Cowboy Greg's Mood Changes With The Wind

May 3, 2025

Scott City, Kansas

It's a new day in the big, wide, wonderful world of Kansas.

This day looked to be the same as the previous two days: Wind, cool temperature, wind, 39 miles, wind, no towns or services, etc., etc. You've heard it all before. Except today, the wind was going MY way for a change. Poetically speakin', the wind diverged, I took the Highway 83 Road, and that has made all the difference.

I can honestly say, today's 39-miles were the easiest 39-miles I have ever ridden. There was no resistance whatsoever--not from hills, not from wind, not from protesting legs muscles, not from nothin'. For the first time in three days, I didn't have to pedal every single second. I could coast, raise my butt off the seat, and still continue to move forward.

Today I took numerous breaks, not because my legs were tired, but because I was afraid of getting to my destination too fast. I say "too fast" because I foolishly made a motel reservation this morning and I felt there was no way I could show up three hours before check-in time and ask to be let into a room early--especially on a weekend.

So, I did everything I could think of to stall. Long breaks at small town parks or truck stops were not an option, so I had to resort to leaning my bike against any roadside thing I could find and take pictures and videos. Here are some of the results of my stalling efforts.

Guess what ceremony I performed at this location. You got it, I applied sunscreen, drank water, shed one of my long-sleeved shirts, and enjoyed the sun and blue sky.

These cows were lying down until I arrived. Then they got up for a chat. They told me I better enjoy the next couple days because rain will be moving in for the rest of the week.

From a distance, I could see a gas station up ahead. That surprised me because I didn't see any services at all between Garden City and Scott City on my phone map app. But sure enough, I could see it with my own eyes. I looked forward to stopping there because I am a subscriber to the idea that a bike tourist should stop at any opportunity to replenish his or her water supply. Running out of water can result in bad things like thirst, dehydration and death.

As always here in Kansas, it took longer than expected to get to the gas station. It seemed to be so close, but it took almost 15 minutes to get to the cold fruit punch flavored Gatorade I was looking forward to.

Alas, there was no fruit punch Gatorade here . . .

The place did have some life to it though. When I rode up, dozens and dozens of pigeons flew out of the rafters and the windows. They scared the crap out of me. When I walked around to the back of the building to pee, I could see them all lurking on some rusty tanks ten yards away.

Across the highway, there were many, many cows. I rode over there to ask for a little information.

I took another break here and walked around. Anything to slow down my pace.

These friendly cows wished me "safe travels." The baby was especially cute.

Throughout this journal, I've been feelin', my photos do not show the enormity of a Kansas landscape. While on another stalling break today, I came up with an idea to remedy that.

Enjoy!

Another stalling opportunity came to mind when I realized there were no action videos of ME in this journal. As the cowboy star of "Ersatz Cowboy Rides The Wild West", it just ain't right that I haven't been given a more prominent role. No videos of me ridin' a bike here is like havin' no film footage of John Wayne ridin' a horse in "The Shootist."

I wasn't done with makin' videos yet. I was fascinated by a crop dustin' plane flyin' back and forth across the highway. That crazy pilot was missin' the utility wires by a matter of what seemed like a few inches. I think he saw me takin' pictures of him, which gave him the idea to transform himself from crop duster to aerial performer.

If I didn't have an un-cancellable motel reservation in Scott City, I would definitely have continued riding another 15 miles to the Historic Lake Scott State Park today. I'll have to wait until tomorrow for what should be most scenic two days of my entire tour.

While killing a little more time in Scott City, I took this picture of a REAL cowboy carrying a baby cow. Somehow, Ersatz Cowboy Greg got into the picture.

I didn't know it was even possible to ride 40 miles with only 318 feet of climbing.

Heart

Comment

Link

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 245 miles (394 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	7
Comment on this entry	Comment	1

Emily SharpShame about that motel reservation when you could have had a tent night in a park. Glad you got a break from the wind though. It's nice to coast after pedalling continuously for days and days. May the coming rain be spotty and not long-lasting.
Reply to this comment
1 hour ago