I admit to not knowing much about Ohio, having never spent any time here other than passing through to somewhere else. The weather and winds were pretty near perfect the five full days I've spent crossing the state diagonally from southwest to northeast. That alone would make any state look good, even Kansas. But Ohio is truly beautiful: smaller scale agriculture in a more diverse landscape of small towns, bustling manufacturing, forests and river valleys.
After getting out of suburban Cincinnati with the help of Google Maps bike route feature ( which found a perfect route) I spent most of the day riding a paved bike trail (Ohio has a reputation for being bike friendly for its hundreds of miles of paved bike trails that criss-cross the state in all directions). 20 mph tailwinds propelled me up the state in record time. I stopped at a little roadside burger joint and checked Warm Showers for a place to stay. A host popped up in Cedarville but it was still 57 miles away. I called, and Jay and Andrea Kinsinger were happy to host, and with great winds I got there just about dark. Wonderful folks who'd done a lot of touring all over the world, and with their 4 kids aged 11-21. Jay builds beautiful, sturdy bikes out of laminated black walnut - check em out at sojournercyclery.com. He and his son Ben did 1000 miles of the Underground Railroad on a black walnut tandem!
Next morning they were off to church, and I think they put a good word in for me cause the wind and weather continued to cooperate. More paved bike trail up to and around Columbus. Arrived late afternoon at Alum Creek SP, pre-arranged rendezvous point to meet friend and INRS business partner Charlie Levesque who flew into Columbus to join me for 6 days riding up to Niagara Falls. Nice to ride with someone after 3 weeks solo and running into so few riders on the route.
The next three days Charlie and I wound our way up and across OH, staying in public campgrounds and mostly arriving too late and leaving too early to have to worry about paying. Nice stretches of Amish farm country, river valleys (e.g. Cuyahoga National Park), and bucolic high end communities like Medina, Hudson and Burton (OH's maple sugaring capital). Ohioans really take their lawns seriously, and I think spend most of their discretionary waking hours mowing. But this is true everywhere: Americans are truly obsessed with their lawns and lawn mowing. What's wrong with me?
Last night we arrived on Lake Erie and camped near the lake in a state park. Out early to dodge the ranger, we headed east along the river shore into PA and eventually into Erie where we are camping tonight. Picture book sunset on the lake. Along the way we passed through extensive vineyards with the sweet smell of over-ripe grapes wafting across the road. Two more relatively short days to Niagara Falls wher Charlie will depart and Mabel will arrive to ride the last leg across NY, VT and NH!
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Days 17-20: Straddling the Ohio River Valley
Beautiful riding weather last few days - cool in the morning, crisp sunny days, not too hot. Why more people don't time their tours for the fall I don't know.
Left Elizabethtown and caught the ferry at Cave-in-Rock, so named for the cave at rivers edge which harbored hiding pirates during the early days of commercial navigation on the River (or so legend has it). Once in KY the route followed small secondary roads, rolling hills with lots of small up-and-downs. Some noticeably older architecture in the smaller towns. Still mostly corn and soybeans, but now and then a random tobacco patch at various stages of harvest. I was feeling sluggish and opted for a short(ish) day, finishing in Henderson, a riverfront town with an affluent past and a nice waterfront. Barges carrying aggregate, salt and scrap metal we're plying the waters. The Ohio is a real working river. Stayed in a state park named for John James Audubon, who spent early adulthood in Henderson attempting to own and operate a saw/grist mill, c. 1815 or so. Audubon figures in many local business names: Audubon Tobacco Mart, Audubon used car sales etc.
Awoke early and determined to crunch some miles so I could slack off a bit in ensuing days. Perfect day with no wind and few hills. But for the confusing route through Owensboro, I made very good time, and pulled into Brandenburg after dusk with 111 miles, and feeling like I had a few more miles in the tank. Decided to motel it. Did not want to get out of bed the next morning, but Indiana beckoned! So crossed the river yet again, and rolled through Corydon mid morning in time for Bfast. Corydon was the early 19th century capital of IN with some beautiful historic buildings including the state house. The ensuing countryside was decidedly more affluent, owing I think to proximity with Louisville. I saw the skyline of Louisville but that's about it, sticking to the IN side of the river. I passed a massive ship building yard called Jeffboat that proclaimed itself the largest inland shipyard in the country. Dozens of huge vessels were in various stages of fabrication. It was great to see American steel manufacturing on this scale.
