Great Night and Good Day of Biking

Sunday, June 13, Larned, KS

If you remember when we last left you we were waiting out some rain and possible bad weather in Larned.  The sky finally looked decent around 11:00 AM.  We hoped to make it at least to Great Bend (21 m.) but our ultimate destination was going to be another 11 miles to Ellinwood, KS.  As luck would have it the wind was not bad, a little hot and humid.  We were making pretty good time.  We had to make a stop in Pawnee Rock to find a restroom.  Mary Kay found a church and went in.  Thankfully the service was over and she didn't walk right in the middle of it.  They were having a pot luck dinner in their basement and invited us to stay for lunch.  It would have been nice, but we were already late getting started so we thanked them and pedaled on.  I don't know how we have failed to mention it, but every town we have gone through as we left Southeast Colorado and in Kansas has had at least one very large grain elevator.  They are very easily seen in the distance and help motivate us to get from one town to another.  Sometimes the distance is a little deceiving. They are a significant part of the landscape.

After the rest stop we continued on to Great Bend.  Kansas seems to have an oil boom going on right now.  Great Bend is the home of many drilling companies and drilling equipment suppliers.  We needed a little break and also wanted to find out what the outlook was for more storms later in the afternoon and evening.  The town park in Ellinsworth was near a little pond and after all the rain we had already seen I was a little worried about how wet it might be in the park.  Several fields and dirt roads had significant flooding.  We found a nice ice cream stand and talked to a few people, but other than being a little concerned about the weather they did not have any specifics.  We had decided we wanted to get additional miles in and we would take our chances.  We also knew that since it was Sunday this was probably our last chance to get something to take with us for supper and breakfast.  We were pretty sure Ellinsworth would not have a place to eat.  So we went to a local grocery.  I  stayed out with the bikes and gear while Mary Kay did the shopping.  When she came out she said several people were concerned about the weather and didn't think going to Ellinsworth was a good idea.  As we were putting our groceries away and deciding what to do a couple came up and stared talking to us.  They had just come home from an eight day organized Ride Across Kansas, with 800 other bicyclists.  The were interested in our trip and before we knew it they invited us to stay at their house overnight.  Just two people out of the blue offered this to us -  Doing something for others!  They were concerned about the weather and our safety.  They seemed like very nice people - anyone who would voluntarily open their home to two haggard looking older bicyclists have to be nice people.  We took them up on their offer.  Soon we sitting in their home discussing their bike ride and ours.  They are also very health conscious people.  John is a chiropractor and Donna is the FACS instructor for the county extension office.  As we talked more they really peaked Mary Kay's interest in their diet.  I think she ended up with at least the titles of five or six new cookbooks and a cruise called the Taste of Health Cruise.  It was really a great evening with a delicious healthy vegetarian supper.  There we so many things that we talked about through the evening that were just remarkable that four people meeting each other outside a grocery store would find in common and of similar interest.  It was another one of the highlights of our trip.  Around 6:45 Monday morning we said good bye, but see you again .  The sky was overcast, but virtually no wind - we were really cruising.  We went the first 30 plus miles by 10:30 and had a snack at he local Subway.  The lady in the Subway was extremely nice and interested in our trip.  Back on the road we found that the small town Lyons had some very nice art and sculptures -

We moved on and continued to make great progress.  We finished our 60 mile day by 1:30 in the town of McPherson.  We felt good enough to go on, but we were in one of those predicaments with places to stay and potential rain.  To assure ourselves of somewhere to stay, other pitching our tent on the roadside (which we aren't ready to do) we would have to go possibly 30 more miles.  We felt good about the day, but we aren't crazy.  We stayed in McPherson and will continue our adventure tomorrow.  Last night and this afternoon we received some great pictures of our grandchildren.  We miss them all!!

Monday - June 14, 2010 - odometer reading is at 565 miles.

Do Something For Others Today!!!