Date: 2007-05-05
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Miles today: 0.0

5-2-07Pittsburg, Ks78,478 feet of total elevation gain so far...that's climbing hills on the bike. :-))54 miles today1538 miles totalWe woke up to rain. :-((The forecast is for rain for a few days and there are flood watches out.We walked next door to the convenient store and I got a couple donuts, a breakfast sandwich and a large coffee.When we got back to the room, it started raining harder.It's hard to go from a nice dry room and a clean bike out into a heavy rain, so we figured we would wait for a little while.That worked because by 8am, it was only raining lightly, so we headed out.This is the first time I've used my tail light on the bike. The cars and trucks even gave us more room as they passed us in the rain today.It actually felt pretty good to ride in the rain after riding in all the heat for the last few days. :-))We got to a RR track and it was at an angle to the road, so we had to come in at it at a big angle. It caught Mrs Gorp's rear tire and her bike went down, but luckily she was fast enough to unclip her shoes somehow and she landed on her feet.The terrain has really flattened out. It's not completely flat, but it sure is nice to ride and maintain a good speed on the bikes.It seems the rain brought out all the worms. There were hundreds of them on the road this morning. I think I missed running over all of them, but the cars were doing a job on them.We got to Golden City and went into Cooky's Cafe. Mrs Gorp's eyes got big when she saw all the pies just coming out of the oven. :-)) They bake about 50 pies a day in this small cafe.She ordered pecan pie and coffee for her second breakfast and I had an egg sandwich and more coffee.I was signing the biker register there and using some smiley faces when the waitress came and took the check away.When we got ready to leave, she said Miss Helen picked up our tab. That was true trail magic!! Thank you Miss Hellen!! I went out and got my camera and got a picture of Miss Helen and Linda. That was a wonderful way to start a great day. :-))We headed on down the road and I got ahead of Mrs Gorp. I was just rolling along and enjoying the flat ride and Mrs Gorp was riding at a slower pace to give her knee a chance to heal.I waited on her when I came to a ranch that had a big herd of buffalo and another herd of elk. I got a few pictures, then we headed on and before long we came to the Kansas State line.We made it to another state!! :-))We had to stop and get some pictures. Mrs Gorp took mine first. It was very muddy by the sign, so I was careful not to step in it, but I guess Mrs Gorp didn't see it and when she came out, she had clay stuck all over her one shoe.We rode on after she got cleaned up and we headed on into Pittsburg, Ks.We stopped and ate at an Arby's, then went and got a room.Mrs Gorp was so disappointed because she couldn't find a laundromat. She rode all the way through Missouri without a laundromat and now she's into Kansas and still can't find a laudromat. She really wants a laundromat...and soon!! :-))I'm fine with washing my clothes in the shower with me. It just makes life so much more simple.We cleaned our bikes and I oiled the chains and all the moving parts on the bikes, then I started getting hungry, so I rode up to a Wal-Mart and got a rotisseri chicken, some potato salad and a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream for desert.Another great day on the Trans Am Bike Trail. :-))5-3-07Chanute, Ks58 miles today1,596 miles so farToday started out with rain. I looked outside and it was raining, so we went and had a continental breakfast and waited for it to stop...or at least slow down some.It did lighten up and we took off riding west at 7:30am.The roads weren't marked real well and we missed our first turn, but that didn't matter much because we just turned at the next road. The roads all seem to go either north and south, or east and west, so it's pretty easy to find the road you're looking for.We did hook up with the right road about 6 miles into the ride and we came to Girard, Ks in about 12 miles.I spotted a cafe for our second breakfast and we turned in. The food and coffee was OK, but the people in there seemed to have zero personality. That was strange because we've met so many friendly people along the way so far.Mrs Gorp bought breakfast and she tipped them $1.00 for their stunning personality. :-)) That still worked out to more than a 15% tip because we didn't order much.It was raining lightly on and off this morning. We spotted some turkeys feeding in a field. I can't believe they don't have enough sense to get in out of the rain. Stupid turkeys. :-))The morning ride was pretty much uneventfull. We were making good time because we finally had a tail wind...that's right, we had a tail wind!!We stopped at Walnut, a small town with a population of 231 and went into the convenience store. They had personality in there...nice, friendly people. We got our snacks and sat down and watched it start raining harder and harder.I was sure glad I put my purple shower cap over the saddle on my bike. :-))We ended up waiting for about 90 minutes before the rain started letting up. It was still raining when we left, but it was a warm rain. Once I got moving again, I warmed up nicely, but the rain started coming down hard and it lasted for the next 30 miles.That would have been OK, but a bridge was out on our back road and we had to move out onto a fairly busy highway with some truck traffic.I don't normally let that bother me too much, but with the rain, I really kept an eye on all the traffic.Mrs Gorp's leg had been good for the first 45 miles. We were thinking she was getting better, but then when I passed her, I could see she was feeling that sore muscle again.I feel sorry for the farmers in this area because so many of the fields are flooding. There's a lot of them that already have corn coming up...maybe 3 inches tall or so. Hopefully