Still in Kansas

Today was our most complicated route in several days. You had to watch the cue sheet like a hawk to make sure you didn't go astray. Here's the output from my bike computer, showing all the complexities:




I'm serious about this being our most complex route in days. Most days, we haven't had to make a single turn. You could fit the entire directions for all of Kansas on about six lines. In addition to the complex route, we had a range of scenery to marvel at, spanning from this:

To this:

One can take only so much amber waves of grain where the deer and antelope play. Even if it's Memorial Day.

Actually, today's ride was lots of fun. 63 miles, with a good paceline most of the way. We had a headwind the first 22 miles, but managed to make the big left turn of the day, and then cruised into Abilene. Tomorrow is a rest day, which everyone is looking forward to after nine straight days of riding. We're also looking forward to being tourists in Abilene. It's a very nice town, and is Dwight Eisenhower's birthplace. The Eisenhower library and museum are here, as well as something called the "Sports Hall of Fame". The hall of fame must be incredible, since the title implies it covers all sports globally for all time. I can't wait.

We had some very good pizza and calzones downtown at Breadeaux (get it?). In another act of Midwest hospitality, the folks at Breadoux called ahead to the only open coffee shop in town to alert them to our arrival. They did this with no bribe and no kickback. That doesn't happen in the East. The coffee shop was closing at 1pm today, and we were cutting it close, but got there in time for me to have a delicious cafe mocha. All in all, a fine day of bike riding.

Folks in the Midwest are NICE

A few hundred miles ago, we talked to a couple who were also travelling, but by car. They were very interested in our journey, and it turned out we'd be riding about 20 miles from their home near Great Bend, KS. Yesterday, when we were in Great Bend, they delivered a huge basket of homemade cookies to us at the hotel. We ate them at the SAG stop today. They were fantastic, especially after biking 30 miles before the stop.

The ride today was more typical Kansas. The antique farm equipment in the foreground here is the most interesting thing we saw on the road today.
That's an oil pump in the background. Lots of oil wells in this part of Kansas.


Here's a shot from outside our hotel this morning. I think it's a great summary of mid-America - a giant U.S. flag with a Perkins in the background. We ate lunch yesterday and breakfast today at this Perkins, just like real Americans. We had dinner at Applebee's, so maybe even Sarah Palin would consider us real Americans.

We couldn't figure out if the flag was at half mast for Memorial Day, or because Dennis Hopper died yesterday. He was from nearby Dodge City. I think it was Peter Fonda, not Hopper, who wore the American flag leathers in Easy Rider, so maybe this was for Memorial Day.

We're in McPherson, Kansas tonight. Downtown McPherson is really nice, including an opera house and TWO promising coffee shops - Java Johns and Cake Lady, but everything was closed on Sunday. The interstate and our hotel are about 3 miles from downtown. No opera houses or quaint shops out here, but I can see a Walmart, Taco Bell, Arby's, Walgreens, McDonalds, Subway, Applebee's and four other hotels. I wonder how many hotel guests get off the highway, eat the fast food, stay the night, and get directly back on the highway, never seeing any of this very nice town. I'll betcha it's over 90%.

Blowing up varmints

Meet Woody and Leon - prairie dog hunters. These guys are from Missouri, but drove about 400 miles to help a farmer rid his land of prairie dogs. They do it for sport, not getting paid by the farmer. They also shoot the critters from as much as 200 yards away. A prairie dog is about the size of a groundhog, so hitting one from 200 yards is really impressive. Woody showed me dozens of photos of blown up prairie dogs. They didn't just have holes in them. They were blown into pieces. Woody pointed out in one photo "here's most of him, there's another piece and there's the rest of him". I wish I had a way to show you his photos. Quite amazing. On the one hand, the varmints are kinda cute. On the other, I can see why their hole digging is a nuisance. I think I have to watch Caddyshack tonight.

I met Woody and Leon at the center of the country, as shown below:

I supppose midway between New York and San Francisco is as good a way to define the center as anything else. Woody, Leon and I were enjoying the Sod House and Museum here. They had to put the sod house inside a building because cows were eating it.

