Day 25 June 5th

Toronto to Hesston 105 miles



Pretty good nights sleep last night without any problems. I didn’t pay to stay in the park so I thought I should leave as early as possible. So I got up before 7 and was on a bench in town eating my peanut butter for breakfast by 8. The morning was pretty tough. I was on a major highway, KS 54, where there was a lot of traffic, including tracker trailers and the speed limit was 65 and there usually wasn’t very much of a shoulder but there was enough to get by. The trucks were really bothering me though. They were creating so much turbulence some times that it was hard to control the bike. At least the ones coming from behind created a slight draft for a second that I could use to be pushed forward but theses could still push you around. But the ones coming in the opposite direction could almost stop you in your tracks if you were going up a hill. But the tractor trailers were a little more cautions than the cars and pickups. Plus the wind was from the south/south west so slightly in my face.
But after 41 miles of traffic and wind I could turn off the highway and onto a smaller road headed north. I had 17 fantastic miles with the wind at my back and virtually no traffic. It only took an hour to do the 17 miles to Cassoday where I was planning on having lunch. They had a buffet there with pulled pork, potatoes, baked beans, and peach cobbler. All of which were great. So I was feeling pretty good after lunch and ready to tackle the remaining 50 miles.
I was heading west again so there was no help from the wind but there was very little traffic on this road. It was 38 miles to the next town and all I saw for 3 hours were cow farms. So I started singing and talking to myself and I occasionally would yell at the cows. I got a big kick out of it sometimes when they would run away and I would laugh out loud but I was in a pretty weird mood and it kept me positive for the long boring stretch. I used the library in Newton so I was sure to get enough time online before the one in Hesston closed. I made it to Hesston around 6:30 after almost 8 hours of riding. Subway for dinner and my campsite has warm showers so I should be in for a good night.

Day 24 June 4th

Pittsburg to Toronto 100 miles
I got a pretty good amount of sleep last night. As usual I had to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I think I should start limiting how much I drink after I finish riding and at dinner because I’ve been waking up every night. Peanut butter for breakfast and on the road a little before 9. The morning was great. I did 60 miles by 1 o’clock. I missed the turn onto an unassigned road right out of town and ended up riding on a gravel road for a few miles. It was pretty bad and slow but I knew that if I kept going I would be on a major road and wouldn’t get lost. It didn’t add any extra miles it was just a pain since the surface wasn’t good for riding.
The wind was behind me from the north east again and I only had a few portions where I was heading into it. I met a guy named Dave on the road who was heading from Astoria to Yorktown. He traveled down the coast of California and straight across to Colorado instead of going through Montana and Wyoming. He said he did this because it still is too cold to travel through Montana and Wyoming in early May. But he still had a major problem. He got an infection from a sore that was caused by sitting in the saddle for so long which cost him a few days. But I’ve been getting showers a lot more regularly and my clothes get changed every day.
Subway for lunch at 1 after the first 60 miles. My bike seemed a lot heavier after lunch than it did before and I think the wind was coming more from the north and wasn’t helping as much. But the road was still flat and I knew I wasn’t going to be heading into the wind until the very end. My knees started hurting in the late afternoon and it wasn’t helping my spirit knowing that I was going to have to turn into the wind for the last 10 miles. But I still had plenty of day light to make it to my goal so I decided to take it easy and not worry about my speed at all to try to conserve my knees.
I got into town a little before 5 and chilled at the library until it closed at 6. In the morning when I was packing up my tent and everything the community pool was opening and they had music over the loud speaker. They played to Lady Gaga songs in a row and both were stuck in my head all day. I didn’t hate it. And the night before they played a song from Mama Mia and I didn’t hate that either since Ali would play that when we were in Greece because the play is set there. So when I was in the library I was sure to listen to those songs on YouTube. I left the library and headed for the Italian restaurant across the street where I had unlimited bread sticks and some more Alfredo. Courtney, the restaurant owner told me that the camp ground had showers which I was happy to hear since I knew I could stave of infection for another day. But I found out the water in the showers wasn’t heated and it was a little too cold outside to wash my hair right before bed. So it wasn’t the best shower in the world and I was a little cold before bed but I didn’t pay to stay there so I can’t really complain.
Kansas is a lot nicer than I imagined. I was expecting just miles of wheat fields and silos but there are trees and small hills that break up the landscape. When the sun hits the wheat the right way it looks golden and can be really awesome.

