Workin' in a coalmine, going down, down, down...

The words of Lee Dorsey's classic song are in my head as once again, we plug away at pushing through the headwinds of Kansas.

"Five O'clock in the morning

I'm already up and gone

Lord, I'm so tired

How long can this go on?"

Sunday's ride started from Newton and our goal was Toronto, a small community near a state park and lake, where we found a B&B instead of camping alternatives.  Knowing the heat of the past few days, and the prospect for more of the same, we opted to try to get a quick start and get some miles in while the day is relatively cool.  We got up, packed up, left the Sky Palace, and got a quick breakfast at Braun's, the same ice cream and burgers joint.  Making quick work of this breakfast, and grabbing some fruit snacks for the day, we were out by about 7 and on the road.  We knew that we wouldn't really have anything for the first 40 miles, so getting in those 40 would be important.  The first stop was Cassoday, a very small stop that was rumored to have a small convenience store, so that we could fill up our water bottles.  

The road we had this morning was fairly quiet, with the exception of motorcycles.  We kept seeing groups of 5 or 6 riders zooming past us up the road.  This happened over and over, and we knew that something was going on up the road.  I suggested Church, but this didn't look like the crowd.  Jerry was wondering if Sturgis was going on, but I didn't think they were packed up for a long trip. Still, this didn't seem like a chance occurrence of loads of bikes riding up the road.  It is interesting, though, as we were riding up the road on our silent bicycles, of how incredibly noisy most motorcycles are.  Especially the Harley-Davidsons.  I cannot imagine that an hour or two riding something that is as noisy under your seat as we hear them rumbling down the road, can be very relaxing.  

Rolling into a different kind of bike rally

The biggest, single-day motorcycle event in Kansas

In any case, as we made our turn into Cassoday, Kansas, our questions were answered as we found out where all of the bikes were going.  Apparently the first Sunday of each month, from April until October(?), they have a motorcycle meet, called the Cassoday Ride-In.  This year, because of Covid-19, this was the first scheduled one, so it was extremely popular.  It is the largest single-day motorcycle meet in the state of Kansas.  There were people there from all over Kansas and some surrounding states.  They had booths set up, a food truck, recorded music, and for us we realized that this was the only opportunity to get water or snacks, as the only local store was, of course, closed.  We rode in through the crowd of motorcycles, and everyone was incredibly nice to us.  They must look upon us as fellow 2-wheeled travelers; everyone asked where we had been and where we were going.  Jerry spoke to a nice guy named Bob, who with his wife, run a local chapter of a recumbent bike tricycle group.  He told us that he was 77, and had ridden his bike (bicycle, not motorcycle) from his home in Wichita to the 1964 World's Fair in New York.  He also rode from home to the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville.  I wonder if I would have recognized him from my time at the Stroh House, drinking beers in their Biergarten.  

Bob, describing his World's Fair trips to Jerry

We went to a small stand and bought some breakfast sandwiches and some rootbeer floats.  On a hot day, this was a working combination.  After hanging out with the bikers for a while, we had to be on our way.  After 40 miles to Cassoday, we had another 55 miles to go to get to Toronto.  The one in Kansas, not Ontario.  Once again, for the 5th time in 5 days, we had an increasing headwind.  Most travelers on the Trans-America Trail go from west to east, mostly because the "prevailing winds" are west to east.  We saw that for 1/2 day on our trip from Canon City to Eads, and that got us in trouble as the winds changed direction mid-day.  Since then we have seen a steady menu of wind, wind, and more wind.  The real issue with this is that to maximize efficiency, we go back into our drafting schedule of one mile in front, one mile behind, and it feels more like we're working on a production line, or down in that coal mine, than if we were enjoying the ride.  You don't see much more beyond about 30 feet in front of the bike, and you're just counting the miles until you swap and go to the back.  Drudgery.

Yeah, breakfast and root beer floats

There were few stops on this Sunday ride, but one was a place called Eureka, Kansas.  We rolled in, hoping to get our late lunch.  Unfortunately everything looked either closed or abandoned.  They had a Sonic drive through, so we visited there for a sandwich and drink.  There were a couple of tables at the front, and they were in the shade, so there we were.  Before we left, a pickup truck with a horse trailer arrived. The horses were still saddled, and up walk a couple of young cowboys, hats, jeans, boots, spurs.  They were young, perhaps early 20's at most, and they said they had done about 3 different rodeos this weekend with their dad, who stayed in the truck.  The boys did team roping competition, and one of them does bronco riding, although both of them agreed the bronco riding might not be a long-term calling.  It's a pretty rough job, and there are many more injuries.  They were really nice, and it was fun talking to them about their rodeos.  They were from about 30 miles east of Wichita. 

Well, back on the road we went, and we had to travel on US-54, a pretty busy route, which also meant it was pretty windy, as there aren't many trees near large highways.  Back to the production line, for another 22 miles.  This is getting pretty old, and both of us agree that the faster we get out of Kansas, the better.  The people here are really nice, but their state is just too wide and too windy.