Sod houses were the original homes on the plains. There were no trees, so it was a clever way to build a home until lumber started getting delivered from elsewhere. There was plenty of sod. The settlers built special tools to cut out brick size chunks of sod. Very practical, but it must have been tough to bolt on the sattelite dish.

We also visited Pawnee Rock.

The rock only stands about 50 feet above the ground around it, but it was the most recognizable feature of the land for many miles. Wagon trains used it as a kind of navigation beacon to keep them on track. One wagon train traveler wrote that he saw buffalo as far as the eye could see from the top of Pawnee Rock. That must have been incredible. Now you see lots of wheat, with a few grain elevators to break up the view.

We did a very mellow 88 miles of riding today. Still traversing very flat farmland. On the one hand, the flats are pretty easy riding. However, we're doing so much of it that it's tough on the body. You're constantly doing exactly the same pedalling, with no variations in effort or position on the bike. We have a few more days of it, then have rolling terrain for the rest of the trip. I'm looking forward to a change. Then I can complain about the hills.

Git outta Dodge City, or else

I'd be proud to have the same words on my tombstone as Edward Hurley. Eddie is one of the colorful cast of characters buried on Boot Hill, here in Dodge City. The cemetery, jail, old saloon and other stores have been turned into a cheesy tourist spot, but it was still loads of fun to visit. We got there on our bikes just as the noon gunfight was ending. Lots of guys got shot, then signed autographs. I'm not sure why anyone wants the autograph of someone who stands there in old cowboy clothes, then pretends he's dead, but people were lined up for it.

The entry fee into the Boot Hill attraction was $9.39. Why? With tax, it was $10.22. I have a feeling it was $10 even including tax, then Kansas raised the sales tax and nobody could figure out what to do. That was really bugging me.

We also visited the Dalton gang hideout in Meade, KS, about 40 miles southwest of Dodge City. The Dalton gang were a famous group of train and bank robbers in the late 1800's, led by three Dalton brothers. In 1892, they tried to rob two banks at once in Coffeyville, KS in broad daylight, but were recognized before they entered the banks. The townspeople went and got guns, some from the nearby hardware store. When the Daltons came out all hell broke loose snd most of the gang was shot dead, along with three townspeople. Their family story is really interesting. You can read more about it on wikipedia.

Today was one of the best bike rides yet. 83 miles through the land of outlaws.
The boys were in a playful mood today, with some healthy attacking and chasing down of riders ahead. I spotted Greg and Ty about a mile up the road with about 15 miles to go. They also spotted me, and tried to stay ahead, but I caught them as we neared town. That was the hardest I've ridden the whole tour, and I'll definitely pay for it tomorrow, but as of now my ego is staying inflated.

Experts recommend that after a hard effort like mine today, one should consume a "recovery drink", usually meaning something like Recoverite, Muscle Milk, or other commercial products made expressly for this purpose. If one drink is good, two is better, so I had two natural recovery drinks - beer and coffee.

Roy and I discovered the best coffee shop of the tour so far - Cup of Jo-nes.

Next time you're robbing a bank in Dodge City, don't miss Cup of Jo-nes. Above is a homemade cinammon roll that we split. They added the fresh fruit. Roy likes a version of capuccino that would require an entire blog post to describe. They made it three times before perfecting it, smiling the entire time. It's going to be hard to top this place, but we'll keep trying.

Roy is a remarkable human being. Besides being an amazing cyclist for someone 66 years old and only biking for three years, he has many other talents. Today marks the second time he has talked the hotel receptionist into lending him her car. This was a minivan, but the last one was the owner's Cadillac. I got to drive it. It's the only time I've ever driven a Cadillac. Stick close to Roy and incredible things happen.

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!

This IS Kansas, Dorothy. In fact, we're in Liberal, Kansas, home of the Wizard of Oz museum and Dorothy's house. The road we came in on is officially the yellow brick road. However, we chose to visit the nation's 7th largest aviation museum, right here in Liberal. It was really cool, with about 80 different aircraft in a huge space. Who would have thought all this was in Liberal.

