Day 24- St Joseph, MO > Chillicothe, MO (87 miles)

 May 31-

The route:

Today's ride had me a little anxious because it looked to be raining at the start of the ride, and we have 87 miles  and 4k of ascent...we have had much better weather so far on this trip than I would have imagined, and we assumed we would find some wet stuff as we got into the Ohio Valley plus we dodged a couple of weather bullets in Kansas. Reality was that it was raining when we started this morning. I hate to sound a little soft, but it sucks to start riding your bike in the rain. If you get wet while riding, it is not a big deal as long as you are not cold AND wet. There is just something about beginning a ride in the rain that seems like a bad idea. We had a decent shower on us for the first 10-12 miles, and then it was done; the good news is that it was not a cold rain, and we were properly garbed. The terrain for today was Missouri rollers, which we now understand...they are numerous, steep, and mostly short - see photos below. We had almost zero flat ground today, and you can see this on the gradient picture. The surprise was that many of these rollers were 7-10% gradient, and we had a couple in the 12-15% range. This means we work hard to get momentum through the bottom of the hill so you can glide up a bunch of the next roller. We had some truly terrible roads for part of the ride, and we also had some incredible roads that I'd ride again in a minute...Bittersweet Symphony. We had a SAG at mile 31 where the town of Maysville welcomed us and made sandwiches and cinnamon rolls for us...pretty amazing. 

Some photos from the day:

These were some great rollers...

This was in Maysville where they rolled out the red carpet for us, and I felt like this truck belonged in Griffin, GA.

This was our whole group of riders massed around the cinnamon rolls...

This was a museum in Maysville (that also smelled like my grandmother's house.) When I look at old tools like some of these, a bonus quote comes to mind..."When ships were made of wood, men were made of steel." Look at some of these tools and pretend you could use it properly...

Maybe if we had signs like this in Griffin, our drivers would be more respectful of cyclists.

Cool barn on the road today...

Quote for the day that I read recently, and it sticks with me...

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by statesmen, and philosophers, and divines...Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be misunderstood is to be great." Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance. Emerson's Self-Reliance should be required reading in schools today. How many times are you entrenched in a position without really thinking about it, and you are just using muscle memory?

Tomorrow has us riding 75 miles over similar terrain into the town of Kirksville, MO.

Day 23- Topeka, KS > St Joseph, MO (85 miles)

 May 30-

We had some friends (Josh K and Jim N) and family (Bert O, Pam O, and Brett O) meet us in Topeka for laughs and dinner...Raff and I appreciated seeing these folks so much. 

                                               

A guy in the lobby of our hotel actually asked me if Josh was my son. I laughed, and Josh vomited.

Quote of the day comes to mind from breaking bread with old friends/family last night. It is less of a quote and more of a thing referred to as Sobre Mesa - this is something that Gina and I learned by living in Madrid. Sobre Mesa is the time well spent at the table with friends and family. The operative word is WELL spent...this means relax, laugh, and stay longer at the table. If you have eaten in our backyard, you've seen the sign below. If you have not, please make a reservation.

Oh yeah - Happy Birthday to Brendan...I am either a day late or 364 days early depending on how you want to interpret it...hope you ate a bunch of cake and told my sister that you were the boss for the day.

On to cycling stuff...Most importantly, Elvis has left Kansas.

The route:

We have definitely entered the land of rolling hills, and while it was pretty country heading out of Kansas, we had bad roads for cycling. Yesterday was magical and today's roads were pretty awful - very busy and zero shoulder, so you had to dance on the white line. We had some obnoxious drivers in large rigs, and have learned that tonnage has it's privileges; yet, we still place a curse on the drivers and their children and pets when they buzz us with their horns blaring...Yesterday was great, today sucked - The Verve said it well in Bittersweet Symphony. 

