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We spent 12 days and travelled 566 miles in Kansas.
We were really looking forward to some flat riding; Kansas was the flattest state we would travel through. It was June and the days were getting very hot, we were getting on the road early so as to miss the worst of the afternoon heat, which was becoming a real problem. We were sweating so much that our clothes were stiff and white by the end of the days ride.
We met Walt and Kay, in a camp site, they were in a big motor home and invited us round one evening for coffee and home made cookies, and of course we had to say yes. They were from Texas and Kay was very proud of the fact that she had just turned 86 and didn't look a day over 60; they were both very active and were enjoying travelling around the States in their Hitchiker motor home. We left Walt and Kay the next morning taking with us a big bag of home made cookies and some fruit and nuts, to give us energy for the long day ahead.
In Eureka City Park we were just setting up our tent when Lisa found us and offered us a bed for the night in her home. The big clouds were rolling in and it looked as though we were going to have another storm, so we packed up the gear hopped on the bikes and followed her home. They had invited some friends round for the evening and we feasted on wine and cat fish. We had a very enjoyable evening with Lisa and Eric their family and friends and then slept soundly in a very comfortable bed, while the storm blew itself out.
We stopped in a small town called Hesston for breakfast and met John on his home made three wheeled recumbent bike. He told us that the year before he had virtually been housebound, living alone he was very lonely. The town presented him with this bike. Now he was out and about every day, and he can even walk short distances again. It has changed his life totally. We also met a guy from the local press, who ended up interviewing us and took our picture for a story in his paper. We were becoming famous; this was our second press conference on the trip so far.
Some of the distances between the small towns were big, so we had a couple of long days in the saddle. But the roads were quiet and the scenery pleasant, with large herds of cattle roaming the prairie.
We had moved away of the lush green pastures of the flint hills, and found ourselves riding past fields of golden corn as far as the eye could see, sunflowers and maize also grew abundantly in this area. These fields were dotted with oil wells.
The days were getting hotter, with no shade, and no drink stops. Jeff was being bothered by man eating flies, and I had a rather nasty saddle sore that didn't want to heal. The wind started blowing at about 10.30 every day and it was always on the nose, it was also very hot.
Scott city was the largest city on the Western Kansas route that we visited and decided to have a rest day. We stayed at the athletic club for a very reasonable price, and had the use of a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi, sheer luxury. The locals were very friendly, and interested in our journey, though they couldn't quite figure out what motivated us to do such a crazy thing. They put it down to the fact that we were British. We were also meeting up with quite a few other fellow cyclists. Most of them were moving faster than us, because they didn't have as much time as we did usually due to work commitments.
The roads were getting busy again with weird and wonderful oversized farm machinery and cattle trucks. We passed huge feeding stations where thousands of heads of cattle were being fattened up on grain before going for slaughter. It seemed like a sorry place to end up after the lush prairie grazing they were used too.
We all have to eat something.
