I stepped into the Landis's kitchen and saw rain coming down from the window. I felt like I could have slept another 3 hours. The sight of the rain immedieatly switched me into a mode of not wanting to ride today, something I couldn't seem to unswitch despite getting back on the bike for another 85 miles.
We said thanks and goodbye to Fred and Velma just as the rain tappered and hit the road for Colby, another town 80 some odd miles due west on route 24.
The clouds were beautiful after the rains passed, scaterring into dune formations just above the horizon. Silverish blue sky struck through the gray cover and shafts of light emmenated from an obstructed sun.
We stopped after 17 miles in Hill City for breakfast. We sat in a cafe ordering large plates of food and talking with neighboring tables. Folks in Kansas are as nice as they come. Everyone waves to you on the road, perhaps excited to see another sign of life.
Ryan pulled out his bag of Mila, a "miracle" seed suppossedly containing vast nutrional benefit and fixed our glasses of OJ with two scoops. An elderly woman passes and asked what it was in the bag. "You should try some!" he exclaimed and sprinkled some on her cereal.
We finished our breakfast and got the check. "It's not marijuana, is it?" the woman enquirer in a whisper than laughed in a loud cackle.
My legs were sore today and I plodded along to our next rest stop 30 miles off. I sunk into a booth at a quickstop eating pb&j sandwiches. Everytime I closed my eyes I nearly drifted into sleep. I downed a coke an a muscle milk hoping it would wake me up.
I got back on the road to find a long, low hanging span of dark clouds in the distance. They began to envelop the sky until i was directly under them. Large drops of rain began to fall. I put on my shoe covers and rain jacket. The wind kicked up and thunder cracked in the sky. Rain ripped down in torrents over my head and back as I held tightly to the handle bars. I kept a low even pace, listening to the ruckus of rainfall, momentaily Interrupted by trucks whizing past, leaving long trail of backspray in their wake.
In a half hour the rain subsided and I pulled over at a crossroads for a break. I took off my shoes and rung out my socks and stood barefoot on the road in the sunshine eating some more pb&j sandwiches and enjoying the feeling of gravel under my toes.
There was 20 miles left of my ride and I seemed to be moving fairly well for 5 miles despite a strong crosswind. I turned a bend and was greeted with another long stretch of dark clouds ahead. They were a bit more ominous with gray streaks reaching down to the horizon. I looked for any type of rotation bit saw none. Just as I rode underneath them I felt a cold blast of air. The temperature dropped 10 degrees and the wind kicked up to 20 mph. I battled my way along the road spinning the cranks with great effort, but only moving at 10 mph an hour. Far in the distance was a small strip of clear sky, the other side of the weather system. It grew taller as I moved down the road. What might have took 40 minutes stretched out to an hour and a half and my knees began to feel the slight pain of inflamation. The strip of clear sky was finally under me and I had reached town without seeing another drop of rain, spent and exhilarated.
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Location:Zelfer Ave,Colby,United States
hellz yeah!
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