As we finally got to the road that took us the final 3 miles to Toronto, we found a local gas station/convenience store.  Upon entering, a pair of older ladies immediately showered us with attention.  They showed us where we could get cups of ice for our drinks, where the drinks were, and even cleared us a couple of chairs near a table to sit and drink.  Jerry and I saw that they were selling meals, so we intended to buy a couple for later at the B&B, but the ladies brought us plates, ready to eat.  We couldn't refuse.  The ladies call their stop "Lizard Lips" convenience store, and gave us a few plastic lizards to put on our bikes.  They brought out a sign in sheet that lots of cyclists have signed.  One rider from China had about a page and a half he filled out - apparently in Mandarin, so no one knows what he wrote.  We were, like always, one of the first to pass by this year.  The ladies said it's been a disappointing year for cyclists.  At least they are on the lookout for cyclists, not yelling at us like many pickup trucks.  After eating, drinking, and taking photos, it was time to head for our B&B.  We rode the last 3 miles toward Toronto, one of the saddest, most abandoned looking places we've ever seen.  Apparently they had Toronto Days this past weekend, and there was a parade and everything, but it just looked empty now.  We rode to find the Sassy Sister's B&B, an old church building.  It was really odd that neither of the sisters were there, and neither was anyone else.  We let ourselves in (with a code), but basically it was just Jerry and I, the last people left in Toronto.  

The Lizard ladies with Jerry and Monkey and Cow

Chicken dinner at the end of a (very) hot day

The building was nicely restored, but it seemed odd to see a B&B with only two bedrooms.  It didn't seem like a very prosperous type of business when maximum revenue is so low.  In any case, we were glad it was there.  Jerry took the bed, and I found a good sized couch in their "living room," which was the main body of the church at one time.  No WiFi, but you could get a connection a ways away at either their store or at the library.  I opted out as I was exhausted.  

The odd, but nice interior of Sassy Sisters' B&B

So we got up early this morning at Sassy Sisters', and quicky decided that after a lot of days covering vast amounts of miles, we would be calling it early today.  We had a choice of either 40 miles, or 100. Seeing the heat predictions, plus the fact that there we beginning to be many more hills, making it 100 was going to be out of the question.  If there were an option at 60, or 70 miles, we may have taken it, but 40 or 100, with little in between, seemed a bit crazy.  We figured that we would do the next 60 miles tomorrow to Pittsburg, and then a 72 mile run for the next day.  Good enough for a very hot day.  Not a day off, but a short one of 40 miles.  On the way down the road we passed a couple riding the other way.  John and Mindy Hill, of Newton, Kansas, were returning from a weekend away, bike camping in the area.  They asked where we were headed, and we told them Chanute, so they suggested some camping spots.  I'm sorry, but there was no air conditioning at even the best camping sites, so we're headed to stay inside this time, thank you.  They said they would see lots of riders on the Trans-America trail going through Newton, and it inspired them to begin cycling long distance.  John has gigantic water bottles on his bike - he ran out once and never, ever will again.

John and Mindy Hill, of Newton KS returning home from a camping weekend

Some sort of macabre dead horse and tree display on the road today

We headed into Chanute, found reasonable lodging at reasonable prices at the Guest House Motor Inn.  It was air conditioned, had WiFi, coffee in the room, so we booked.  We had been to the local Walmart, where Jerry found a twin bed flat sheet, to replace his sleeping bag.  We went back to the room, opened up our bags, and began to search for cold-weather gear that we could ship home.  We don't think that we will be returning to frosty mornings on the balance of this trip, so perhaps it was time to shed more weight.  As a matter of fact, both Ryan brothers found enough excessive gear, including the cooking setup (we had not cooked yet in over 36 days), that we were able to shed our two front panniers.  This lessening of weight will again be appreciated as we enter Missouri and travel near the Ozark Mountains, as well as later when traveling through the Appalachians in Kentucky and Virginia.  Our rear bags will be fuller, but we had already shed gear in the back, and figured we had enough space.  They key to traveling light is figuring out what you DON'T NEED, not what you think you do.  There is a slight chance we might be light a few objects, but there still are stores out there that we can shop if we really, really need to.

In the hotel, sorting necessities and reducing to 2 bags from 4

So we headed to the Post Office to once again un-burden ourselves.  We stopped downtown Chanute and were saddened once again to find that their downtown, once majestic, is a poor looking collection of sad buildings with unneeded stores.  It has been awful traveling through Kansas to see the downtowns.  They look like downtown Cleveland of the 1970s and 80s, when nothing was there.  Hopefully they will find the spirit to re-do these beautiful buildings, but for now the businesses move out to the strips near the Walmart, while the old downtown just wallows. 

The sad downtown of Chanute, KS

Tomorrow we head toward our original Monday destination of Pittsburg, Kansas, our last stop through Kansas, aptly described yesterday by a native Kansan as "a flat piece of dirt."  I would only add "with headwinds."