Clarence at the laundromat.

First business of the day was to make it the few blocks over to the grocery store. We've had enough oatmeal, thank you, so it was time to buy cereal and milk. Then it was time to eat our purchases outside on the display patio furniture. We've played mannequin at a number of grocery stores along this ride. I like to think we make an enticing statement about cereal.

But this is a bike ride so we hopped on and made a fairly uneventful stretch to Rush Center, Kansas. I picked up two packages at the post office there. One was a new tire purchased online, and the other was Clif bars and spare spokes for Adam. Thanks Mom. The winds up to this point have mostly been cross, blowing from either the North or South. They slow the average down some but not enough to really threaten sanity. That is, until this afternoon. It wasn't a direct head wind but it may as well have been. Dropped our speed to 8 and 9 miles per hour. We did about twelve miles in it and then found sanctuary in a rest stop. Jordan fell asleep briefly on the floor. We got back on the metal steeds and did another eighteen or so. Quite a difficult thirty miles. The wind saps your spirit as well as your energy and it's a poor decision to be stupid enough to fight it. You may kick the speed up a hair or two but at the cost of total exhaustion. Crushing.

It turned out nicely that today was a shorter day because we probably couldn't have taken much more. We got into Ness City and stopped at the first gas station and Jordan, Jeremy, and I got Chip-wiches for two bucks. Totally rejuvenating. One cookie. Ice cream. Another cookie. Felt back on top of the world. Assisted slightly by the fact that we didn't have to ride anymore. We found the pool but all the lifeguards were guys. Total bust. We splashed around anyway and made a hasty exit. Then to the laundromat. The soap dispenser ate our change and the change machine was broken. Both out of change and lacking soap, we went across the street to the grocery store for their last fifteen minutes of business hours. Bought the cheapest detergent they had, and a chocolate milk, but they gave us all kinds of sass about trading bills for quarters. Ness City was not on the short list of favorite stops.

We started our loads and things would pick up for us shortly. It always seems to come in waves. Boom, bust. Things are terrible and then they're great. A big, burly guy came into the laundromat. Had a mechanic's truck parked outside. Scruffy beard. Dirty clothes. Carried his laundry in a big, white canvas sack. At first I was a bit leery, but we offered him the detergent we weren't going to take with us and started to make conversation. Clarence was one of the coolest guys we've ever met. He works as a mechanic out on the oil fields and said Kansas sucks. He's been all over. 33 years fishing in Alaska. Through the Panama Canal. He told us a story about his boat nearly sinking. His crew all started to get drunk because they thought they were going to die before Clarence figured out how to right the vessel. He'd make reference to shows on the Discovery or History channels. “You seen Deadliest Catch? Done it. How about Ice Road Truckers? Done that too.” The guy was incredibly intelligent as well. Made casual references to CSPAN and mentioned that “Noriega thing” as if we were actually well versed in recent American history. He was totally salt of the earth. At one point I wondered if all of it could possibly be true but the authenticity was just there. We listened to stories for a while and then got a call from Doug, another cyclist we've seen off and on while riding. He made arrangements to stay at the First Baptist Church and we were invited as well.

We said goodbye to Clarence and found Doug at the church. Loaded the bikes and gear inside. We went to a place called Frigid crème and got another round of milk shakes. The chipwiches probably would have been enough. Back to the church and a fantastic indoor stay. Off to sleep.

Are you planning your tour?

Visit Kansas.

Packages.

We've become scared of large structures. We may cower in fear in San Francisco.

Take a left after the wheat field.