Distance - 94 mi
Avg Speed - 12.5 mph
Climbed - 1420 ft
Temps - 50 to 90 F
Once again, I woke up to a low rear tire pressure, and lost a half hour or so fixing it. I couldn't determine the cause, and chose to replace the tube instead of patching it. My ride again today was straight East, with a North wind that vacillated between slight tailwind and slight headwind.
There's a storm front in the area that's supposed to move through tonight or tomorrow morning, and that should change the wind direction. Tomorrow's itinerary has me starting out East again, but heading North in the middle of the day.
I made pretty good time, and even found a shortcut over the first big hill since Colorado, to get to Cottonwood Falls as quick as possible. I was motivated by the promise of seeing Angela for the first time in 4 weeks. She was there waiting when I pulled up to the hotel, and gave me a big hug and kiss; and then wrinkled her nose at the smell that comes with 8 hrs of bicycling exertion. After cleaning up, we had a fantastic prime rib dinner.
I'm still on track for a 4:00 finish on Monday at Grunauer's in Kansas City, for anyone interested in joining me to celebrate the completion of this leg of the cross country journey.
This was a nice looking valley near Marion, with a river and a train track running through it.
A classic windmill and water cistern for cattle in The Flint Hills.
This is a good cutaway view of why they are called the "flint" hills. The bedrock is at or very near the surface, and the thin soil is suitable for growing only grasses. The rock is a limestone that dissolves and feeds lime into the grass, which the cattlemen believe leads to superior growth and weight gain for the cattle. So it's a prized area for grazing cattle.
These cattle seem to like it.
Back in 1898, a bank was just a bank. No branding needed.
The view from on top of The Flint Hills.
Old Chase County Courthouse in Cottonwood Falls.
Local Ford Dealer had some vintage signs. Who knew there was a "Fordson" brand?
We're staying at The Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls. I grade it an A+.
I've not seen a live Buffalo yet on this trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment