well, yeah...

Ok, so I finally got around to stopping in at a library for some internet (though many towns don't have this option). It's day 4, and I'm taking a lunch break in Leoti, Kansas - about 40 miles from the Colorado border. Here's a bit of a break down of my trip so far:

Day 1: 65 miles - Hesston to Peace Creek Hostel, not too far from Hudson on the edge of the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, 5 miles south of the route. Camped in the yard of the "hostel" that night (it was really just a couple's home who let bikers stay there if they come through).

Day 2: 78 miles - Hostel to Rush Center, population 176 according to my map. Had a big, juicy, tasty burger for dinner at Effie's for $3 (plus a 75 cent can of Coke). The last 20 miles of the day were due north into a stiff headwind, with the 2nd half of the day being in long, rolling hills. Somewhere before lunch one of my sandals fell off my bike. I backtracked through town but couldn't find it so I turned around and continued on my way (didn't want to backtrack the 42 miles I'd already biked).

Day 3: 65 miles - Rush Center to Dighton. Camped in the city park with 5 other bikers - 3 of whom were going east, and 2 are also headed west (but they go faster and farther than me). All five of them are doing complete cross-country treks; one has already been on the road for a month and a half. The guys going east offered to mail my chaco back to Ohio if they come across it, so I gave them my address and I'm really hoping they find it. I've only barely broken in those shoes (does anybody know if it's possible to buy just a single, left sandal from Chacos? I'm guessing probably not). Had a good tailwind most of the day, so I made it in about 4 1/4 hrs of biking.

Day 4: so far, ~48 miles, and about 24 to go (which will land me in Tribune - 16 or so miles from the CO border, where I will camp in the city park again).

Tomorrow I plan on doing only 58 miles, which will feel quite nice, I'm sure, shooting to end up in Eads, CO. Saturday I will hopefully get as far as Ordway, CO, letting me arrive in Pueblo on Sunday. I may or may not take an extra day in Pueblo just to relax before heading off for Denver, which will be ~120 miles. If I feel *really* good and ambitious, I may shoot to do the whole trip to Denver in one day, but I'm not counting on it; it sounds like I'll have a decent stretch in that section on some gravel roads, so, blech.

So what do I do during my hours in the saddle? Mostly I try not to think about how uncomfortable bike seats are; funny how poorly that works. It seems like it's not quite as bad today as it had been, but it's still far from feeling great. Usually in the afternoons I listen to some music - it helps me get through the "I'm tired but still have 20 or 30 miles to go" times. Tuesday, as I pulled into my destination, "Carry on my Wayward Son" started playing and made me realize that I don't have nearly enough music by the group Kansas for this trip. No matter; I'll hit the Colorado border tomorrow morning. I've taken a few pictures, but really not all that many. There isn't a whole lot to take pictures of in this part of the trip. "Oh look, a wheat field." "Oh look, more wheat." "Hey, an oil derrick." "Look at me with my bicycle." "Look, I'm still with my bicycle." "Yup, the bike's still the same." I think I figured I probably pedal somewhere around 30,000 rotations each day. Yeah, isn't that awesome?