Chanute, Kansas to El Dorado, Kansas
I love Kansas... big, wide and black-eyed susans and sunflowers line the edge of the roads throughout the state. They are like little suns. And the wind... the wind always blows through Kansas. Trying to put my finger on what it is about this state and I think it is just that it is this vast tract of land called the prairie, open with nothing to hide, quiet but for the relentless wind... just has a majestic, haunting quality.
Determined today to do my first “century” as we bikers call 100 miles or more. The conditions are good - dry, light wind, overcast to partly sunny. As I leave Chanute, I stop to take a picture of a baseball field. The home field of NCCC. I see the pitcher’s mound where former Panther, Mike Sawyer, a south paw from Lakewood, CO, once stood. My nephew! I can almost see him. Click and off I go.
10 miles west, I meet my 4th fellow traveler, Friedrick Goransson, from Sweden. He had a very expensive looking bike made in Holland, with fenders and lights and carrying a lot more gear than me. Front and rear panniers plus more. He, too, was camping most of the way. He has biked every continent except South America and Antarctica! His take on this country is that the people are incredibly friendly. I said, “Yes, along this trail. But this is not representative of the whole country. You won’t find this so much in the cities.” I’m learning that this is almost like a country within a country. He is discovering the USA as a Swede and I am discovering it as a native.
We talked about taking days off - how he does, and how I haven’t taken a day off yet, but I did have a couple of less than 50 mile days. I showed him the flag Laura Butterbaugh gave me and I had this idea that it should keep being passed back and forth to someone going in the opposite direction, so it could be like the official “torch” of those traversing the country. We are the corpuscles traveling the capillaries of America! Friedrick spoke English very well, although with an accent. You can tell he has that spirit we all have that make us do stuff like this. It comes shining through in any language. It's transcultural. I told him about the hot shower in the park in Ash Grove, MO, the firehouse in Utica, KY, and the bike shop in Pittsburg, KS. We shook hands and headed down the road, each of us had just traveled.
A few miles later in Coyville, KS, I met Mike and Jose. Mike was going from Wichita, KS to Louisville, KY. Jose was just riding along with him to Pittsburg, KS. I am not considering them cross country bikers.
The day got much sunnier when I hit Toronto, KS. There was a large lake and some hills! Yes, Kansas - not so flat in places. Made a post office and grocery stop there and told the grocery clerk how much I like Kansas. Milk, peanuts, and raisins and I’m on my way.
It was an ideal biking day. The sun was muted enough to keep the temperatures in the 70’s and the day felt sunny without the glare as thin cloud cover acted like a lampshade.
Today’s ride took me through what’s known as Flint Hills, known for bluestem grasses, oil rigs, cornfields, and lots of grazing cattle being fattened. Sometimes the cattle dot the fields for as far as you can see. Sprawling prairie and big sky.
At around the 90 mile mark, I had a choice to stay on the TAT and end up in a 30 mile region of no towns and services, or continue west on my own down Rte. 54 to El Dorado, KS where there was a town. I made the right choice, I think. The downtown area had a lot of small bronze statues lining the streets for a few blocks in all directions. I took a picture of one I really liked. It was a young girl standing under a sunflower and the sunflower was curling down toward her head as she tilted her head back to see it.
Made the “century” - 103 miles today! Still had a lot of gas.
Actual totals: 103.92 miles, 7 hrs. 35 min., 1821.4 total miles
Found a library but it was closed. Looks like salad bar binge tonight and home for the night is a nearby golf course.