On our way to Liberal, we passed through Hooker, Oklahoma. Here is the chamber of commerce building.

They sell every imaginable play on the name on t-shirts, coffee cups, etc. One of the women on the tour was wearing a t-shirt tonight that said "support your local hooker". I thought about taking a picture with her and posting it here, but thought Peg might misunderstand during our fifty day separation. Guess what the high school team name is - the Horny Toads. You gotta love it.

We only rode 40 miles today. Winds were favorable and road was flat (again). I'm hoping this allowed some recovery for the tough four days ahead.

Here's a really boring video from yesterday, but it gives you a good idea of the land we've been riding through for the past few days.

As Ty, a native of West Texas, pointed out, if you stand on your helmet you can see for 20 miles.

Oklahoma is OK

I really liked the "Oklahoma is OK" on the old license plates here. However, the new ones say "Oklahoma - Native America" with a picture of an Indian shooting an arrow. Call me politically incorrect, but I don't get it. Why is Oklahoma more native than, say, Delaware? Or even Connecticut, since our CT Indians make the most money from their casinos. I think that makes us more native.

One has lots of time to ponder such things when following our extremely complex route of the past few days. We've ridden 168 miles on U.S. 54 in a dead straight line to the Northeast. To make it more exciting, today was the flattest 72 miles I've ever seen - only 350 feet of elevation gain. In Steamboat, I do more climbing going back and forth to Walmart on my bike.

We thought today was going to be a recovery of ride of sorts. We've ridden 354 miles over the past 4 days, with 5 straight days of riding ahead. It seemed sensible to take it easy on a nice, flat ride. However, mother nature had different plans. We had a stiff headwind the last 30 miles, which Greg appropriately described as a "flat hill". It took a toll, and my legs are really tired. Hopefully, the winds will be favorable tomorrow.

This was the highlight today.

Now that's a Texan.

I found the following interesting. This was a about a mile down the road from the next pic.

An interesting mix of the old and the new. That first thing is an oil pump, for all you liberal hippy Easterners.

Deep in the heart of Texas

We've had an eventful 2 days of riding. Yesterday, we had steady 30mph winds all day. The route curved in various directions, so we had to fight crosswinds, and occasionally a head wind. That made the day as much of a mental challenge as a physical one, because you always had to be focused on handling the bike and not getting blown off the road. 109 miles of that was tough, even though the wind helped more often than not.

Today we had 96 miles of riding with almost no wind most of the day. Very pleasant. Two milestones - we left New Mexico and crossed into Texas, and we entered the Central time zone. I think it's cool that we traversed an entire time zone by bicycle. 20 miles after the Texas border, we passed two enormous cattle feed lots. The first was 1.5 miles long and stretched back from the road at least 1/2 mile. Every inch had cattle on it. Then we passed this Cargill facility.
It's tough to see, but all those dark spots behind the railroad track are cattle. Zillions of them. I don't think I want to know what goes on in the buildings in the background. The smell was interesting. I ate a Cliff bar while riding past, just to see if I could do it without vomiting. I was successful. Another major accomplishment on this trip.

A few miles after the cattle lots, we entered Dalhart, Texas, our home for the night. Rick, one of our support crew and a native Texan, probably put it best. He said if God gave Texas an enema, he would insert the hose in Dalhart. If I lived here, I would be like other Texans and buy a gun. However, I would only use it to shoot myself. This is one nasty town.

Here I am with Greg, Ty and Roy.
We would know this was the welcome to Texas sign even if it didn't say so, and even if it wasn't shaped like Texas. The chunks missing from the sign are because people shoot at it. If they don't have a gun, they throw beer bottles at it, as evidenced by all the brown broken glass at the base. Yee ha! Ty (in red) is a native Texan, so it didn't bother him to be sitting on broken glass.

There was another milestone yesterday. We descended the Canadian Escarpment.

