Saturday, August 3rd, 2019
Reader alert: Readers who may be put off by my maudlin summation of the day should wait for tomorrow's post. In the alternative, select your "best of" and read them again. I do...
Ride Report: Miserable - and yes, this will merit further discussion below. I’m tempted to leave it at that, but feel obliged to provide the typical details, so here they are: 59 Miles, 2,444 Total Miles, 17.1 Avg. mph, 417 Ft. Climbing, 4,326 Calories.
The morning started off with fog and mist. The fog had pretty much lifted by the time I left The Rig at about 0800, but the mist had not. The casual reader may believe this to be a good thing. Clouds to obscure the sun, mist to cool the rider, presumably cooler morning temperatures - these are good things, right? Not.
The clouds provide the mist, but the humidity was off the charts this morning. And the temperatures weren't any cooler than previous days. What this all boils down to is that when riders sweat in these conditions, there's no place for it to go. It can't evaporate. This was evident when, at the first rest stop, I pulled in and squeezed out both my riding gloves. Initial estimates are about two tablespoons of "moisture" in each. Then came the Headsweats I wear under my helmet. Pretty much the same - maybe a bit more. This to say nothing of of my jersey, Underarmour shirt, and riding shorts - tho they all remained on my person. According to Susan a guy can only take off so much apparel at a rest stop. Apparently there are rules for this sort of thing. The net result of all this moisture is a generally icky feel to the ride. But there's nothing to be done about it other than than to get done and call it a day.
So, when on top of this, Stafford and Reno Counties joined in a competition to see which County could most severely neglect the road upon which I transited between the two this morning, it just sorta added to the misery. Stafford County tried some trickery. There was fresh asphalt, but they had subscribed to the tablespoon and a boot heel method of laying it down. You know, one guy with a pickup load of asphalt tosses it out with a tablespoon and stomps it flat with his boot heel. Reno County went with plain old neglect. Pavement seams, tons of tared potholes, tons of un-tarred potholes, random selections of the four separate layers of pavement peeling off, chip seal that looked as if it had been scattered by Johnny Appleseed, you get the idea. It was, indeed, a spirited competition, but I'm gonna declare Reno County the winner. Roads like that just wear a rider out. And they went on for about 30 miles. I was more than glad to get back to a real highway - with only 9 miles left in the day.
So, here's the day in pics...
Quintessential Kansas - except for the limited sight distance. This isn't fog - this is how humid it was this morning. Even after I could no longer feel the mist falling, my glasses were constantly fogged up.
About ten minutes later it had lifted a bit, but still not enough to see more than three utility poles down the road. If you've been in this part of Kansas before, you know it's so flat that typically you'd need a calculator to figure out how many utility poles you could see.
It's a ways off in the distance, but there are a lot of these nodding donkeys around here. The smell of working oil wells was a constant companion today.
This is the first rest stop. I try and avoid giving the reader a chance to see me sans head gear, but as I mentioned previously, I took it off to wring it out. Interestingly, there was an organized bike ride along my route today. The couple with Susan are John and Gloria. They had set up a SAG (Support And Gear) for the ride and were prepared to give riders watermelon, jelly beans, home made cookies and iced wash cloths with which to cool down. They were kind enough to offer them to me. I skipped the jelly beans and cookies. (This should inform the reader as to my disposition at the time.) It also turned out that I probably rode a good number of BAKs with them, but never had the pleasure to meet them until today. Oh yeah - that's Susan beside them keeping them organized. Wait - maybe this is why I had to keep my other gear on?
Kansas wildflowers growing beside round bales. Does it get better than that?
The reader may note a couple of things in this pic. First, the previously complained of "fresh asphalt". While you can't see it, there are equipment tire tracks, ridges and holes scattered throughout. Second, the Quivera National Wildlife Refuge sign. At one point there was a scenic overlook for Quivera. This is a big deal since the landscape was pretty much flat. But one small hill presented itself and the Department of the Interior took advantage. I could see Quivera as I rode by. I know it's a big deal for migrating waterfowl and all, but in all honesty, I wouldn't come out here for the scenic overview. Just sayin...
This seemed like an interesting possibility - so I kept my eyes open. Unfortunately I also had my mouth open and swallowed a rather substantially sized flying bug of some sort. In my defense, there were bugs everywhere - the sun having thus far failed to make its appearance and drive them back to the shadows where they belong. And no, no amount of violent coughing would dislodge it. At some point ya just surrender and swallow. Oh - I saw no wildlife.
This was a sad, but not uncommon scene along the route today. Whaddya think readers? Abandoned in the last 15-20 years maybe? Once again, an all to common theme in rural Kansas.
So, at the end of a 59 mile day, the Nickerson Methodist church was kind enough to let us set up shop for the night. This being Saturday, we'll have to vacate in time for their Sunday morning service. Which shouldn't be a problem, since...
It starts at 0900 according to the sign. These Methodists are nice people, just don't beat 'em to the Pizza Hut buffet after services conclude. Could be the start of an internecine conflict. And that wouldn't do anybody's reputation any good...
Till next time.
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