Thursday, July 25th, 2019
Ride Report: 63 Miles, 2,270 Total Miles (Only 1,990ish to
go), 17.6 Avg mph, 535 Ft. “Climbing” (side note – Hahahahahaha), 4,579 Calories.
And…
…WE’RE BACK IN KANSAS, TOTO! Sort of.
Tribune is in that quirky part of the state of Kansas that lies in the
Mountain Time Zone. So, we’ve really got
a foot in both worlds right now. But in
order to make us feel at home, the good folks at “AccuWeather” dialed up a
thunderstorm this evening. As I type
this it has just passed thru. Hail was
forecast. Any guesses as to whether it showed
up or not? Before you answer, remember one
word – “AccuWeather”. We received no
hail – not that I’m complaining – much.
And… (part two)
I’m starting to get the feeling that there will be no
reports on top speeds of the day for a good while. Just to sate the reader’s morbid curiosity (I wonder if he went down at that speed today...), I’ll
report on today’s top speed, but after that – suck it up till I have something
worth reporting. Today’s top speed was a
blistering 24.1 mph according to Garmin.
This wasn’t helped much by the wind direction, but still, 24.1 isn’t
anything to write home about. Hence, I
shall speak no further of such things until the time is right. Said wind was mostly a quartering headwind all
day that increased in speed as the day wore on.
I think that by the time we shut it down for the day the gusts were up
to 20 mph. Welcome to western
Kansas. Anyway – I was kinda proud of
the 17.6 average speed given the conditions.
And… (part three)
Speaking of conditions, temperatures became a factor
today. I’ve been telling myself for some
time that I need to set up another screen on my Garmin. One that removes “elevation” (pointless here
in the plains) and replaces it with “temperature”. After all, no point wasting an opportunity to
suffer with full knowledge of the reason for it. Anyway, Garmin reported 106 today, but if I
park it in the sun, I’ve noticed that it can get a bit wonky. And that reading was out of line with what I
was seeing on “AccuWeather”, but suffice it to say that it was hot. I went thru plenty of liquids today – tho Susan
always frets that I’m not drinking enough.
She is apparently of the mistaken belief that she married Sponge Bob
Square Pants and that I can absorb water accordingly. (BTW - bonus internet points to me for a context appropriate reference to a cultural icon: Sponge Bob Square Pants.)
I think the reader already knows what to expect in the way
of scenery, but here we go anyway…
I found this in the land of Nod (AKA: eastern Colorado)
before returning to the promised land. A
little Cowboy Culture, if you will. I
think it gets the point across quite well. Maybe even better than Sponge Bob Square Pants?
Note the elevator centered over the roadway in the waaaaay distance. When Delta saw this, he wanted to know when we were gonna
get to the next town. I told him to move
his handlebar in front of the elevator and then look again. He did.
I then asked if he could still see the elevator. He said no.
I told him that meant we’d get there on Saturday. He was grumpy. He hates being made sport of.
I took this one over my shoulder. Note the lack of mountains in the
background. Gonna have to find something
else for a backdrop, I suppose.
Delta was even grumpier when I took this shot only 7 or 8
miles after he asked when we’d get to the town.
The kid has no sense of humor. I
wonder who he got that from… Not me – I’m
hilarious. And yes – this is the same
elevator seen in the pic of Delta looking down the road ahead of us earlier in the
post. BTW – I am open to suggestion as
to how to go about transplanting a funny bone somewhere in Delta. Thoughts?
Still in Colorado, but it was nice of the Plainview School
to wish us ”…a great summer”. (Check out the sign.) Susan and
I agree, it has been so far – and there’s plenty of summer left. BTW – this school is a sign of the times in
the high plains of Colorado and Kansas.
Stan and Lora told us this school was here. It’s built in the middle of nowhere because
the kids out here were having to ride a bus so far to get to school that the
locals decided to build a school to serve the area. Wow!
That’s a lot of money, but prolly better than kids riding a bus one way for
a couple of hours every day.
OK – I’m not making this up.
Trust me. We stopped at the state
line for some pics which will show up below.
But before I got there (bear in mind how far one can see out here) I
knew it was coming. I saw the dust this
guy was putting up. Turns out his field
goes right up to the state line. Sure
sign that we were back in Kansas – a Versatile tractor working a field. Didn’t see this once in Colorado.
Hey, Kansas doesn’t let just anybody in to snoop
around. This is me putting my best foot
forward as Delta and I crossed the state line.
This is the second way I knew I was back in Kansas. The pavement seams that had been assaulting
my anatomy since we first got on Colorado Highway 96 were no more. Really, the road improved markedly when we
crossed the state line.
The third way I knew we were back in Kansas. Susan can’t help but ham it up when given the
opportunity. Recall our rehearsal at the
Colorado line when I was concerned about running out of fingers for the state
line pics. Susan to the rescue. However, the reader may note that I am not
properly attired to enter the fine state of Kansas. Just look at that jersey. Right there on the left shoulder it says, “Colorado
Cyclist Copper Triangle”. It’s a Colorado
jersey. The reader should go easy on
me. All I’m at liberty to disclose is
that it was an undercover op.
Now I’m properly attired.
The reader should note the more formal presentation of the KSU
jersey. The black collar just screams
formal wear. Zipping it up to the neck
for the pic enhances the appearance of both jersey and rider. Paris and Lawrence will be going bonkers for
these this fall. As an aside, Susan and I
can count to six correctly on two consecutive occasions. This was no small feat – at least for me…
OK – somebody help me out with this one. I’ve no idea what this is. My first thought was a USGS survey marker,
but I’ve seen those before and this ain’t it.
I googled it and found another guy with a blog on line who had taken a
pic of one exactly like it in southern Utah.
This is the second one I’ve seen personally, the other being in Montana –
I believe. At first, I thought it was
some 2016 Trans-Am’er who was just marking his territory – so to speak. But the guy in Utah found one that wasn’t on
any ACA route I know of. It’s a mystery. Curtis?
Same number, completely different feel to it. First, my butt appreciates the smoother
pavement. A notable improvement in “feel”. But more importantly, it just feels good to
be on The Thin Blue Ride and in our home state.
And as if I hadn’t already seen sufficient evidence that we’re
back in Kansas, there was this. Surprisingly,
I’m pretty sure this one was still serviceable.
Most of the ones I see are broken down relics of a bygone era. Not this guy.
This is it – Tribune – our overnight stop for the day. That said, I decided to ride 8 miles past
town in order to shorten a 70 mile day tomorrow. Seemed a wise decision at the time, however…
When I got to The Rig, Susan was waiting (as always) and had
taken this pic. Maybe I should re-think
altering the Garmin screen after all – this is just depressing. But I suspect more of the same is in order for tomorrow… Used by permission of Susan Schoen Photography, LLC.
So there ya have it readers – we’re Baaaaaaaack!
Till next time.
That most likely is a survey marker and the top of that nail set the elevation that lots of things are measured to. Grades of road and ditches, etc.
ReplyDeleteI’d wondered about that too. They’re identical down to the letters in the nails. But they’re scattered over 3 states, which seems odd for one survey firm. Tho they have all been on highways and just outside the white line at the edge of the road by about 6 inches. I’ve Googled it several times and can find tons of survey markers, but none like it. I’m gonna leave it in the mystery category.
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