Day 23 June 3rd

Fair Grove, MO to Pittsburg, KS 95 miles
Last night was the best nights sleep of the trip so far and i really needed it. Gail left before i woke up so i wasn't able to say goodbye and thank her but i had cereal with Tom and left by 8:15. It thunderstormed last night and i was really thankful to be inside. I've slept indoors 5 times and there has been a thunderstorm 3 of those times so I'm feeling pretty lucky in that respect. Plus its only rained once or twice while I've been in my tent.
The weather was great today. It was overcast and cool around 65 and a wind from the northeast that helped since I was going west. The road had a few climbs in the morning but nothing major and after lunch it was mostly flat or down hill. I met a man named Doug on the road who told me about a shortcut he was going to take that would cut out 10 miles of the trip. I was glad to give it a try since I was planning on doing over 100 miles. There's always something though and i ran into construction. I had to walk my bike through it and it was covered in mud by the time I got through. I used both of my water bottles cleaning it and it still looked terrible. I had to wait until i got to camp to clean the whole thing. For the brief time I was with Doug we ran into a man riding from KS to KY and doing the Trans Am in sections since he never had enough time to do the whole thing. Lunch was peanut butter and Gatorade outside a gas station along the shortcut. By the end of the day I was averaging over 15 mph and pretty happy with myself. I reached Pittsburg by 3:30 but no one seemed to know where the park I was trying to get to was. So I found another park and decided just to camp there. I saw another chinese buffet while I was searching through the town so I went there for dinner after everything was set up. I'm pretty tied after the long day so lets hope nothing bothers me in the middle of the night.

Day 22 June 2nd

Houston to Fair Grove 80 miles
I decided to take today a little easy an only do about 80 miles and sleeping until 8. I was pretty tired after the last few days and the library didn't open until 9 so there was no rush in the morning. I ran into Danny at the library. He made it to Houston and stayed in a hotel. I checked my email and such and said bye to Danny and was ready to hit the road by 11. There were a few hills along the way but it was the heat that made the day hard. I never saw how high the temperature got but i was sweating a lot and the sweat was visible on my shirt. I wore the same shirt as yesterday, the Red Rockets jersey, since it stands out the most out of all my shirts which was good for the turns and hills. But now there were two days worth of sweat baked into it and it actually was painful by the end of the day.
There were about 6 major climbs so it wasn't nearly as bad as the last few days and i knew that the final 10 miles would be pretty much down hill to Fair Grove. Lunch was in Hartville where i got a double cheese burger with fries and a pitcher of water. But most of the day was uneventful. I didn't meet any bikers along the way and the scenery was pretty repetitive. But i was glad that it was a net down hill day for a change. I called the Gourley's after lunch. They are the people that Shawn told me about the day before. I talked to Tom and he said he would definitely be home by the time I would get there and he gave me directions. I got to their house just after 6 and his wife Gail got home a few minutes after me. After a shower and putting my laundry in we sat down for some alfredo and salad. They had me laughing so much about their stories about other bikers and their hippy lives that my cheeks were tired from smiling by the time i went to bed. They also told me about how a recent storm trashed their town. The hail did enough damage that they had to replace their brand new roof on their house along with some car windows. It left some people with out power for 10 days. But they told me that the hail storms usually are never that bad and only last for about 15 minutes so I should be able to take cover under a tree if I get caught in one but lets hope it doesn't come to that. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight though.

Day 21 June 1st

MON to Houston 100 miles

I woke up around 6:30 this morning by accident. My phone didn’t have any service so I never knew what time it was and I set the time myself but must have set it an hour early. But it let me get an early start to the day. I heard coyotes for the first time last night. It was really cool. There were at least 2 and maybe three. I wasn’t scared of them since they seem to stay away from people. In the morning I met a retired couple named Mike and Shirley who were camped in a RV close to us. They offered us a place to stay since they lived close to the town I was planning on camping tomorrow night. They said they lived a little far outside the town but they would be able to pick us up in their truck. I only had an Odwalla bar for breakfast which Danny gave me. I thought I would be able to get peanut butter at the place we were camped but the groceries they had only consisted of chips.

There were a lot of climbs today. People describe the Ozarks as a rollercoaster and they are definitely right. There were a bunch of steep climbs and just as many fast descents. I had to wait for Danny a couple of times at the top of the hills but it wasn’t a big deal and it let me catch my breath and take some pictures. Plus he had to stop for me a few times when I had to quickly fix my bike and when I needed some food. After about 25 miles we found a grocery store and I stopped to get some peanut butter and have a proper meal. I drank a half gallon of V8 while I got my PB fix and talked to my mom.