On the extremely positive side, we have done an amazing job of not saying the 'F' word in several days. This has been something that we have all worked on since the trip started. As you will recall we had several days where the 'F' bombs were flying like crazy. I am not sure when we last said it, but it seems like a week ago. Stuart and Bill have decided to put sealant in their tubes to avoid the 'F' word and Raff just keeps talking to his little Jesus to keep the 'F''s away. I have not struggled with this word because Senoia Bike shop convinced me to go tubeless. I will be taking them a surprise when I get home. 

Some photos from the day...we did not take many pictures because the roads were not suitable for it, and there was a bad looking storm rolling into St Joseph, so we decided to get there quickly.

Ok, this was crossing the Missouri River, and we did this for all of our friends in Kansas...especially Josh K, Jim N, Bert O, Pam O, and Brett O. I will try to explain the jersey to Ian later, and I am truly humbled yet very excited to have signed my first NIL deal. Stuart, Bill, and Raff signed a smaller deal, but they are good flag bearers. Also, I was willing to wear this jersey because the Chiefs have never beaten the Ga Bulldogs...

We escaped Kansas...

We have another 'normal' distance tomorrow at 87 miles to Chillicothe, MO.

Day 22- Emporia, KS > Topeka, KS (68 miles)

 May 29-

The route:

What a great, relaxing day in Emporia. The gravel race that is here this weekend is like the Tour de France for gravel riding, and we got to see the beginning of this small town turning into a goat rodeo of bikers and their roadies. I'd love to be able to ride their route sometime and experience Kansas gravel, which is supposed to be hard but fantastic. Read about the race here: Garmin Unbound

Big picture view...before we started this trip, I placed a point at each stop, and you will see this below. We have almost cleared that big state (Kansas) in the middle. Thanks for the multiple recommendations to play Bon Jovi 'Halfway There'...song has been running through our heads today as we hit that milestone (1700 miles) today.

I missed posting this photo when we rolled into Emporia, and I keep staring at it. If I had talent and could paint, this would be a great subject...maybe Taylor or Lyla will take a stab at this - subtle hint!

For the record it is NOT a grain silo, it is a grain elevator. Yep, I heard the polite, mid-western debate on this.

Things like cows, lakes, clouds, and grain elevators are in front of us everyday, but we do not see them because we are trying to show Google maps that we can get there faster than it thinks we can. The beauty of this ride is being a bike monk and having all day to see what is in front of us. Slowing down is hard for me - both literally and figuratively slowing down...really hard; being forced to do it can be a gift if you'll take it. If you've read 'From Strength to Strength', this ailment or condition is called the striver's curse. I plead guilty sir. Yes, this feels like the red pill/blue pill test in The Matrix. David is one of the guys on this ride that we have met, and he is a deep thinker and says this is mostly about focus and choosing what not to spend energy on...I have been doing some thinking on this since retiring and being able to choose what you want to spend your energy on is unbelievably liberating. 

Ok, too deep for now...must focus on bike stuff for the day:

Coming off a rest day, we had an 8:30 start to Topeka, and the anxiety app said that we'd have a cross wind until we hang the right turn, and then, we would have a direct head wind for the last 23 miles. Reality was pretty similar, and it was a fantastic day to be alive and on a bike with your buddies in Kansas. We have some friends from work and family in KC that we will be hanging out with tonight, and I'll post some photos tomorrow - excited to catch up with old friends! Also, Bill is the hero of the day for getting Coronas for us while we were in the nasty hotel pool!

Strawberry and rhubarb pie...amazing.

A sample of the roads we were on today...I sent our buddies in Griffin a video of this wishing they were with us...

I tried to be artsy on this one...failed but tried.

The stuff that we carry...I went into the electronics earlier in the trip and thought I'd cover some of the other stuff that I have on me while riding. I have a case that sits on my top tube that holds my phone and a printed view of the route; I wear a Camelback that will hold 3 liters of water, and Boyles Law dictates that it will hold a bunch of other crap to include: pump, tools, chamois cream, food stuff, arm sleeves, sun block, identification, pill box (electolytes, advil, alleve, a little Jesus - from Raff, and a cross - from Mom that she carried with her when she worked the ambulance)...see below:

Tools for mechanical issues - the best tools for mechanical issues so far have been Bill and Stuart!