I camped that evening in Charlestown State Park. The park was created when thousands of acres of the closed Indiana Army Ammunition Plant was deeded to the state during the huge wave of DOD base closures in the mid '90's. The IAAP came on line in 1940 and within one year employed over 27,000 people and was the largest munitions factory in the world. I rode past a vast area of abandoned buildings, warehouses and railroad tracks that looked like what remains today of Chernobyl. It gave me a fresh appreciation for the scale of the war effort during WWII.
Next day more rolling hills of southern IN, including the first hill that was so steep I had to walk the bike up. Beautiful country with deep wooded valleys and magnificent old trees. Another long day of 92 miles brought me into Lawrenceburg IN where I moteled it again for lack of any decent camping options - a gritty little river town just west of Cincinnati.
Next morning I relied on Google Maps Bike Route to help me chart a path around suburban Cincinnati, as I had departed from the ACA Underground Railroad route. It led me away from the Ohio R valley I had been straddling for 4 days and up the Great Miami River valley and onto a series of paved bike paths that were perfect. Of course the first true tailwind of the entire trip, blowing from the southwest, helped make the route all the more enjoyable. Wind is EVERYTHING when you are touring: when it's at your back life is beautiful. When it's in your face or hard from the side, everything takes on a negative pall.
Left Elizabethtown and caught the ferry at Cave-in-Rock, so named for the cave at rivers edge which harbored hiding pirates during the early days of commercial navigation on the River (or so legend has it). Once in KY the route followed small secondary roads, rolling hills with lots of small up-and-downs. Some noticeably older architecture in the smaller towns. Still mostly corn and soybeans, but now and then a random tobacco patch at various stages of harvest. I was feeling sluggish and opted for a short(ish) day, finishing in Henderson, a riverfront town with an affluent past and a nice waterfront. Barges carrying aggregate, salt and scrap metal we're plying the waters. The Ohio is a real working river. Stayed in a state park named for John James Audubon, who spent early adulthood in Henderson attempting to own and operate a saw/grist mill, c. 1815 or so. Audubon figures in many local business names: Audubon Tobacco Mart, Audubon used car sales etc.
Awoke early and determined to crunch some miles so I could slack off a bit in ensuing days. Perfect day with no wind and few hills. But for the confusing route through Owensboro, I made very good time, and pulled into Brandenburg after dusk with 111 miles, and feeling like I had a few more miles in the tank. Decided to motel it. Did not want to get out of bed the next morning, but Indiana beckoned! So crossed the river yet again, and rolled through Corydon mid morning in time for Bfast. Corydon was the early 19th century capital of IN with some beautiful historic buildings including the state house. The ensuing countryside was decidedly more affluent, owing I think to proximity with Louisville. I saw the skyline of Louisville but that's about it, sticking to the IN side of the river. I passed a massive ship building yard called Jeffboat that proclaimed itself the largest inland shipyard in the country. Dozens of huge vessels were in various stages of fabrication. It was great to see American steel manufacturing on this scale.
I camped that evening in Charlestown State Park. The park was created when thousands of acres of the closed Indiana Army Ammunition Plant was deeded to the state during the huge wave of DOD base closures in the mid '90's. The IAAP came on line in 1940 and within one year employed over 27,000 people and was the largest munitions factory in the world. I rode past a vast area of abandoned buildings, warehouses and railroad tracks that looked like what remains today of Chernobyl. It gave me a fresh appreciation for the scale of the war effort during WWII.
Next day more rolling hills of southern IN, including the first hill that was so steep I had to walk the bike up. Beautiful country with deep wooded valleys and magnificent old trees. Another long day of 92 miles brought me into Lawrenceburg IN where I moteled it again for lack of any decent camping options - a gritty little river town just west of Cincinnati.