A little before we met 2 people from Wisconsin, I forget their names but they were on a tandem recumbent going across country. After lunch we met this guy named Shawn who was riding from San Francisco to DC. He had ridden 2700 miles since May 2^nd and only taken 2 rest days when he was sick. He told us to watch out for Copper Head snakes in KS and Rattlers in CO which I didn’t know about. He also gave us the number for a couple who put him up and like putting up cyclists but don’t like to advertise. These people are in the same town as Mike and Shirley but they live less than a quarter mile off the trail so it would be a lot easier to go to them.

I started experimenting with the video recorder on my camera for the final two descents. The first time down you can only see the trees above the road going past and can’t see the road at all. It’s a shame too because when I was coming out of the descent the trees opened up to an awesome view of a farm on the hillside. On the final major descent I propped the camera up in my front pouch but it fell down about 6 seconds in and all you see is the sky and hear me yelling the speed. But I hit 43.5 mph on that one which is my fastest so far.

I left Danny behind after climbing the last hill. I don’t know if he made it to Houston like we planned or if he stopped in Summersville. But he was planning on resting tomorrow so we would be splitting up soon anyway. Things seem to close early here in Houston. The library was closed by the time I got there and so was the Chinese place and the KFC buffet was close. So I went to Subway and got 2 foot longs. I could probably get another but I think I’m gona go eat some more PB at my tent. I’m camped in a park that was OKed by the sheriff but this is the first day in a while where I wont be getting a shower.

Day 20 May 31st

Chester to Mon, MO (Middle Of Nowhere) 83 miles

I got a good rest last night and had McDonalds for breakfast in the morning where I was able to fill my bottles with PowerAde as a treat. I wanted to go to the library in the morning but it was closed since it was a Sunday so I left. I randomly ran into Danny as I was leaving town. He stayed in a hotel. We crossed the Mississippi River and the next 15 miles were completely flat. The sun was out all day and the wind was at my back. It was pretty perfect and not too hot. I thought the hills were going to be pretty tough but the Ozarks are nothing compared to VA. The scenery here is amazing! I’ve probably taken more pictures already in MO than I have in the last few days in KY and IL. The views of the farms and the mountain backdrops are just incredible. The streams are clear again which is so much nicer than the muddy water of KY. The ride thought ST. Joe State Park was great with tons of awesome views. I thought that the climb to Bismark was going to be tough but the mad made it look worse than it was and I didn’t even have to take my bike out of third gear. Danny and I got Lunch in Famington at a Chinese buffet, along the road we met a guy named Carl who was training for a triathlon. He tried to talk us into stopping at a local brewery that’s on trail and I'm sorry that we didn’t.

Some of the drivers around here are real ass holes though. I rode passed a kid on a bike who had downs syndrome or something and a car coming up behind beeped and yelled at him then gave the finger to me when they passed me.

After I got to the top of the last major climb of the day I met a guy named Nick who was going from San Diego to Boston which is totally bad ass. We got to the campsite which is right outside Johnson’s Shut Inns SP by 5:30 and only paid $4 to camp and get a shower. I ordered a pizza at the bar and am pretty sure it was DiGorno. I need a good nights sleep tonight since it is about 100 miles to Houston with about 12 climbs. Lets hope they go as well as the climbs today.

Day 19 May 30th

Eddyville to Chester 100 miles

I got woken up by some horses but o well. Peanut butter for breakfast and on the road by 9. Same weather as yesterday with clouds in the morning and sun in the afternoon. There was another sun shower and as usual it was pretty nice. There were a few climbs but the majority of the morning was down hill. I rode past two lakes on the way to Carbondale that would have been really nice to camp at but I still had a long way to go to get to Chester. It took a while for me to get to Carbondale since my tire was so bent it was rubbing against the frame. But I got there by lunch time and had a hoagie while I waited for the guys at the bike shop to fix it. I was recommended to try a place called Jimmy John’s where they are supposed to have great sandwiches. But the place isn’t much better than subway and can’t hold a candle to A Cut Above back home in PA.

But I left Carbondale and found a short cut to Chester. The first 8 miles were pretty hilly with the wind in my face which made for slow going but my tire was fixed so that helped a lot. Once I got onto Rt 3 it was completely flat but I still had trouble doing 14 mph and did most of it around 12 because of the wind. It was really nice how the hills completely stop at the road and the perfectly flat farm land reaches to the Mississippi River. I actually ran into Danny on the trail. He didn’t take the shortcut so I was able to catch up to him. I left him pretty quickly when I got my second wind for the final few miles going into Chester.

When I got into town I found out they were having a carnival at the place I was staying. There were rides, food, a volleyball tournament, a band, and beer. I got a shower there and headed into the bar. A few of the people there started talking to me and asked what I was doing and after I told them they all felt compelled to buy me a round. So I got pretty buzzed by the end of the night and was able to fall asleep and stay asleep.