Pills are only as needed, and you'd be surprised how much a little Jesus and a cross help out during the day...yep, I can nail those Dad jokes.

My Road ID. Sempre avanti is Italian for 'always forward' and was the motto for the US Army's 10th Mountain Division in WW2 fighting in the mountains of Italy. Great story: Sempre avanti

Talk tomorrow as we exit Kansas and head into Missouri...

Day 21- McPherson, KS > Emporia, KS (80 miles)

 May 27

The route:

A photo of Emporia (founded in 1857) back in it's heyday...I did not pack a suit, so I hope they have lightened up a bit on dress code.

Have I mentioned how awesome it is to ride bikes in Kansas? Today was another amazing day with beautiful views, great weather, and little traffic. I think we have met evil Kansas's twin brother, and we like this guy better. We started rolling through spectacular green pastures, lakes, and actual trees...I have missed trees. We kept a great pace today and called ourselves 'The Mellow Bus' to try to keep things chill on the ride and coast into our rest day. The ride was 80.8 miles in 4 hrs and 17 min, and we were all relaxed and glad to be heading into a day off. We have ridden 710 miles in the last 9 days without a rest day...thanks goodness it was flat terrain, but we need a day off the bike. The huge gravel race in Emporia is this coming weekend, so we'll mess around in downtown tomorrow, clean our bikes, and do laundry...the life of a bike monk.

Photos from the day:

Proper cows...and on full alert due to babies in the mix.

Finally seeing more colors in God's palette now...we were tired of tan and brown.

This is a river or a creek or a stream...definitely moving water.

I would put this in the Yeti/Bigfoot category...

I love this photo and lifted it from one of the guys in our group...not sure who the rider is but a great picture!

Griffin boys getting our pull from Fred yesterday.

A piece of metal art in one of the pastures we rode by today.

Trivia discussed at breakfast yesterday: Mark Twain is clearly one of the great authors from our country, and his given name was Samuel Clements - most of you knew that...where did he come up with the name Mark Twain? As boats are navigating rivers to determine depth that they can handle, when they got to 2 fathoms (12 ft), they would call out 'mark twain' to indicate safe water. Two quotes today from Mr Safe Water: "Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." The second one spoke to me when I re-read Huckleberry Finn earlier this year (if you have not read this book as an adult, I recommend it); " The average man don't like trouble and danger." Well, we seem to be out of trouble and danger for now and are looking forward to very little eye contact with our bikes on Tuesday...

Final note and most important: Happy Memorial Day and thank you to everyone who has served our country. I wanted to put a comment in today's blog from Peggy Noonan's WSJ editorial from yesterday talking about the importance of loving our country, but it was too long. I can text it to you if you want it and do not subscribe to the WSJ - worth the read and text my cell if you want it. I do love this country and am blessed to get to see it from a bike... 

Thanks for keeping up with us. Talk again on Wednesday as we head to Topeka, KS!

Day 20- Dodge City, KS > McPherson KS (64 miles)

 May 26

The route:

Man, if you have not been to Kansas to ride a bike, I highly recommend it! Amazing how the wind can make you eat your words...today was AWESOME. The weather/ride app called for a cross wind that was mild 12-14 mph, but it felt more like a tail wind, and we knocked out 63.7 miles in 3 hrs and 2 min. We had the train rolling, good roads, and a little push from behind. We had a pinch flat about 7 miles into the ride, and we watched the larger group ride away from us...enter today's hero: Fred. As we were starting back up after the flat (and normal cursing and spitting), one of the guides was riding through and asked if he could pace us for a bit. Fred proceeded to pull the four of us the next 22 miles at 20-23 mph into the SAG...we made ourselves quiet and small. One of the other guides decided to make a sprint out of it to the SAG, and Raff made the young pup work for the green jersey. The four of us Griffin boys rotated for the last 34 miles and rolled into McPherson in time for lunch.  Back to the weather/ride app, I appreciate multiple people coaching me about not using apps and just enjoying the time outside; next time I do a trip like this, I will exchange my DNA for somebody else's and try that approach. I know the app is essentially an anxiety app, but if you can get data, you get data. Please keep coaching me because I can definitely stand to learn more, but I'd prefer coaching on music!