Next morning I relied on Google Maps Bike Route to help me chart a path around suburban Cincinnati, as I had departed from the ACA Underground Railroad route. It led me away from the Ohio R valley I had been straddling for 4 days and up the Great Miami River valley and onto a series of paved bike paths that were perfect. Of course the first true tailwind of the entire trip, blowing from the southwest, helped make the route all the more enjoyable. Wind is EVERYTHING when you are touring: when it's at your back life is beautiful. When it's in your face or hard from the side, everything takes on a negative pall.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Days 15-16: Big Muddy and Land of Lincoln
Sunday broke crisp and clear -a perfect 10 riding day. Grabbed a quick bfast sandwich and coffee and on the road,saying goodbye to the wonderful Al's Place bike hostel. Road east through mixed farm/woodland and even some vineyards (Missouri wine? Who knew?). Truly pleasant riding, not too many hills. After 40 miles the road dropped from the hills onto the Mississippi River floodplain, and the corn and soybeans doubled in height. It seems like a terrible misappropriation of world class fertile land to be growing cattle feed and ethanol feedstock here instead of food to feed the masses, but what do I know? American commodity crop agriculture is such a tangled web of government policy and subsidy it is hard to understand why anything grows where it does, especially out here in the BIG AG states.
As I approached the Mississippi I tried to think of every Grateful Dead/JGB song with the word "river" in it, and Jerry singing Big Muddy River in the soulful way that only he could was stuck in my head. This is fairly typical of the thoughts one has sitting on a 6" leather saddle 8 hours a day. At times you achieve an almost blissful absence of thought.
Crossed the river, the 100th meridian, the unofficial demarcation between West and East, on a rickety old steel bridge with barely enough vehicle surface for me and two passing cars. Big Muddy was just that: chocolate brown and swollen with runoff from the north. Killed a little time in Chester IL, the home of Popeye, and continued riding south along the edge of the floodplain. Beautiful massive trees of diverse species lined the banks: oaks, hickories, enormous cottonwoods, tulip trees, magnolias, and the first buckeyes I've seen.
Stayed with Jim and Denise Zaczek south of Carbondale. J&D were friends from Penn State, and both now teach at Southern Illinois University (whose school mascot is the Saluki, an Egyptian dog breed). Jim is now chair of the forestry dept at SIU, which the second most forestry majors of any university in the country. They were most gracious hosts, and it was great to catch up after nearly 30 years.
Another nice riding day today, similar in topography and physiography to eastern MO, but without the abject rural poverty and angry white redneck thing so visibly pervasive. Wound my way through bits and pieces of the Shawnee National Forest and several National Wildlife Refuges, evidence I surmise of the bow-tied Senator Paul Simon's long tenure as an AG and Interior appropriator. I felt sluggish starting out but finished strong with 78 miles into the little Ohio River-side village of Elizabethtown. A lovely evening camped by the River's edge behind an old inn/B&B, whose proprietors let me take a shower in exchange for a $5 donation to their church. Nice folks. Had River catfish for dinner in a floating restaurant, watching coal barges go by every 15 minutes. Tomorrow cross the river into Kentucky.
As I approached the Mississippi I tried to think of every Grateful Dead/JGB song with the word "river" in it, and Jerry singing Big Muddy River in the soulful way that only he could was stuck in my head. This is fairly typical of the thoughts one has sitting on a 6" leather saddle 8 hours a day. At times you achieve an almost blissful absence of thought.
Crossed the river, the 100th meridian, the unofficial demarcation between West and East, on a rickety old steel bridge with barely enough vehicle surface for me and two passing cars. Big Muddy was just that: chocolate brown and swollen with runoff from the north. Killed a little time in Chester IL, the home of Popeye, and continued riding south along the edge of the floodplain. Beautiful massive trees of diverse species lined the banks: oaks, hickories, enormous cottonwoods, tulip trees, magnolias, and the first buckeyes I've seen.
Stayed with Jim and Denise Zaczek south of Carbondale. J&D were friends from Penn State, and both now teach at Southern Illinois University (whose school mascot is the Saluki, an Egyptian dog breed). Jim is now chair of the forestry dept at SIU, which the second most forestry majors of any university in the country. They were most gracious hosts, and it was great to catch up after nearly 30 years.
