We are actually in Kansas as I write this. We crossed in today. We have stayed dry but ride against 30mph head winds the whole day so it is slow going.
This is going to be a quickie because I'm on a timer.
Well, the Honeymoon with the Great Plains is over. We woke up at 5:30am to already brutish headwinds and a sky covered with rain clouds. It took us 7 hrs. to go 60 miles (actual riding time..elapsed time was much longer)and it was FLAT the whole way. 5 min. after setting out we passed the cafe in Sugarcity that I had been told had these great cinnamon rolls. In a total switch of roles, Matt was the one to peel off and suggest we stop for cinnamon rolls. We needed to regroup mentally to deal with the wind. We were so unprepared for how powerful it was. It was the kind of wind that if we were in Davis we would say "no way am I riding in this..I think I'll go for a run instead". We got our rolls (good but not even close to...well...you know who's), psyched ourselves, and then hit the road. After about 2 hrs. we got used to the wind, it is just like going uphill; slow and laborious. The crosswinds are more difficult. They were gusting @ about 20mph and ran both me and Yonah off the road at one point. The crosswinds are bullies and try to wrestle the front wheel out from under your control. It is like a constant tug O' war. We met a lot more cyclists now that we are on the TransAmerican trail instead of the more difficult Western Express. And, I'm happy to report that my statistical power has only increased. I now have an "n" of 6 and my hypothesis remains supported. Guys under 40, riding alone across country, are cute, cool, and funny. Guys over 40 doing the same thing but by themselves are whacko eccentrics at best. We met this one guy heading West (WELL over 40...I think about 70) and so negative and curmudgenous he made the headwinds and rainclouds seem bright and cheerful by comparison. I was prepared to chew my arm off to get away...luckily, I didn't need to because he was as disgusted with us and our silly petition on global warming, as we were with him. According to him we were all going to be extinct in 10,000 years anyway so what did it matter...or something like that. Needless to say, he was not interested in signing. Then we met Josh, the happy puppy who was well under 40, not more than about 30 max. He was cute enough to be a Playgirl pinup boy (as were the other 2 lone riders guys..Cole and Simon). I should be taking pictures of these guys...maybe I'll make a calendar or something....even scruffy Simon from Switzerland was cute enough for at least Mr. Sept. I'm going to call it Hot Guys on the TransAmerican Trail". They were all normal, funny, smart, and cute, and I didn't even once consider chewing my arm off to get away.
It was a long day. I was really staying in the moment for the 1st 4 hrs, enjoying the big sky, the huge carpet of foot tall corn seedlings genuflecting almost perpindicular to the ground..never a happy sight for a cyclist, all the colors of the Praire grasses, the rolls of hay and the grey, tin silos, etc. etc. But after 4 hrs. I had to take a break from the moment and spend some time with J.Depp, and my ipod. I try to save my ipod for when I really need it because I know it isnt' that safe..but there was so little traffic and I was so far behind the boys and Matt, and I was starting to feel sleepy. We arrived in Eades hot and sweaty about 15 min. before the public pool closed. We jumped right in. It was so great. Right then, it felt like the best pool I'de ever been in. Slept in the public park that night with about 7 other cyclists! More on that later, Matt wants to get on.
Love,
Djina
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6 comments:
Glad to hear you made it to Kansas (although now, for a few days, you won't be able to say "I guess we're not in Kansas anymore"). Here's hoping for some wind at your back for a change and a quick trip through the flatlands into the Appalachians.
Thanks for keeping everyone posted on your adventures. I'm sure it's hard to find the mental energy to sit down and compose your postings after a long day of riding.
If it's any consolation, it was 108 last Thursday in Davis.
Cheers!
Good Luck! Thursday there maybe some winds - 14 mph. but nothing like today as you head down 96.
Friday looks to be clear and mild breezes, the kind that cool you.
You guys are amazing!
LJ (Sac Bee)
Djina, you better be careful with that iPod in the T-stormy midwest. Today's S.F. Chronicle (sorry, Bee readers) had a story and a photo of a boy who was mowing a lawn, listening to hs iPod, when lightning struck nearby. The whole shitterree exploded. His ears were scorched like Dick's Cheney's after Nancy Pelosi is done with him. I am not making this up; you have Internet, you can verify this.
Also on that page was a story about a 1,000 pound killer squid that was caught off the coast of New Zealand but I guess you're safe from squid in Kansas.
Tell Antie Em we said, "Hi." Warn her about the iPod, too.
We haven't heard about gravy in a while. What gives?
Rock on.
Cheers - Ken
Friday 13 - Friday 20 (That's as far as the farcast goes into the future.) Mostly Sunny 4-8 mph winds.
Enjoy the weather break and may any wind be at your back.
Is Eastern Colorado similar Kansas regarding the Farms/Railroad?
Linda J (Sac Bee Reader)
Boy Ken, What a buzzkill with the ipod story. My one little, guilty pleasure...
I have a great Gravy story. It involves Josh (Mr. July as you'll recall). He went out to dinner with us and boldly ordered chicken fried steak (whatever the hell that is), mashed potatoes, etc...you know, the whole White Boy thing...I think his family was originally from Oklahoma or something. Anyway, he ordered it all just like a native, not apprehensive at all. And when it arrived absolutely SLATHERED in the white, morning, coagulated Aioli mess...he didn't even shudder or anything. It just set to work and then washed the whole thing down with a slice of Coconut Cream Pie. I was awestruck.
There, hope that helps.
L,
Djina
Chicken fried steak is usually low grade meat (ostensibly beef but it is better to let sleeping livestock lie and not ask too many questions) that has been run though a machine not unlike a wheat thresher to produce more or less "cube steak" although cube and steak are both stretches in meaning by this point in the process. It is then breaded and pan fried, the "steak" is then removed, gravy is made in the pan and the "steak" is returned to the pan, allowing the gravy to sort of cook onto it. My mom made it most Thursday nights when I was young. It was real farm hand food.
But that's not important. The thing I want to tell you about is the monochromatic meal I had in Kansas once. We went to a "supper club" in Topeka and I ordered a real steak. The meal arrived on a white plate, it was a black steak, white French Fries covered in white gravy and some salad.... by "salad", I mean the white core of iceberg lettuce, totally devoid of chlorophyll, covered in white ranch dressing. It was like watching a B&W movie. All white meal except for the steak. It was very good, though. Maybe I already told you that story.
Soon, you'll be in the part of the world where ice tea comes sweet. I mean syrupy sweet unless you ask for nonsweet tea.
Seem any grits yet? Just think of them as High End Bay Area polenta and you'll do fine.
By the way, I think those eggs you saw might have been pickled. Give Matt a beer and one of those eggs before bedtime and I guarentee you'll be out of that tent before sun up, ready to hit the open road, longing for the open air.
Cheers - Ken
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