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.
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!
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
Sempra Avanti! Seems like you covered part of the Lonesome Dove path today, except they did it without roads. When we get halfway thru a tough swimming set, people start yelling "It's all downhill from here". With that and SA, you will Coast to Boston from here.
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