Riding4Hope – Day 26, 7/23/09 Pittsburg KS
DAILY REPORT: Should be another great day for riding. We’ll have a southwesterly wind and the temp should be in the low 90’s.
Slept in a little this morning and then worked yesterday’s journal article. Felt good to get 6 hours of sleep for a change 🙂 At breakfast I had the opportunity to meet Pam’s husband, Lynn who also served in the 101st Airborne. A very nice gentleman. We wish Pam and Lynn all the best!!
Since we only had a little less than 70 miles to ride today (it’s hard to believe that when we started 70+ miles was a long ride, now it like nothing to the boys.) we were not rushed to get on the road. So we didn’t actually start riding until 1030. We had a gentle tailwind coming from the SW which was nice. It was basically a straight ride to Pittsburg via RT 47 with gentle rolling hills. Today we had our fastest overall ride with an average speed of 19.9 mph. Not too shabby; the boys road well.
Several observations of things that I have noticed while cycling in Kansas are that 1) Everyone and I mean everyone is very friendly. I swear that every person along the road, every tractor out in the field, every home owner sitting on their porch would wave and say hi as we go by. It was just the coolest thing. 2) The drivers have been very courteous. They will give you a wide berth when they pass you, on coming truck traffic moves to their right to minimize the wind blast. Car drivers would wave and give a little honk to make sure we knew they were coming up from behind. 3.) And lastly, I have seen more American flags flown in Kansas than all the other states we have been through combined. Patriotism runs high here.
Since the ride was short, we only had a couple of quick rest stops and opted to forgo lunch and have a big dinner. We are staying at the Super 8 tonight thanks to Bill Wixon who is providing the rooms to Riding4Hope Team for free. We thank you very much!!
After we got in and unpacked, Skip took the boys over to the Lamplighter Hotel who had offered the use of their pool so the boys could cool off and beat the heat of the afternoon. After they returned, we went out to dinner. The boys wanted Chinese and the recommend place was Yummy Buffet. It was actually a nice restaurant and good food.
Back in Jackson Hole I purchased a new pair of cycling shoes because my old pair were being held together with Shoe Goo. Well if you recall I had some problems w/ the cleats, so while I was in Colorado Springs getting John’s bike repaired it was determined that I had the old style Look pedals and needed a different pair of cleats. So for the last several days I have been trying to adjust the cleats. They are getting better but my feet fall asleep after 30+ miles.
Tomorrow’s ride is to Marshfield MO. We will be entering our 7th state. This will be 100+ mile ride. I also have added some new articles in the news section that had been recently published. Enjoy!!
Thanks for joining us…..ride safely and keep the wind to your back!!
The Riding4Hope Team
(David, John, James & Skip)
Signing out 7/23/09; 2330