After spending most of the past two weeks at elevations between 5000 and 7500 feet, we descended the escarpment to about 4000 feet elevation. That marks our departure from the high Western lands. We're now flatlanders for the duration. The basin we're riding in now was once a sea. The top of the escarpment was the shore.

My good friend Bonnie left a really nice comment on my last post, and asked how many women were on the trip. There are six in the current group, and three in the group going all the way across the country. Bonnie and others have been very encouraging and complementary about how they are impressed by me doing this trip. Don't be. The folks you should be impressed by are some of my fellow riders. Colin is 70 and Jan turned 66 a few days ago. Janie and LaVern are grandparents doing the trip on a tandem. In fact, of the group going all the way, I'm the third youngest. Roy the Rocket, my coffee and riding partner, hammered out the first 30 miles with me a few days ago at an average speed of 22.8mph. He's 66. Those folks are my heroes.

Viva Las Vegas!

No, not that Las Vegas. We're in Las Vegas, New Mexico tonight. I took a detour through the "historic" central plaza on the way in. It was depressing. 2/3 of the storefornts were boarded up, with some for sale signs on other places. However, a sign on the way into town boasted of 35 restaurants and 14 hotels. Good competition for the other Las Vegas.

Today marked a few milestones. We passed 1000 miles of biking, and crossed Glorietta Pass, the high point of the trip at 7550 feet elevation. Theoretically, I guess we can coast to Boston if we eliminate friction. No problem. Today's 75 mile ride was the first of nine straight days, with tomorrow at 108 miles and Tuesday 96. I surprised myself and behaved sensibly today, not pushing hard at all. There was a lot of climbing today, but I just spun up the hills at low effort. It looks like tomorrow will be really hard.

I took a short detour today with my pals Greg, Stu and Geoff to the Pecos National Historical Park. Most of the ride today was on the Santa Fe Trail, which was a trade route long before the Spaniards arrived. At the park, there are several layers of civilization to observe. The area has been occupied for at least 7500 years. In the park, Native Americans started building permanent structures around 800 A.D. Shown below are the remains of a church built by the Spaniards in 1717. It's immediately adjacent to pueblos dating from several hundred years earlier.

The Spaniards had another church there 100 years earlier, but the locals got together and tore it down. The second one would still be intact if it hadn't built of adobe that dissolves a bit each time it rains.

It has been a wet spring around here, so the land is green and some cactus is blooming.

It all makes for a very pleasant day on a bike. Dinner tonight is at K-Bob's. I'm scared.

Hairy Challenge update II

I didn't realize that growing a beard could be hazardous to bike riding. As you can see here, when I'm riding in the drops, the beard is now long enough to get caught in the spokes, with very unpleasant consequences. I'm giving the beard credit for the following incident:

I got carded! That's definitely a highlight of the trip. Never mind that the facial hair has a lot of gray in it, and that the waiter is legally blind.

Here's a current shot. Let the ridicule begin. Steven gave me official permission to shave my neck without voiding the terms of the deal. Thank you. I'm much more comfortable, although I think it kills the Hells Angels look.

Tomorrow begins a stretch of nine straight days of riding with no rest days. We will cover almost 700 miles, including the highest point of the trip. We're all a bit worried about the toll this will take. The key is going to be to not push too hard, although when you're out there with the gang sometimes you just gotta go for it.

I cleaned, degreased, lubed and talked nicely to my bike today to prepare for the next stretch. It talked back. Really.

Do you know the way to Santa Fe?

It turns out that it's really easy to go from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. Turn left on Central, then ride your bike for 68 miles through some really great scenery. The world turned greener today. Less of the red sandstone we've seen for the last several days, and more bushes and trees. The route had a lot of climbing, but it was well worth it.

Along the way we passed through the town of Madrid, pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, and a hard "a", as in mad. It's a cool little hippy town with lots of art galleries, and one very fine coffee shop - Java Junction. If you've ever been to Bolinas north of San Francisco, Madrid has the same vibe. It's a spot to return to sometime.

