More and more wind

Today, as we (perhaps more true I) recovered from yesterday's terrible lost gamble, and I re-gained the use of my legs and my facilities, we pledged not to do that kind of gamble again. How soon that choice came to pass, but I think this time we chose the right path.  

We set out our targets for the day, hoping to get to Leoti, KS, about 78 miles away.  Based on the past month, 70 miles had become a standard day for us.  Our bail-out spot was going to be a town called Tribune, KS.  Tribune has no hotel, but a city park to camp.  We were set for Leoti and a hotel.

And then the day came, just like yesterday.  We got out on the road and were immediately assaulted by the same headwind as yesterday, no relief, and the miles were a struggle to do.  We immediately went into our 1 mile on/off, each taking a lead and then taking a break, heads down in our aero bar positions, trying to cut through the wind as efficiently as possible.  Typically during a morning we will cycle for a while and then take a snack break, then do lunch about halfway through the day.  Our snack break town, Sheridan Lake, rapidly became our lunch break.  Even though we had bought sandwiches at J.J.'s restaurant in Eads, we bought a sandwich, ice cream, and drinks so that we could sit inside instead of out in the wind, in a rapidly rising temperature day.  

Jerry looking down a windy road

At that time we both agreed that we would be lucky to make the bail-out spot at 58 miles.  Incredible as it seems, 151 miles one day and 58 the next.  I was also just recovering from yesterday's debacle, and a bit more peaked than Jerry, who looked surprisingly fresh.  We looked quickly at the weather forecast, that said that the winds would be dying down by about 3PM, and we both thought that we could get to the bail-out and rethink things then.  

Unfortunately, despite the forecast, the winds didn't really die down.  They subsided a bit, so we made better time, but we never quite got rid of them. The gusts kept hitting us, sometimes almost stopping us in our tracks.  

We’ve taken few photos, because it all looks like this

As we got closer and closer to Tribune, I knew that Jerry was thinking we continue on.  Unfortunately, as my phone got closer to Kansas (as did we, arriving early this afternoon), the time on my clock moved forward to Central time, even though we hadn't entered yet.  We got to Tribune and I thought it was already 4PM.  I had thought to myself, "we aren't going to continue to ride, about 50% of what we had already done, after 4PM."  That's what we've been doing, and no way I'm doing that a single day after our lost gamble.  I convinced Jerry that I was done, and I think one look at me and he agreed.  

We did make it into Kansas today

We actually went into Horace, where there was supposedly a hotel of some sort.  I called and no one answered.  We went up the road to Horace to check it out, and a local gentleman stopped us and said, "there's nothing here, you need to go to Tribune, up the road.  A city park with showers, grocery store, restaurant." Music to our ears.  We went to the city park, where they have a pool, and they said that they keep the showers open all night for travelers.  We checked in with the Sheriff's office, and they were very nice.  They have hosted plenty of Trans-America travelers who have signed the book.  Although we were the first this year, as we've been pretty much everywhere we’ve seen. 

We went to Karen's restaurant and antiques.  We had to wait for them to open, and the ex-farmer, Karen's husband, took our order with barely a word.  We ate a burger dinner, then went across the street to the grocery store for ice cream and drinks, eaten outside.  We went back to the city park, set up the tent, and enjoyed a very cold, very refreshing shower, and here we are in the park, at a picnic table under a canopy, as it began pouring down cats and dogs for about 45 minutes.  I'm writing until my laptop battery dies.  Thank you to the fine people of Tribune, who have made so many cyclists feel at home.  Everyone's been nice to us here, and we are both very glad we didn't make the same mistake two days in a row and went on to the next town.  The park is nice, the shower was great, and it was plenty for two weary travelers.

Today's stats:  59 miles, 504 feet gained, and we pushed through a steady 16 mph wind at our face, with gusts well over 20mph.  That's all we were going to get.