Traveled 68 mi from eureka to chanute ks, total travel 2106 mi. Bumped into richard, whom I first met in breckinridge, again in eureka--i can't keep up with him and felt better when he told me he is 55 and a phys ed teacher!
Seven miles outside eureka I came upon a woman walking her bike--her chain had broken. (Broken chains are the main mechanical problem touring riders face.) I have a chain tool but we couldn't repair her chain. We flagged a passing p/u truck and off they went to a bike shop somewhere in these parts.
Ten miles further I had my first flat (in 2100 miles). I leaned against a shaded bridge rail and fixed the flat and also put my spare tire on the rear because the used tire was wearing.
Met two young men, recent high school grads from massachusetts, riding from yorktown to sf. They had the same appealing combination of sweatiness and eagerness that I see in other young people on the transam.
Just west of chanute I saw an abandoned RV trailer factory--that event must've hit this town hard.
The weather has been sunny but not stifling hot and I've had a constant, mild headwind.
Seven miles outside eureka I came upon a woman walking her bike--her chain had broken. (Broken chains are the main mechanical problem touring riders face.) I have a chain tool but we couldn't repair her chain. We flagged a passing p/u truck and off they went to a bike shop somewhere in these parts.
Ten miles further I had my first flat (in 2100 miles). I leaned against a shaded bridge rail and fixed the flat and also put my spare tire on the rear because the used tire was wearing.
Met two young men, recent high school grads from massachusetts, riding from yorktown to sf. They had the same appealing combination of sweatiness and eagerness that I see in other young people on the transam.
Just west of chanute I saw an abandoned RV trailer factory--that event must've hit this town hard.
The weather has been sunny but not stifling hot and I've had a constant, mild headwind.
(image: downtown Chanute from tripadvisor.com)
Hi Dee. I went to a Jr. College in KS for 1 1/2 years, until they asked me to leave. We hunted to cottentails and pheasants near abandoned homesteads to supplement our meager rations at the school cafeteria! Frog legs too!
ReplyDeleteJose' is in Portland now. He tried to come west following the road you are on. He said he saw a lot of bikers but not you. He was looking for you. But I am sure you got to stop, get off the road and pee from time to time. LOL.
Miss you around here...
May that hawk dive bombing you be the only threat that ever draws close to you on this trip.
Wes