Another nice riding day today, similar in topography and physiography to eastern MO, but without the abject rural poverty and angry white redneck thing so visibly pervasive. Wound my way through bits and pieces of the Shawnee National Forest and several National Wildlife Refuges, evidence I surmise of the bow-tied Senator Paul Simon's long tenure as an AG and Interior appropriator. I felt sluggish starting out but finished strong with 78 miles into the little Ohio River-side village of Elizabethtown. A lovely evening camped by the River's edge behind an old inn/B&B, whose proprietors let me take a shower in exchange for a $5 donation to their church. Nice folks. Had River catfish for dinner in a floating restaurant, watching coal barges go by every 15 minutes. Tomorrow cross the river into Kentucky.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Days 12-14 Ozark Hills, Eastern MO Rednecks
Woke to chilly drizzle on Friday Sept 13. Rode in steady clouds and occasional rain all day - a dramatic change from the heat and sun of previous days. No real change in scenery: still hardscrabble farms with beef cattle if any livestock at all (maybe a few goats). The first pine showed up - shortleaf I think, (P. elliotii). Killed an hour chatting with Ben at the store in Bendavis. Not much going on in Bendavis or at the store. Bought a Bama pie in honor of Phil Bryce which I did not eat until today, and it had long since passed the "good til" date - but not to worry at the Bama pie can take time and neglect and still taste like it was baked yesterday.
On about mid afternoon I hit the deep Ozarks upon entering the National Scenic Riverways designation managed by the NPS. Here the Ozark plateau is deeply bisected by river gorges that run clear and cold due to ample spring water sources - a stark contrast to all of the rivers I've seen to date which are polluted with Ag runoff, cloudy with sediment, and/or stagnant. A steep downhill brought me to the valley of the Jacks Fork, and an equally steep climb out of the valley put me back on the plateau, only to drop again into the town of Eminence and the Current River valley. Passed through some excellent forest management by the MO Dept of Conservation on lands surrounding the NPS land. The first evidence of Ozark tourism was to be found in Eminence, with river raft/canoe rentals, guided pack riding, and guided hunting and fishing. Moteled it in Eminence.
This morning saw a lazy start and I felt sluggish, and immediately hit repeated 200-400' climbs, followed to quick drops, followed by the same climb again - must have repeated this cycle between Eminence and Ellington about a dozen times. In Ellington I bought a 10" pizza with the works knowing that part of my lethargy was not enough to eat at breakfast. I ate half and packed up the rest for later in the day. The day was beautiful: cool, clear and fall-like. After Ellington the hills subsided somewhat, but the prevalence of impatient pick-up drivers barely providing any clearance definitely increased. One guy even flipped me the bird. Well F you too asshole. Very narrow to no shoulders for much of the day. I took to pulling off the road if vehicles were coming in both directions. Due to the hills I averaged only 9 MPH today. Decided late in the afternoon that I could make it to Farmington, and so put my head down and pulled into town after dark - 91 miles and probably 5-6K feet of cumulative elevation today - I was done when I got to town and tracked down Als Place Bike Hostel - a wonderful set up sponsored by the City of Farmington, with showers, bunks, full kitchen, laundry - everything you need. The redneck factor is more prevalent here than anywhere I've passed through. I think when you have rural poverty but no agriculture, as in southeastern MO, you get rednecks. Elsewhere agriculture has a leavening effect and the people are more friendly and tolerant of bicyclists asserting their rights to a small slice of the asphalt. Lots of confederate flags, which I don't quite get as MO was a union state, right (Missouri compromise)? Even though it was over 150 years ago, they still feel like they got the compromise shoved down their throat.
On about mid afternoon I hit the deep Ozarks upon entering the National Scenic Riverways designation managed by the NPS. Here the Ozark plateau is deeply bisected by river gorges that run clear and cold due to ample spring water sources - a stark contrast to all of the rivers I've seen to date which are polluted with Ag runoff, cloudy with sediment, and/or stagnant. A steep downhill brought me to the valley of the Jacks Fork, and an equally steep climb out of the valley put me back on the plateau, only to drop again into the town of Eminence and the Current River valley. Passed through some excellent forest management by the MO Dept of Conservation on lands surrounding the NPS land. The first evidence of Ozark tourism was to be found in Eminence, with river raft/canoe rentals, guided pack riding, and guided hunting and fishing. Moteled it in Eminence.
