Day 27: St. Joseph, MO to Chillicothe, MO

There were thunderstorms off and on during the night and we woke up to grey soggy skies, but no actual rain. It was a mess as we got started because the roads were wet and so in no time the bikes were covered in road spray. Pretty soon though the sun came out, and it was like peddling in a swamp. Boy, was it humid! There are flood watches out everywhere and all the creeks and rivers are out of their banks and flooding the fields and low areas.
The highlight of the day was a little town called Maysville where the people of the town have been hosting the CrossRoads riders for many years. We all lined up behind the vans in a double line and all wearing our CrossRoads jerseys we whooped and hollered our way into the little town and there they were ....clapping and cheering for us as we rode in. We had our picture taken for the local newspaper and signed the book in the Dekalb County Historical Society Building. They had a great SAG stop for us with fresh HOMEMADE cinnamon rolls, PB and J sandwiches for our pockets, and coffee, water and lemonade. The cinnamon rolls were really great!
It really touched us that these kind people took the time to do this for us. America is a great place because of these kind of people who care about others.  Inside the little Historical Society building is an old fashioned bicycle with the big front wheel and the small back wheel...a man from this little town actually rode it around the world.
Then it was onwards and upwards, big rollers...151 of them to be exact (according to Tom, one of the staff) with 4087 feet of climbing for the day....and 87 miles. Apparently tomorrow is the same with lots of rollers and climbing and then supposedly it flattens out some as we head into Illinois.
I am feeling happy that my legs feel good and the climbing was okay even with some 12% grades.
Everyone is riding strong except Joanne who is still having injury problems with both legs.
Tomorrow we are on to Kirksville, MO.

Day 26: Topeka to St. Joseph, Missouri

Well our luck finally ran out. We started out under heavy threatening skies which only turned darker the farther along we rode. I even thought there could be a tornado, it looked so bad. We made it to the first SAG at about 32 miles, but after we left there we only made it another 8 miles or so when it started to rain and hail with lightning in the distance. The CrossRoads van pulled alongside and told us to pull over up ahead. We bailed out and some of us piled into the back of the truck and others got in the vans. We waited awhile but then they drove us 1.4 miles up the road to a Gas Station/Cafe where we waited for about an hour for the weather to break. It didn't happen so half the group got in the vans and we sagged in the remaining 40 mi to St. Joseph. Pretty heartbreaking...I have ridden every mile since Flagstaff and my goal was to ride all the remaining miles to Boston. The second half of the group ended up getting to ride in as the weather broke after they brought the first group in. :-(
Depressing afternoon of rain, laundry and cleaning up the bike. Hope the weather is better tomorrow.

Pictures form Abilene to Topeka

Halfway there!

The Flint Hills

JC at the Pie Shop!

Day 25: Abilene, KS to Topeka, KS

71 degrees to start but the humidity must be 100% or at least it feels that way to someone who is used to very little humidity....We started out with sort of overcast skies on some really nice back roads. For the life of me, it looks like Indiana only a little hillier...like southern Indiana. By the time we got to the first SAG at 35 miles huge black clouds were growing to the north of us and the staff was pushing us to get through the SAG quickly as they had been tracking the thunderstorms and thought we could get out ahead of them...today was the HALFWAY point so we took pictures at the SAG. WOW.
Then we were flying out of there to try and beat the rain...I felt like the scene in the Wizard of Oz where they were cycling along trying to beat the tornado....
However, once again the rain gods smiled upon us and we barely got a sprinkle. Apparently Topeka got hammered with heavy thunderstorms with a big bow echo embedded...supposedly round 2 tonight but clearing in the morning. Fingers crossed. The thunderstorm kind of sucked us along as it spread out in front of us but then we picked up a very stiff headwind out of the SE...that along with 4022 feet of climbing made a long afternoon. We passed through an area called the Flint Hills which is basically undisturbed tall grass prairie that wasn't farmed because of a layer of flint that made it impossible to till. Really beautiful. The other interesting thing is that apparently this is the year for the cicadas and there must be millions of them...as we passed through the areas with big trees the noise was absolutely deafening.
One very fun part of the day was stopping at a little restaurant that was like something out of Mayberry. Homemade pies, etc. So everyone had pie or ice cream..or both!
I am very encouraged by the way things are with my knee now. I feel I am almost 100%...I am finally able to stand up on the pedals for hills, etc and feel there is good power now. So happy!
Of course if one thing improves, likely something else will go...the right wrist that was broken in Jan 2014 is giving me a little trouble but I am taping, etc. I should take out stock in KT tape.
Big news of the day: Topeka has a Starbucks!!! After dinner, Peter and I went for coffee and a brownie. Civilization!! One day I am going to write down everything I eat in one day...it is really unbelievable. We all talk about this constantly....we can't quite get over it.
Today was 106 miles and as I already mentioned, 4022 feet of climbing. Tomorrow we cross into Missouri.
Injury update:  Joanne had to SAG in today...now her other leg is bothering her...
I am having trouble with the Internet connection at this hotel so will try posting the pictures from today sometime tomorrow.