Madrid has a few claims to fame. The movie "Wild Hogs", starring John Travolta and Tim Allen was filmed here. Also, last year's dream house on HGTV was built here. Looking at the locals, I can't imagine they're too proud of either of those things. Some of our bikers were excited to take pictures of the spots from "Wild Hogs". I never saw it, but it sounds kinda dumb.

We arrived in Santa Fe on a busy road with lots of chain stores, but the setting is really amazing.

Tomorrow is a rest day. There's a group of us who already have reservations at two really good restaurants. Many thanks to Adrienne for sending along her favorite spots in Santa Fe. She's much nicer than her husband.

Albuquerque is a fine place to hang out

We arrived in Albuquerque, NM today. Above is a shot taken just before our descent into the city. Trust me - there is a city down there. It's tough to see because the downtown buildings are dwarfed by mother nature.

This is the biggest city we've need in since L.A., which isn't saying much after spending nights in the likes of Holbrook, AZ and Grants, NM. The best thing about being in a real city is we got some real food. Lunch was at the Range Cafe, which I highly recommend the next time you're in Albuquerque. Very cool decor.

And really tasty food.To top it off, we found Satellite Coffee, and had Mexican lattes, which seemed appropriate in this part of the world.

Oh yeah - we also rode our bikes today. 77 miles through more spectacular Southwestern terrain. It's really incredible how everyone's perspective changes. 77 miles just seemed like a normal day (which it is). The whole group is getting stronger each day we ride.

Here's the proof that this is an incredibly fun trip - Two guys were supposed to only be here through today, but they have signed on to continue on to Boston. This is truly a unique experience.

More songs about buildings and food

I hope this is just the result of a restauranteur in Gallup, NM with a sense of humor.

Today we crossed the continental divide, so in a sense we are halfway there. The continental divide is the place where a drop of rain on one side ends up in the Pacific, and on the other side in the Atlantic. It was a bit anticlimactic, since it was fairly flat around there. It just happens to slope away slightly to the east and west. Of course, there was a souvenir shop there where you could get mugs, plaques, etc. showing you crossed the divide, as well as a large variety of fireworks to celebrate the occasion.
We walked our bikes for a stretch on the interstate today. Lots of fun. The smell of fresh tar and asphalt, our bike tires picking up all sorts of stuff from the soft road, and a long walk in bike shoes. Not exactly a tour highlight.
Most of the ride today was on route 66. The railroad parallels the road for at least a few hundred miles. I can see the appeal of being a railroad engineer out here. The scenery can't be beat. The engineers will usually sound their horns if we signal them on our bikes. It's like being a little kid again.

Eat to ride, ride to eat

Today we entered the lands of the Navajo nation. I'm surprised there haven't been any Navajo Tour de France champions, since they produce the perfect cycling food - Navajo fry bread. I stopped at a roadside shack where they fried the bread to order, and added a little honey on top. Perfection (with a cup of coffee, of course). Carbs, some sugar, and healthy dose of grease. Add in the caffeine, and this is all you need to sustain a long ride. I told the proprietors I was going to recommend them as the dieticians for Team Radio Shack in the tour this year. They've never been to France, so thought it was a good idea.

I think this fully explains why today was my fastest ride so far. The 30mph tailwind might also have had something to do with it, but it was mostly the bread. For the bike geeks out there, this was an 89 mile ride at an average speed of 22.3mph, and an average heartrate of only 117bpm. We also net gained 1200 feet elevation on the day, so the wind was truly unbelievable. For the non-bike geeks, this was a REALLY fast ride, with only a moderate effort.

We crossed into New Mexico today. You have to love a state with chili peppers on the welcome sign.
This was also a big psychological boost for the group. Crossing one state line was no big deal, and California is kind of a skinny state. Crossing a second one, and transitting the big state of Arizona, makes it seem like we've really accomplished something. As a parting shot, an Arizonan threw an orange at two of our riders while on the interstate. At 75mph, that could have caused a serious crash. One of the two was Michel, our French-Canadian friend, so maybe the orange toss was mandatory under the new Arizona immigration laws.