the rain will stop and give those fields time to dry out.There were no services for that 30 miles, so we just kept moving until we got to Chanute, Ks.We spotted the Chamber of Commerce and went in and talked to them. They recommended the hotel right next door...the Historic Tioga Suites Hotel.I don't usually like older hotels, but this one has been completely updated and is very nice. We're on the 5th floor.We went next door to a bar and grill and had a couple of steak dinners. The beef in Kansas does taste good. :-))I went into the basement of the hotel and checked to see what Chief has been up to and I see he has posted about 50 pictures and has a few unique captions he's added. I told him I wouldn't edit. I think he's doing a great job so far. Ha!!I oiled the chains on the bikes, but I didn't do the usual thorough cleaning because I didn't want to take the bikes back outside to clean them. I'll do that tomorrow night.Mrs Gorp is very happy. They have a laundry facility here and she washed everything.Another great day of the Trans Am Bike Trail. :-))5-4-07Eureka, Ks64 miles today1660 miles totalWe were a little slow getting everything ready to go this morning.When we did get the bikes loaded and walked out the door, we saw other bicyclists right away. They were going to the same restaurant we were headed for.We were on the fifth floor of the hotel and can only take one bike down the elevator at a time.That's one of the things that has really surprised me...we are always allowed to take our bikes inside all the motels, even when we have to walk them through the lobby.That really gives extra piece of mind, not having to worry about the bikes chained up somewhere.We got to the The Grain Bin Restaurant in downtown Chanute, Ks.There was a group of about 8 bike riders already there, so we grabbed a table next to them to find out what they were up to.Turns out they get together each May and do about an 80 mile ride in this area.One lady and her husband stopped by our table to talk to us on their way out. The lady really impressed me. She qualified for the Boston Marathon and ran it when she was 70 years old. I love people like that. :-))We left town heading west on a back road. That was nice after coming into town yesterday in the rain on a busy road.We have really been enjoying our rides the last two days because we've had tailwinds!! :-))Today's wind was more of a crosswind, but I'll take that after all the headwinds we pedaled through so far.I saw a couple turkeys out in the fields again.There have been almost no dogs here in Kansas...and most of the ones that are here, don't even chase us. My observation concludes that the Kansas dogs are much smarter than the Missouri dogs or the Kentucky dogs. :-))We got to a convenience store about 10 miles into the ride and just rode right on by.We rode through Coryville which is supposed to have a population of 71. They were all hiding because we didn't see a soul as we passed through.We got to an area where the cows look smaller. It's not that the cows are smaller, it's just that the land is so open that we can see them way off in the distance.The ones that are close to the fence almost always come running up towards us, then stampede off, kicking up lots of dirt.We rode through Toronto and that city has seen it's better days. Almost everything in town was closed except for the PO.We had planned on eating there. I asked a lady coming out of the PO where we might find a restaurant and she said about another two miles by a crossroad.We headed up there and found Lizard Lips Cafe. :-))When we went inside, they had a sign up saying that today's special was fried chicken!! :-)) Guess what I ordered. Ha!! Yep, and so did Mrs Gorp. It was very good, pan fried and cost $3.99 for two big pieces and potato salad and a muffin.A few people come in and because the place was full, I motioned for them to sit at our table since there was plenty of room.Turns out the lady's daughter did a cross country bike ride 2 years ago.They seemed to know the area really well and was telling us about the Flinthills, a vast prairie that used to support buffalo and now grows some of the best beef on bluestem grass...a native grass.I have to agree that the cows look mighty healthy in this area.We rode on and got to Eureka, our planned stop for the day. It's the capital of horse racing in Kansas and Eureka Downs is right behind our motel.Remember me saying that neither of us has had a flat...well, just as I turned into the motel parking lot, I noticed my rear tire was more flat than usual. It's always a little flat because the bike is so heavy in the rear. :-))I have to say that if I had to get a flat, it couldn't have happened at a better time.Mrs Gorp got some rags from the motel and I took my rear wheel off and started looking for the reason for the flat.When I filled up the tube, I found the flat was caused by abrasion and not a puncture, so I threw that tube away and put a brand new tube on.I took the rest of the afternoon and cleaned my bike, oiled everything, including the chain since we rode through the rain yesterday. I also oiled Mrs Gorp's chain and moving parts on her bike.The bikes have been a real pleasure. I think we both made good choices on the bikes and our panniers. We have Ortlieb panniers and everything in them was dry after all that rain we rode through. I don't even have my down sleeping bag in a waterproof stuff sack...it's just stuffed in the pannier and was completely dry when I pulled it out.We went down to Cindy's Copper Kettle Resaurant and had a couple ribeyes.I noticed that there was a sign on the door that they are open on the weekends at 6:30am for a breakfast buffet. Guess where I'll be tomorrow morning at 6:30am. :-))On the way back to the room, I saw a barber shop and got my hair cut. Mrs Gorp said it was good because now I didn't look like Bozo anymore. I look like Homer now. That hurts. :-((OK, I'm over it now. :-))Another great day on the Trans Am Bike Trail. :-))