This morning saw a lazy start and I felt sluggish, and immediately hit repeated 200-400' climbs, followed to quick drops, followed by the same climb again - must have repeated this cycle between Eminence and Ellington about a dozen times. In Ellington I bought a 10" pizza with the works knowing that part of my lethargy was not enough to eat at breakfast. I ate half and packed up the rest for later in the day. The day was beautiful: cool, clear and fall-like. After Ellington the hills subsided somewhat, but the prevalence of impatient pick-up drivers barely providing any clearance definitely increased. One guy even flipped me the bird. Well F you too asshole. Very narrow to no shoulders for much of the day. I took to pulling off the road if vehicles were coming in both directions. Due to the hills I averaged only 9 MPH today. Decided late in the afternoon that I could make it to Farmington, and so put my head down and pulled into town after dark - 91 miles and probably 5-6K feet of cumulative elevation today - I was done when I got to town and tracked down Als Place Bike Hostel - a wonderful set up sponsored by the City of Farmington, with showers, bunks, full kitchen, laundry - everything you need. The redneck factor is more prevalent here than anywhere I've passed through. I think when you have rural poverty but no agriculture, as in southeastern MO, you get rednecks. Elsewhere agriculture has a leavening effect and the people are more friendly and tolerant of bicyclists asserting their rights to a small slice of the asphalt. Lots of confederate flags, which I don't quite get as MO was a union state, right (Missouri compromise)? Even though it was over 150 years ago, they still feel like they got the compromise shoved down their throat.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Days 9-12: Done with KS, Into MO
Sadly behind on posts. Apologies to anyone who cares.
Days 9-12 saw me pass from central KS into MO. It is hard to fully appreciate the subtleties of the Kansas landscape when one is so preoccupied with the wind and sheer monotony of the lack of topography and trees. But easy of Hutchinson I began to notice more diversity in vegetation. Still miles and miles or sorghum, soybeans and corn (the wheat has pretty much disappeared) but much more dendrology to occupy my mind. Osage orange everywhere (locals just call it "hedge"). Also more walnut, bur oak and some other oak spp., honey locust, catalpa, black locust, and massive eastern cottonwoods. A beautiful region in east south-central KS is the Flint Hills, supposedly the finest grazing grass in North America. I say it described as the largest unbroken extant short/tall grass prairie that was never broken by plow. It was beautiful, in part because it's where I encountered the first real hills.
After Hutchinson I camped in a succession of town or state parks: Cassoday (where trains went by about every 15 minutes all night, but I have no trouble sleeping to trains); Cross Timbers State Park, where I had the entire campground to myself, kind of eerie; and Girard. The economy has been unkind to this part of Kansas and there was not much vitality in any of the towns I passed through. I am quite certain this region of rural America is depopulating. I saw very few young people and "brain drain" must be a huge issue.
Day 11 saw me leave KS for MO. In Golden City I had the first recommendable dining experience at Cooky's Cafe. They keep a log of bikers passing through full of commendations on the pie. I had blueberry and it did not disappoint. Shortly after leaving Golden City you encounter the first hills of the Ozarks. The topography was a welcome relief, but slowed me down. The dreaded Ozark hills are really not that bad: lots of steep ups and downs but few climbs of more that 200-300'. Lots of hardscrabble farms and abject rural poverty. Many abandoned homes. There was a dairy industry but from the looks of things it died between the '80's and '00's. Even a few attempts at large herd were all boarded up. What will be the resurrection of this rural economy? I don't know.
Two more town parks in Ash Grove and Hartville (actually camped on courthouse lawn with sheriff's blessing). Oak and hickory now dominate the forest, and forestland has overtaken farmland in percentage of land use. Saw my first loaded log truck - oak sawlogs. Not much true forest management - mostly high grading, and the condition of much of the forestland showed it.
I keep hoping I will overtake an east bound rider and have a riding companion for an hour or a day, but no such luck. I did run into a westbound rider, An Austrian named Roman Lorenz. We both are convinced we are the last rider through in our respective directions, and we both agreed that this is a lonely feeling. He is going to run into snow in the Rockies and on the western express. Good luck Roman!
Days 9-12 saw me pass from central KS into MO. It is hard to fully appreciate the subtleties of the Kansas landscape when one is so preoccupied with the wind and sheer monotony of the lack of topography and trees. But easy of Hutchinson I began to notice more diversity in vegetation. Still miles and miles or sorghum, soybeans and corn (the wheat has pretty much disappeared) but much more dendrology to occupy my mind. Osage orange everywhere (locals just call it "hedge"). Also more walnut, bur oak and some other oak spp., honey locust, catalpa, black locust, and massive eastern cottonwoods. A beautiful region in east south-central KS is the Flint Hills, supposedly the finest grazing grass in North America. I say it described as the largest unbroken extant short/tall grass prairie that was never broken by plow. It was beautiful, in part because it's where I encountered the first real hills.
After Hutchinson I camped in a succession of town or state parks: Cassoday (where trains went by about every 15 minutes all night, but I have no trouble sleeping to trains); Cross Timbers State Park, where I had the entire campground to myself, kind of eerie; and Girard. The economy has been unkind to this part of Kansas and there was not much vitality in any of the towns I passed through. I am quite certain this region of rural America is depopulating. I saw very few young people and "brain drain" must be a huge issue.
Day 11 saw me leave KS for MO. In Golden City I had the first recommendable dining experience at Cooky's Cafe. They keep a log of bikers passing through full of commendations on the pie. I had blueberry and it did not disappoint. Shortly after leaving Golden City you encounter the first hills of the Ozarks. The topography was a welcome relief, but slowed me down. The dreaded Ozark hills are really not that bad: lots of steep ups and downs but few climbs of more that 200-300'. Lots of hardscrabble farms and abject rural poverty. Many abandoned homes. There was a dairy industry but from the looks of things it died between the '80's and '00's. Even a few attempts at large herd were all boarded up. What will be the resurrection of this rural economy? I don't know.
Two more town parks in Ash Grove and Hartville (actually camped on courthouse lawn with sheriff's blessing). Oak and hickory now dominate the forest, and forestland has overtaken farmland in percentage of land use. Saw my first loaded log truck - oak sawlogs. Not much true forest management - mostly high grading, and the condition of much of the forestland showed it.
I keep hoping I will overtake an east bound rider and have a riding companion for an hour or a day, but no such luck. I did run into a westbound rider, An Austrian named Roman Lorenz. We both are convinced we are the last rider through in our respective directions, and we both agreed that this is a lonely feeling. He is going to run into snow in the Rockies and on the western express. Good luck Roman!
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Miscellaneous Kansas Photos
Ness City Bank, c. 1887
Elaine's Bike Oasis, Bazine KS. Dan and Elaine Johnson put me up for the night, fed me dinner and breakfast, and did my laundry. Amazing folks. Green ash - first eastern deciduous tree seen.Sunday, September 7, 2014
Days 6-8: Central Kansas
I left the warmth and comfort of Elaine's Bike Oasis in Bazine in cold light rain. A dramatic shift in weather had occurred overnight, with a 40 degree drop in temp. The rain put the new raingear to the test and also the fender arrangement on my bike. Stayed dry in rain all day except for my feet. But the rain and wind slowed me down and I set more realistic expectations for distance.
South of Rush Creek Kansas DOT had put fresh pavement down, but with only a 2' shoulder and a rumble strip right in the middle do it. Combined with the North side wind it made for a very tense day of riding with the heavy truck traffic. The cattle truckers are the worst.
Kansas is starting to show a little topography, with some creek gulches and gentle rises between drainages. The first eastern deciduous trees are appearing including green ash, mulberry and hackberry. Corn and soy beans are joining the sorghum and wheat of the high plains.
I stopped to see Fort Larned, a NPS historic site. Very we'll restored original military fort from 1860's. I got in a little early In the town of Larned and due to the continuing rain I decided to motel it and check out the town. The Larned HS Indians were playing the Hoisington HS Cardinals in the opening Friday night game. HS football is a really big deal and there must have been 1000 fans in this town of 3500.
Day 7 started nice and cool and overcast. From Larned I rode due east through a very nice stretch of road with little traffic, including a long stretch of the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, where the USFWS is allowing the short and tall grass prairie to be restored to over 22000 acres. In the middle is a vast wetlands complex with fresh water mixing with salt groundwater, creating much unique habitat for waterfowl.
In Nickerson a guy told me to check out the Kansas State Fair, which had just opened in Hutchinson. Slightly off my route but decided to take it in. On the ride there I was stopped on the road by a cyclist who invited me to stay at the Zion Lutheran Church bike hostel. Turns out the guy who stopped me was the founder of the hostel, which Zion church has been doing for 30 years. Great accommodations except the male in a couple sleeping next to me snored all night. The wife of the couple was a biker friend of Harley Phillips, the hostel founder, but was working at the fair with her family running a food truck that specialized in cinnamon rolls and apple dumplings. They have to work the fair for 10 days straight but they make a big chunk of their annual income doing it.
The fair was like any fair but on a mammoth scale. I walked around checking out show livestock, chickens, vegetables and crops, rides booths and food. I bought some Kansas wildflower honey sample bottles for future road angels and got one ice cream cone. Left Hutchinson relaticvely early as it was Sunday morning and I didn't want to be around when church folks started arriving. The cinnamon roll got me to Newton where I made lunch in a park including hot coffee. Made it this afternoon to a little whole in the wall rail town called Cassoday, with trains rolling by about every 15 minutes on the main line between Wichita and Topeka. A lot of crude oil, grain and cattle cars move through this part of the country. Slept in a town park with water and an electrical outlet, in an understory of Osage orange, black walnut, mulberry and hackberry and a couple big bur oaks.
Averaged about 75 miles/day last 3 days, mostly due to wind but also late afternoon ass fatigue which I hope gets better.
I'm going to post photos separately.
South of Rush Creek Kansas DOT had put fresh pavement down, but with only a 2' shoulder and a rumble strip right in the middle do it. Combined with the North side wind it made for a very tense day of riding with the heavy truck traffic. The cattle truckers are the worst.
Kansas is starting to show a little topography, with some creek gulches and gentle rises between drainages. The first eastern deciduous trees are appearing including green ash, mulberry and hackberry. Corn and soy beans are joining the sorghum and wheat of the high plains.
I stopped to see Fort Larned, a NPS historic site. Very we'll restored original military fort from 1860's. I got in a little early In the town of Larned and due to the continuing rain I decided to motel it and check out the town. The Larned HS Indians were playing the Hoisington HS Cardinals in the opening Friday night game. HS football is a really big deal and there must have been 1000 fans in this town of 3500.
Day 7 started nice and cool and overcast. From Larned I rode due east through a very nice stretch of road with little traffic, including a long stretch of the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, where the USFWS is allowing the short and tall grass prairie to be restored to over 22000 acres. In the middle is a vast wetlands complex with fresh water mixing with salt groundwater, creating much unique habitat for waterfowl.
In Nickerson a guy told me to check out the Kansas State Fair, which had just opened in Hutchinson. Slightly off my route but decided to take it in. On the ride there I was stopped on the road by a cyclist who invited me to stay at the Zion Lutheran Church bike hostel. Turns out the guy who stopped me was the founder of the hostel, which Zion church has been doing for 30 years. Great accommodations except the male in a couple sleeping next to me snored all night. The wife of the couple was a biker friend of Harley Phillips, the hostel founder, but was working at the fair with her family running a food truck that specialized in cinnamon rolls and apple dumplings. They have to work the fair for 10 days straight but they make a big chunk of their annual income doing it.
The fair was like any fair but on a mammoth scale. I walked around checking out show livestock, chickens, vegetables and crops, rides booths and food. I bought some Kansas wildflower honey sample bottles for future road angels and got one ice cream cone. Left Hutchinson relaticvely early as it was Sunday morning and I didn't want to be around when church folks started arriving. The cinnamon roll got me to Newton where I made lunch in a park including hot coffee. Made it this afternoon to a little whole in the wall rail town called Cassoday, with trains rolling by about every 15 minutes on the main line between Wichita and Topeka. A lot of crude oil, grain and cattle cars move through this part of the country. Slept in a town park with water and an electrical outlet, in an understory of Osage orange, black walnut, mulberry and hackberry and a couple big bur oaks.
Averaged about 75 miles/day last 3 days, mostly due to wind but also late afternoon ass fatigue which I hope gets better.
I'm going to post photos separately.
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