Ride Report: 64 Miles, 2,693 Total Miles, 17.3 Avg. mph, 1,266 Ft. Climbing, 4,776 Calories. It was a soggy day - and not just me, the weather in general...
Today's story starts with yesterday's post. Apparently the weather gods don't smile kindly on me citing my issues with how they run the whole humidity thing. Because despite this...
...beautiful sunset when Susan and I went for a walk last evening...
...things had gone to Hell in a hand basket by 0450 this morning when the weather alarm on my phone went off and we scrambled to figure out what was going on. Turns out that a flash flood warning had just been issued - specifically for Chanute and its suburbs. One can see why. What the reader can't see is that when put in motion, the radar had that red line of rain moving SE just enough to keep Chanute in the main part of the storm for a while.
Because by 0759, things had only improved marginally. The long and short of all this is that between 6-9 inches of rain fell in various areas around Chanute. That's a lotta water no mater where ya call home. And the rain didn't give it up till maybe 1300. So - there was obviously no riding to be done this morning. In fact, the road East from Chanute was closed due to flash flooding.
So - we did the only thing we could do to be productive. We slept in. Then we decided to flip the day. We had intended to do the weekly chores after getting to Pitttsburg, KS. Actually to the state line 5 miles East of Pitttsburg. So - we started with the chores. Chief among them...
That's right readers, it was laundry day. And just to be clear, I did have a pair of underwear warming up in the bullpen. But as I was about to call in the new pair just up from the minors, Susan declared that we were gonna do laundry anyway and to just suck it up. When we got to the laundromat, there were a bunch of similar memes all framed and hanging above each washing machine. This one spoke to me.
So after laundry and the obligatory weekly Wal-Mart run, I called the Sheriff's Office in both Neosho and Caldwell Counties. Caldwell said all their roads were open. But Neosho said that the last they knew, the road I needed to go East on was still flooded. I guess there's only one way to find out - head out there and check it out for myself. This is Dave. He saved me the stress of wondering if I was gonna have to turn around after 15 miles. I ran into him as soon as I turned onto the Eastbound road. When I waved him down he pulled up and the first words out of his mouth were, "You're good. Water is down." I chatted him up a bit and told him about The Thin Blue Ride and then we parted ways. He was a good guy. And friendly - as the reader may be able to tell from the pic.
There was a lot of this along the route today.
And it remained cloudy all day. The forecast was for more rain throughout the day, but it never materialized.
The Neosho River at flood stage. Before the rain last night it was at 20 ft. Forecast has it topping out at 31 feet before starting back down again. Wow!
But eventually, as we got closer to Pittsburg, it became obvious that rainfall totals weren't what they were around Chanute. This is just East of a small town called Walnut. I liked the trees lining both sides of the road so Sig took the opportunity for this shot.
Those of you who are ill informed concerning the T/A won't know what a big deal the Immanuel Lutheran Church is. It's out in the middle of nowhere and welcomes bikers. They have a separate building behind the Church that they've designated for riders to overnight in. They also have food available in the fridge/kitchen for free - showers, bathrooms, the works. We didn't go in since we have what we need in The Rig, but I've read plenty of blogs by weary T/Aers who have laid over here when they just couldn't go any further. I can't explain the spelling of "Immanuel". Apparently the "E" is optional, but a vowel of some ilk is required.
After the second rest stop of the day and a change from soaked riding gear, I ran across this guy. Old, beat up, rusty, some of the joints don't work at all, others grind when they move... I feel his pain.
On the bright side there was this. Actually - these. I encountered several along the route today. Having nothing but a 19 pound bike (Sig is a bit heavier than Delta) for protection we know who would win if we were to tangle with a car. Go ahead, Google "Brad Schoen Bike Accident" and see what ya get.
But eventually we made it to the Missouri line East of Pittsburg - albeit a bit later than planned. I think it was about 1900 when we arrived. And of course, since I don't have enough fingers...
State number 7! So I called Susan in for her cameo appearance again. Good thing she's along. It took me three tries to get the right number of fingers held up - and I was just in charge of two.
So this, readers, is the end of section 8 of the T/A maps. Four more to go.
And the route on map 8 looked like this.
To close out the day, we headed for a Chinese Buffet Susan had located last night. I was game. It's been a while since we've been to a good Chinese Buffet. After dinner I got this in my fortune cookie. I thought it appropriate, given what we're trying to pull off here. I don't talk about it much, but there are days that have been just a plain old struggle. I read once that only about 50% of riders who commence the T/A actually complete it. Part of that is trying to do it solo. People can't stand the isolation for 3-4 months. But part of it is also the difficulty of the ride. Having Susan along is a good thing. It negates the isolation issue, and she's also a great encourager.
And finally, we here at The Thin Blue Ride are always looking for ways to improve life for our readers. In that vein, this will be our first attempt at providing practical consumer advice for the common man. It is this: Wal-Mart's Hershey Sliced Chocolate Creme Cake is much better than their Triple Chocolate Muffins. Our research has shown that the Hershey Cake is way "chocolatier" (A technical cooking term there) than the muffins.
Till next time.
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