Day 24: Rest Day in Abilene

Nice quiet day in Abilene, Kansas...home to the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. They have quite a campus with a Visitor's Center, Presidential Library, the original home of the Eisenhower family, a Museum and the burial place of Dwight and Mamie. The farmhouse was really special with original furnishings, photos, etc.
Otherwise, hanging out and re-organizing the bags...the job that never ends. Maggie says it is like the Greek mythological story of pushing the rock up the hill and when you get to the top it rolls down and you have to push it up again...no matter how organized you are, you have to deal with THE BAGS every day!
So, on to Topeka tomorrow.....today it turned warmer (thank you!) but much more humid.
A few pictures of the Eisenhower campus:

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Day 23: McPherson, KS to Abilene, KS

When we went to bed last night the weather forecast said 50's to start with partly cloudy skies....we woke up to a cold drizzling rain and the topic of conversation in the breakfast room was all about what to wear. It looked like the rain would pass through pretty quickly, but it was cold, windy and spitting rain so I decided to don the leg warmers and rain socks, etc. We had to pass through a construction zone right out of the hotel and the staff had advised us to "take the lane" as a group as there was no shoulder. So for about .6 of a mile about 8 of us rode ride down the middle of the road with a big semi behind us...it was fine though but now we had a headwind (why not? just the way we like it!) and that continued for 22 miles...the rain stopped almost immediately, however, so of course now we are sweating....BUT...aha! A 90 degree left turn...now we have a tailwind and a very smooth newly paved road with minimal traffic. Wahoo! Perfect conditions for testing out the legs a little...put some power into the pedals and it felt fine. Happy biker! My friend Peter from California and I ended up cruising along together and we started talking about how we couldn't believe this was our 9th day straight of riding...We have been riding continuously since Santa Fe...690 miles.
We arrived in Abilene and stopped at a little local place called Sip's that Peter found on the Internet...(we have given up looking for Starbucks and now just look for places that have an espresso machine...)
So we had some REAL coffee (vs hotel coffee, which being the coffee snobs we are, neither one of us will drink). We also had a yummy chicken wrap and chatted with some locals who seemed to know who we were...they informed us there is an article in the paper here about us. The Chamber of Commerce is providing shuttle transportation for us while we are here on our off day...that is the first time that has has happened. Really nice. So I got my bike cleaned up, did my laundry, etc. so that tomorrow I can have a "proper" rest day as our British contingent calls it. Dwight Eisenhower is from Abilene, so tomorrow I will plan on visiting the home, library, etc. Otherwise, hopefully a nap is in my future. Today I am putting in a picture of our SAG stop and a few of the gorgeous Kansas countryside. We will be heading to Topeka on Wednesday, 105 miles.

