TransAm Day #26 Nickerson, KS - Rush Center, KS
TransAm Day #26
June 20, 2018
Nickerson, KS - Rush Center, KS
93 Miles
Ride Time 8:29 Hours
Tour Total Miles 1961
I slept like a baby last night in my comfy bed under the thatched canopy in the giraffe room at the Hendrick Exotic Animal Farm B&B. The weather forecast called for severe thunderstorms, and it did indeed kaboom and shower during the night. Steve and I were unsure as to how to proceed. The forecast called for continued storms throughout the morning. We both set our alarms for 3:30am. When I awoke, I stuck my head out the door and it seemed do-able. Steve decided to get a few more hours of sleep.
When I left, it was pitch black and drizzling. I was gambling. I prefer rain and darkness to hot sun and wind. The first part of the ride was a fifty-eight mile stretch with no services. If a severe storm came along it could be life threatening. My sense was that it would be fine, but I’m not from this part of the country.
I set off in a rain jacket, my usual outfit, and shoe covers. It was a tricky balance, because I was a little chilly. If I were to have added layers, I’d probably have gotten too hot. It was cloudy and there weren’t any stars. There was no way for me to really gauge the weather. Steve‘s decision to sleep for a few more hours might have been wise. Neither of us like to ride in the heat or the afternoon wind. A pitch black, rainy, fifty eight mile stretch with no food or water possibilities wasn’t exactly promising.
I grabbed a banana and an orange juice from the twenty-four hour gas station on the edge of town. It would be the last store for at least six hours. I pedaled down a small county road. There were ridiculous winds blowing from every direction except for the one I needed.
Riding my bike to the store last night in Nickerson with a stripped bike weighing nothing was intense in the ridiculous Kansas wind. It was hard for me to pedal anywhere. This is why I think it’s a good idea to ride early in the morning before it gets crazy.
Once the dawn began to break I was able to get a better picture of the weather up above. It kept drizzling, but it was really quite nice- just a little chilly. The clouds seemed fine, but I could definitely see a storm system to the south. Fingers crossed my gamble would pay off. Keep in mind that should a severe storm hit there was really nowhere for me to hide. I was surrounded by prairie. There weren’t any trees or structures. If something came through, I would have to lay down in a ditch and pull out my tent and use it as a tarp.
A little later I could hear birds chirping which I took as a good sign. Birds don’t make calls when a storm is imminent. I could definitely see a storm system in the south and southwest but it didn’t appear to be to the west. I needed to get to the other end of the stretch before anything hit. I was only a quarter of the way through.
When it got light I realized that I’d forgotten to wake up my odometer, which hadn’t recorded the first eighteen miles of the ride. I was robbed because of my stupidity. Actually, CatEye I fault your engineering. I have enough on my mind at 4am when I’m setting off. Your device should wake itself when I begin to roll. I lost eighteen miles. Bloody hell!
There were more bobwhites in the prairie today. I’ve decided that the real birdcall is ‘Rob ride’. I rode through the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. There were miles and miles of prairie.
At twenty six miles into the ride, I had my first flat tire of the tour. I could feel the saggy front tire instantly. I pulled over stripped off my panniers, water bottles. I removed my front tire and got to work. It wasn’t so bad working right there on the white line. There was no rain. There was no blistering sun. There was very little traffic. The bugs weren’t too bad. While inspecting the tire I found a little bump, and I wasn’t sure if it was a defect or if something had wiggled its way through the tread. I picked at it without making matters worse. I patched the tube, put everything back together, and continued on, fingers crossed. A motorist stopped and asked me if I needed help. I thanked her and said that everything was under control. I was completely exposed in the middle of the prairie. If there had have been a storm it would have been bad.
I rode ahead about a hundred feet and noticed my speedometer wasn’t working and my front tire was going flat again. Damn! I hate when this happens. Second time around I found the culprit piece of glass. I reassembled my wheel front-ways so the speedometer sensor worked. The second time around was a charm, fingers crossed. Onward!
It turned into an overcast morning, cool and cloudy. It was perfect for cycling. The Cat Stevens song ‘Miles from Nowhere’ began playing in my head. It was time to dig out my iPod. By a quarter after eight the sun had finally produced a shadow. It was still chilly and windy. I left my rain jacket and shoe covers on. My shadow went in and out as dark clouds appeared.
One can definitely smell oil out here where they’re pumping. I’ve noticed piles of sand and gravel to contain leaks. The fields are all probably toxic.
The Adventure Cyclist support van passed me sixteen miles out of Larned. Steve had seen all their names last night in the cafe registry in Nickerson. He thought that they had gone to breakfast there but it was dinner. I’m ahead of them, and I’ll probably never see them.
There were considerable headwinds coming into Larned. I had to battle to make ten miles an hour. My New York photography unit is scoping out Jackson Hole, Wyoming for me. It’s looking like a real possibility.
The sun finally came out for real at 10am. I had been cycling for six hours. It was still chilly and I kept my rain jacket on. At 11am I finally arrived at Larned. There were enormous grain elevators alongside the railroad tracks. I went to Mables Cafe for a bacon double cheeseburger. I had no WiFi in the restaurant nor cell service in the town. I stopped at the library for WiFi to text Steve.
Route 156 out of town had heavy traffic and rumble strips right in the middle of the shoulder, which forced me to ride left of the white line. Some flunky at Kansas DOT really screwed up. Along the way, I ran into my Instagram friend Jeff whom I’d been following since before my trip began. He’s doing the TransAm eastbound and started in Astoria several weeks before I began in Yorktown. He gave me a bottle of bear spray and lots of advice about the route out west. He doused my hopes about a tailwind on northbound route 183. He said that once I got to Rush Center, route 92 would take me to Colorado. He promised a new road surface and cell phone service. It was great to finally meet him, after having followed his journey for weeks.
The ridiculous Kansas wind has been out of the south for days, and I thought I’d be able to fly into Rush City. The damn wind shifted and was in my face. Kansas wind, I’ve got news for you. I’ve done my research, and I’ve come prepared. On my iPod I’ve got an hour of dance music, followed by another hour of Prince, followed by the Beasty Boys. This is just the beginning. You won’t conquer me.
Right outside of Rush Center I met east-bounder Michael from the upper east side of Manhattan. He promised me a liquor store in town, and not much else. The city park, where I was planning to stay, was so small, I had a hard time finding it. It consisted of a picnic table and a dilapidated swing set. There was a water spigot, but no outhouse. I went to the liquor store and grabbed a six-pack and a bag of ice. I sat at the picnic table, drinking beer and writing post cards.
Steve finally caught up, and we agreed that this was the most dismal city park thus far. We headed over to Greg's Sports Pub & Grub for dinner. I'm now on highway 96, which will take me straight into Colorado.
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