Shown below is Fort Courage, which is a really big deal for anyone raised watching F Troop. It's actually a replica of the fort built as the set for the TV show. The thought that someone would build a replica of a set of one of the stupidest TV shows in history frightens me. Maybe more frightening is that this is a popular tourist attraction. Go figure.

Get your kicks on Route 66

Such a fine sight to see. There's even a mural with a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me. At this corner there are not one, but two shops where you can buy all the Eagles souvenirs you can imagine, along with route 66 memorabilia. The one coffee shop was closed, making this a poorly caffeinated leg of the journey.

Today really wasn't such a fine sight to see. 94 miles, most of it down I-40, which is the modern replacement for what is now known as "Historic Route 66". There was a 20-30mph crosswind, just to make interstate biking more interesting.

Along with the road being replaced, the old diners and motels on Route 66 have been replaced by McDonalds and Comfort Inns right on the interstate. Most of the old buildings still exist, and many are even open, like the Wigwam Motel:
Each wigwam is a room, complete with a/c and cable TV. Not sure about high speed internet. We're not staying there. We're at the Holiday Inn Express on the interstate, with the group dinner scheduled at Pizza hut.

I rode my bike about 3 inches from the head of a rattlesnake today. I thought it was just road debris until I was next to it. It didn't seem to mind. I also tamed a giant jackrabbit.
Are you impressed?

Hairy Challenge update

Today is a day of rest for the legs, but the facial hair growth knows no rest. Here's the new look. I like it so much that I've sold the bike and bought a different kind of bike. I fit in much better with this group:

After all, we've evolved for millions of years to become smart enough NOT to have to use our legs to move us along. Add a motor to the bike - brilliant!

Today is a rest day in Flagstaff. I'll be looking for a tatoo parlor to continue the transformation.

Pyramids, crystals and the vortex

I can't imagine a more beautiful ride than today's. We rode from Cottonwood to Flagstaff via Sedona. If you've never been to Sedona, or never heard of it, it is the center of the universe for new agers. There's something called the vortex there that focuses cosmic energy. Crystals, pyramids and other powerful objects get even more potent there. I understand why people believe in this stuff. The scenery anywhere you look in town is too spectacular to explain by normal means.
We exited Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon, culminated by a climb up a series of switchbacks. You can see a few of them here.

Anyone who has ever ridden a bike with me knows that the primary mission on a ride is to find the best coffee. Luckily, I have a kindred soul on this trip. Roy Messer is my partner in coffee. Today, we found Pink Java in Sedona, where the lattes are packed with cosmic energy, and the views can't be beat. We followed this up with a Starbucks in Flagstaff.

47 miles of caffeinated enjoyment today.

Today was a day to "smell the roses" or whatever other flowers were in bloom in this high arid environment. The scheduled route was only 43 miles, but detours to some sights made the total 50 miles. Still quite a modest day. We climbed up Mingus Mountain, with the pass shown below.

From Mingus Mountain we descended to the old copper mining town of Jerome City. It bills itself as a ghost town, given that the copper mine was abandoned, but it's full of tourists and t-shirt shops. However, the burger at The Haunted Burger hit the spot. The town is cut right into the side of a mountain, so the workers could be close to the mine. It looks out over the red rocks of Sedona. There are 118 turns in the 3500 foot descent to the valley. Quite a rush on a bike.

I detoured a few miles to a state historic site at the old mine. However, it was closed due to budget cuts. As usual, these Arizonans take their security seriously. Instead of a closed gate, there was a fence with barbed wire blocking the entrance.

Just below Jerome are the Tuzigoot Indian Ruins, a national historice monument. The Tuzigoots occupied this site from 1000 to 1400 A.D. Their ridge top community is remarkably well preserved, as shown below:

Nobody knows why the Tuzigoots disappeared. They left no written records. I met a really nice ranger who explained various theories. We might have chatted more, but I discovered he was from Chicago and a White Sox fan. That ended things.

We're staying tonight in Cottonwood, AZ. This is a very cycling friendly town, as shown by this sign: