Finally ... (July 1, 2015)

...  out of Kansas ... out of the wind ... out of the depression that can some times overtake a long distance bike ride.

Ah, but life is good.  I am currently taking a few day's R&R at Ilene and (cousin) Larry McLain's house in Castle Rock, CO (just south of Denver), and life could not be more enjoyable at this moment.  Huge afternoon rain storm ... and rather than sitting on the wee bike saddle peddling through the wetness, I have been sitting on their spacious (covered) porch watching the downpour.

As to Kansas and wind, I had reached my limit.  The only thing I was looking forward to was getting out of both.  After leaving Greensburg, KS, I spent a headwind-filled day reaching Dodge City.  I think my best memory of Dodge City was the leaving of Dodge City ... hot, dusty, crummy, etc., etc., etc.  Passed a few of the massive beef processing plants (called slaughter houses in earlier times) that provide much of the beef products available at your local supermarket, and was amused at the general layout of the facility.  At the east end of the site was a seemingly endless line of cattle-hauling tractor/trailers, and at the west end a similar line of refrigerated tractor/trailers.  I do not think any of us want to know what goes on between these two lines of trucks.

After another day of riding into the headwinds out of the southwest, and seeing no end to this wind pattern, I decided to head north.  I knew it would be a long day between Garden City and Oakley (85 miles) and knew from the weather predictions that the wind would be coming out of the northwest late in the day, but I thought I could cover most of the mileage before getting into the headwinds.  Oh how wrong I was.  At about mile 20 the winds hit me leaving 65 miles of once again riding into a headwind.  I really don't know what I have done to piss off Aeolus, but I must have done something quite sinful.

After that painfully long day getting into Oakley, I took it easy, once again heading west.  Headwind conditions continued but with a lesser velocity ... but three mid-30 mile days brought me some relief.  One of the days ended in the small town of Goodland, KS, home of "The Big Easel" pictured above.  It is always interesting to see what small towns do to distinguish their town from other small towns .... Greensburg, KS = "Home of the World's Largest Hand-dug Well".

Anyway, two additional long days of riding have resulted in reaching Ilene and Larry's home ... and more importantly leaving Kansas.  As a side note about leaving Kansas, I have been reading the journals of two TransAm riders who are out ahead of me.  The first thought Kansas was a glorious, interesting and beautiful experience ... the second shares  my feelings ... want to guess which one had tailwinds and which one had headwinds??

Not jumping on the bike this morning felt wonderful.  I plan on taking another day of rest, then head north to Cheyenne.  From there I will probably head toward Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks.  After that I am not quite sure where I will go, but will be rambling around the northwest until around September 1, at which time I will be flying back to Tucson.

... finally.