June 29th - Cassoday, KS to Nickerson, KS

Mileage: 90 miles
Terrain: Flat
Temperature: 103 degrees
Got up this morning and it was a slow start. I was feeling rather tired from the day before. Got on the road about 7:45 am and the winds were from the south to southeast which was a good thing because they were not headwinds!! Rode 38 miles to the first town where our first rest stop was in Newton, KS. We ate at a place called Karen’s Kitchen and sat and chilled out for awhile as by this time it was getting rather hot out. Then decided to pull our sleepy selves up and hit the road. However, when we finally convinced ourselves to get up some of the other riders showed up that were running behind due to a flat or something so we decided to stay awhile and socialize with them and get more to eat. So I decided to have a Frappe as I needed some caffeine. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to give up drinking soda pop and I have succeeded thus far, so I couldn’t resort to that for caffeine. Trust me there are many times on this trip where I have been tempted as it sounds rather refreshing!! So after hanging around for about three hours or so we decided to move on. The next stretch was about 30 miles and 10 miles out we had already stopped to fill up on water at a gas station along the way. There was also a water sprinkler here which some of the riders decided to soak themselves in as it was the heat of the day by this time. We then decided to move on to the next water stop which was a total of 70 miles out for the day. I however, stopped along side of the road about every 5 miles just to cool off with some others. What I would do was look for trees and ride until I got to them then stop for just a few minutes and then keep going again. It was so hot out that I felt like I was in an oven!! Oh yeah and by this time the winds had changed and were a slight headwind which slowed us down some. Finally got to the last water stop and found out that there was a pool in town. I was so excited as it was EXTERMELLY hot out!! So we grabbed our suits from the trailer and went for a swim. It was SOO refreshing. Oh yeah and I also showered at the pool as we were informed that there wasn’t going to be any showers again in the town we were staying in which was still about another 20 miles. We then grabbed a bite to eat from a small restaurant tucked away in Buhler, KS and then decided to make the last ride into Nickerson, KS. We were originally supposed to be camping however, one of the guys that had gotten to town early was talking to some locals and had gotten us a place to stay at the community center here where it is air conditioned!! We are all very thankful as it has been very hot out! And they even have a spicket out back!! So it was yet another interesting yet adventurous day. Really enjoying Kansas, you can see for miles!! They have tons of cattle as you ride and wide open spaces and fields full of corn and beans for as far as you can see. Everyone here is also very friendly!! Well, it is getting late. Short day of only 60 miles and a pool where we are staying. Going to try to leave early, trailer is leaving by 7:00am in order to beat the heat.
Oh yeah, one of these days I am going to do a food diary just to try to remember all of the food that I consume in one day!!