This was my light lunch in McPherson (this is a normal sized plate): yes, I put all of it in my mouth and probably shortened my life by a few days...

Photo of the Griffin guys from today as we were rolling along:

Cool photo as we actually had some cloud cover today:

We took no other photos because we rode a little hard. A couple of quotes for the day...one was crowd sourced and is a great one referencing our tough day last week: "Some days are diamonds. Some are rocks." Tom Petty said this. Another great C.S. Lewis quote came to my radar doing some reading: "I think if God forgives us, we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise, it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him." One other short one that came from Stuart's interview with Steve (guy whose bike I showed yesterday): when Stuart asked him to describe himself in one sentence, his answer was classic: "not smart enough to be scared". 

Tomorrow, we roll into Emporia, KS and have a rest day there. Talk to you then...thanks for following, texting, and praying for us!

Day 19- Dodge City, KS > Great Bend, KS (86 miles)

 May 25

The route:

I needed more perspective on where the heck we were, so see below...I looked up where Dodge City is in Kansas and could not bring myself to post it. We have a bunch of Kansas left!

Today was the end of a long week of riding, and we have logged 566 miles this week...fairly flat at 13,000 ft of ascent over 7 days. The ride today was a good one...long on distance, pretty good winds, and good roads. It is amazing how fast the miles click by when all you have to do each day is ride your bike to the next hotel...We rode with some of the other folks on the trip at different points today, and I'll try to introduce some of these folks on the blog as we continue east. At the risk of hurting feelings from my Kansas friends, we have a new motto for the state: "If I am having fun, I am not in Kansas." While this might sound childish, the wind is dangerous and relentless in this place...if I were a dust bowl, I'd try to operate here. Ok, you guys are sending me some awesome song lyrics, and I get a kick out of them. Yes, On the Road Again will surface at some point. Also, you must listen to Pay no Rent by Turnpike Troubadours and read about the genesis for the song...unreal, poignant, and made me smile, though grimly - thanks Chuck!

We checked into the hotel in Great Bend and were given tornado protocol immediately...hmm Kansas is unique! Raff and I will sleep with our helmets on tonight. Seriously, the storms crank up tonight, but they will be east of us.

Quote for the day..."There is no such joy in the tavern as upon the road thereto." Cormac McCarthy (again). Generally true, but after our ride yesterday, there was significant joy at the tavern.

Some photos from the day:

This is a bike that is being ridden by Steve, who is a fascinating guy that has been across the country before and done many other impressive/bizarre/cool tings. His bike must weigh 35 lbs and has the classic Brooks saddle; Steve raises a state flag for every new state, and I am convinced he is actually converting his bike into a sail boat for Kansas.

You don't see this coming through Griffin on our tracks...

We went through Midway today, and you can see that we are precisely between SF and NYC...we chose to go right.

There was a museum in this town that smelled like my Grandmother's house. See the barbed wire exhibit - truly informative if you're into barbed wire fences; there was probably a book about it here also.

I took a picture of this bike since we are...well, you know.

There was a huge silo at one of our rest stops, and I like to act like a child with my phone sometimes...

In Pawnee Rock, there was a place where you climb a flight of stairs and see a bunch of real estate...beautiful views and to see the grain blowing in the wind was really neat - it looks like the ocean.

Tomorrow will be a lighter day riding 64 miles to McPherson, KS. Talk to you then...