Intro To Flatland

What do you get when you mix flat land with a southeasterly breeze? 122 easy miles. Kansas, I love you.

Here’s a story for you:

I stopped in at the bike shop in Pittsburgh, Kansas to meet the locals and get my chain looked at. Sure enough, the thing was worn to pieces. After swapping it out for a new one, my cassette was miraculously declared in working condition and I went on my merry way.

I swung by the city park to get glimpse into where I would be spending the night and then headed off to the grocery store. To my surprise I pulled out onto the main street with a flat tire, and about 10 feet away from the bike shop. Of course, by this time it was about 7:30 and the shop was closed...so logically it seemed like a good place to stash my crippled ride.
I scratched the grocery store plan, found a restaurant (all you can eat sushi…not a good idea), and sat down to feast. Wait...did I just leave my entire life unlocked outside of a closed bike shop? Smart decision, Brian.

Anyway, I finished my meal and began the trek back to the store. To my surprise my bike was still there and the shop was open! Not that I don’t know how to fix a flat, but I pulled the tire off, went in the shop, and fixed it up with air conditioning and a floor pump. Just as I was about to leave I asked a question about a strange noise the new chain was making. This is where my good fortune comes in.

After checking out the cassette and the chain rings, the owner found that the cassette was actually to worn to function, and my middle chain ring was in only marginally better condition. Great. A small fortune later I was rocking a new cassette and an untouched worn chain ring that creaks like an old man...hopefully that isn’t dangerous.

Around 11:00 I finally made it over to the park and set up camp. Thanks to two unexpected thunderstorms though I got yet another horrible nights sleep, and found myself prancing around at four in the morning struggling to stay dry.

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Day 38:

On the bright side, the rain, thunder, and my frustration caused me to get a respectably early start to the day. A quick stop at a donut shop to get my sugar fix and I hit the road around 8:00.

I hit the flat land, accelerated up to 20 miles an hour, and had a smile on my face until the sun came out. Welcome to Kansas! 65 miles done by lunch…fine by me.

Flash forward to mile 122 and I arrived in Eureka, KS at yet another lovely city park. Doing a loop to scope out the camping situation, I was greeted by Becky – the head manager at the pool. She ended up inviting me back to her house, feeding me dinner, and giving me a very comfortable quasi bed to sleep in for the night. Plus, the freezer was stocked with ice cream. This was a wonderfully unexpected surprise.

Miles Covered: 122

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Day 39:

Making myself at home in Becky’s house, I decided to get a full dose of Eureka and stay over for the day. Food, laundry, and a computer. Can’t go wrong.

Another biker just rolled into the house so I’ll even have some company for the night. Hopefully I’ll get an early start tomorrow and enjoy another long ride over flat land. I’ve got my sights on another 120 mile day…until next time.