made my day a bit sweeter. We eventually sent up our tents, and cracked some jokes in which tears were shed. I laid in my tent looking at the blue psychedelic lights projecting on the roof of the pavilion, and again took a moment to reflect on how fortunate I am to be with such good people. These guys will be companions for life. Yeee-hawww.

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