Day 22: Great Bend, KS to McPherson, KS

A new phenomenon: not only did we NOT have a headwind, we had NO Wind! Beautiful sunshine, 56 degrees at the start, smooth pavement...wow...the bike seemed to fly down the road after the slog we had yesterday. Before we knew it we hit the thirty mile SAG...and that continued for almost 55 miles until a little wind came up the last ten miles but overall a gorgeous day. The terrain is changing now with more rolling hills and trees. We still see lots of water in the fields and ditches. I can't remember if it was today or yesterday but we crossed the Little Arkansas River and it was completely over its banks and spreading way out into the surrounding countryside.

Injury updates: Joanne is riding again and after putting in a couple of partial days, rode the whole 65 miles today. Yesterday Don Kieffer was out with a shin splint also, but was back riding again today. (There is an awful lot of icing and KT taping going on in the hotels at night.)

Tomorrow it is on to Abilene, KS...and we have a rest day there. Yahoo! 

My knee is probably about 90 percent but I am continuing a regimen of ice, tape, stretching and naproxen. 

The picture of the day: Beautiful Kansas!

Day 21: Dodge City to Great Bend, KS

While I was riding today I was thinking of clever things to say on the blog tonight but for the life of me I can hardly remember what I wanted to say because I am so tired. We started right out of the gate with a huge HOWLING headwind....at best a quartering headwind. It had to be a steady 20-25 and gusting higher. Sometimes I could barely keep from being blown off the road. The wind never let up all day. Plus it was COLD...46 degrees to start and when we arrived it was only 66. The wind made it feel much colder...this Arizona girl is wishing for some warm weather.
The road goes on and on and the way you know you are coming to a town is each town seems to have its own set of grain silos. So you see those way on the horizon but it seems to take forever to get there.
The other thing we saw today was every creek or river we came to was overflowing its banks. The rain has been incredible....in this we have been lucky: the rain continues to be in front of us...so far.
85 miles is a long way to go with that kind of wind...the whole group agreed at dinner it was a very tough day. Tomorrow we go on to McPherson, KS. It will be Day 8 of our 9 day stretch...Everyone is looking forward to the rest day on Tuesday in Abilene.

Day 20: Liberal , KS to Dodge City, KS or Riding into Dodge

Today we had another cool start at about 55 degrees...with high clouds. The rain continues to go before us....our luck is holding and we have escaped the deluges. When we stopped at the SAG today it was at the Dalton Gang hideout...there is a little museum type thing there and a local man came out and told us the road was closed yesterday because it was underwater...they had gotten 5 inches of rain! We had another headwind today especially the last 20 miles so we worked the paceline and got here in good time. I think a lot of people think Kansas boring but I find it quite beautiful...wide open spaces, big fields, some freshly plowed and some with foot high corn....huge silos dotting the horizon...it smells of green and earth. Spectacular.
Another 84 miles tomorrow to Great Bend, KS...so we will be "heading out of Dodge"...
Here is a picture of the Kansas morning...it doesn't transalate very well.
P.S. I seem to have no control over the comment section of the blog. Demerits are due I am afraid.

Day 19: Guymon, OK to Liberal, KS OR We are in Kansas, Dorothy!

Today was ALMOST like a rest day...only 39 miles to Liberal, Kansas! The rains continue to march in front of us and everywhere we follow there is standing water. The locals tell us they haven't seen this kind of rain in 15 years. We took our pictures at the Kansas State line...that is me and Jim C. (now shortened to JC) in the photo. We had a little sprinkle just as we were coming into town, and could see lightning and thunderstorms off in the distance, so ducked into the hotel. Some folks went off to see the "Dorothy House" but I decided to hang out at the hotel. Last night the group went out to an Italian restaurant and we played a joke on our New Zealand gerontologist, Damian...we had a birthday cake brought in with a big "75" on it...he is always saying how he looks younger than the other guys....he is really 66 and it wasn't his birthday but he took it it in good fun and blew out the candles.
Other news of the day: Joanne's first day back on the bike and it went ok.
Tomorrow is a big day...82 miles to Dodge City and we are expecting headwinds, plus it is day 6 of a nine day stretch before we have an off day in Abilene, Kansas.