Still in Kansas...

Today is Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Once we arrived in Tribune, KS we were directed to a gazebo which is where the cyclists usually stay whenever they are in town. This shelter was O.K., there was a really bad fly problem, and the showers were cold without any water pressure, but we were able to wash off.
The storm came that night with lightning, rain and wind. The local kids would drive by shouting obscenities at us but we figured what else they have to do in this little town.
The next morning we woke to a damp and cold morning. Packed up and headed east towards Scott City about 43 miles away. With the sun on our faces without any rain or wind, we thought that we had it made. As the day continued, we finally arrived at Scott City and went directly to the market asking for shelter. A woman in the store heard that we were from Portland, OR and told us that her daughter lived there now and that we were more than welcome to stay at her house.
Lyn Palen and her family welcomed us with open arms and a plate full of Lasagna.
We were able to wash two loads of laundry and take showers. Yoshi was stuck outside in the Kennel with the other dogs and howled all night long.
In the morning, Lyn set us up with warm clothes for the winter, including Under Amour popular thermal underwear for outdoor athletes. Four PB&J's for our ride towards Ness City. Thank you Lyn for all of your generosity!
Ness City was our next location in Kansas. We arrived 55 miles from Scott City and were greeted by Jim or "Jimmy" at the local Church. He let us in and showed us around. We ended up staying in the basement where there was two couches with a projection machine for us to watch movies. We watched "Fireproof" and "Amazing Grace" before going to sleep.
The next morning, we were off east towards Great Bend, KS.

This was the most difficult section so far of all of Kansas. It was 63 miles away, and we had the "southerly winds" at our side. We finally made it to Great Bend where we immediately went to find food!
Wendy's was our choice because of the $1.00 menu. We entered Wendy's and meet a couple that we very interested in our travels. Tim and Claudia were also cyclists who had just recently did the Cycle across Kansas in July. They were sympathetic to our cause and were eager to help us find a place to stay for the evening. We were able to get a voucher for a free night at a motel from the city Sheriff's Department. Thank you Tim and Claudia for your help and encouragement to continue our trip.

The next morning we were off again East, but decided to head north on the 156 instead of the 56 East.
From the 156 we were able to junction to the Hwy 4 which was more traveled by cyclists with less traffic. We were however fighting the "southerly winds" again at our side. We made it about 43 miles to Geneseo, KS where we were able to pitch our tent in the backyard of the Mayor of this small town.


We are currently in Lindsborg, KS known as "Little Sweden" to the locals. I must say that this is the cutest town in all of Kansas. So far, we have only seen small barely there towns that are neglected and run down.
The "southerly winds" of Kansas has thus far felt like pedaling through MUD!!

We met another cyclist on our way towards Geneseo. He was from Macedonia a small country close to Greece. Dejan Zafirov was his name and he was traveling from New York to San Francisco. He was handicapped with a leg that seemed to be a birth defect, but this didn't stop him from riding his bike across our country. Just like my handicaps are not stopping me!

We are looking to make it to Topeka, KS by Friday where we will skirt around Kansas City and begin our trip through Missouri on the KD Trail. This is a trail dedicated to Cyclists where we will not be bothered by vehicular traffic. We will see... we may choose another path through.

Thanks for reading!!

Woman of Scars and Vesper