Day 34 - Beloit, KS

The thermometer and the odometer cracked into the 90s today. We had a filing breakfast in the morning at the Chef in Manhattan with Rod and Jeff. Ryan went to the Pathfinder, a local bike shop to have some work done and I hit the road knowing it would be a tough day with a high temperature forecast and threats of thunderstorms.

Then plains of Kansas are beautiful. Miles of farmland stretch in every direction. Green corn stalks shoot up from the ground in neat rows for hundreds of acres at time. Seas of golden wheat undulate in the wind like waves lapping ashore. The road unfolds for miles, a necklace strung over the distant hills The sky is vast. You can turn all the way around and see unobstructed horizon. You can see wholly differfernt weather systems in a glance. It is really inspiring.

I passed a sign saying Beloit 55 miles, the two other mile markers were for highway intesections. I had three full bottles of water on my bike so I kept pushin on thinking there would be some small stop along the way. There was nothing. As I found out you can travel long distance in Western Kansas without a pitstop.


I had been riding for two hours during the hottest part of the day and I needed a break. The road unfolded mile after mile with nothing but farmland. I spotted a small patch of mowed grass around a signpost. I leaned my bike against against the post and covered it with my rainfly making a primative shade structure to sit behind. It did the trick for 20 minutes as I ate some bananas and peanuts and patiently waited for my body to cool down. On coming traffic slowed and sped off realizing I was only taking a break.

I pushed on. The wind and the heat died down at dusk and I was able to bring my speed up to 23 miles eager to get to town to eat and pitch my tent in the last moments of daylight. I found a restaurant in town and gulped down a large pasta entre. Ryan showed up moments later. I was about to head to the city park to set up camp when he told me he had got a room at the super 8 two miles up the road. We were lucky we stayed in doors. Flash floods covered the area with extreme rains. Cars pulled up to the booked hotel one after another looking for a place to stop for the night.

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