Day 23

                                                                   Day 23
                                                      Tuscola, IL to Leabnon, IN
                               122 miles, Avg Speed 15.4 MPH, Time in saddle 7 hr 51 minutes

     We had a strong NE wind today and since our general direction is NE, this was not good.  In fact, most of our general direction for the remainder of the trip will be NE.  I yearn for the days of the tailwinds.  Will they ever return or are they gone forever?  It was essentially a push the entire day with no let up.  Even if you go up a hill, you may work hard to get to the top, but there is some recovery as you descend.  Today = no recovery.  It wasn't painful, but it was hard work the whole way.
     We got a relatively late start, 7:30, this morning.  The good news for the day was that it was going to be sunny and dry, although temps would be in the low 50's.  However, with a strong wind, there was clearly a windchill factor going on and I'm glad that I dressed as warmly as I did.  Immediately we had a long section of just heading North, straight into 15-20 MPH winds.  This was our wakeup call.  After 14 miles, we turned right (east) expecting that our speeds would increase.  They did, but only slightly.  The flags told the story.  What was supposed to be just a northern wind today was really a Northeasterly wind.  Thus there would be no escape.  Somewhere around mile 30, I noticed that I seemed to be feeling the bumps on the road a little too well.  On stopping, my suspicions were confirmed.  My rear tire was soft and needed to be changed.  With the help of Mike, who drove up at just that moment, the tire got changed and I was off again.  This was flat number 11, a high number, but still shy of the leader with 13.  The first SAG was at 44 miles and I got there at 11AM.  I knew at this rate, I might not get done until 7PM, given the fact that we're going to lose an hour going into Indiana.  After that SAG it seemed to take forever to get to our lunch spot at mile 84.  I ate quickly and caught up to Lee, Anthony, Simon, and UK Steve.  We had a paceline going for a short bit, but then Lee and Anthony fell back and soon we were joined by Manny and Buckeye Bob.  Soon, the five of us were working together.  It was then that I made my big mistake of the day.  The previous night at RAP we had a free for all discussion on safety issues.  One of the topics was pacelines.  I took it upon myself to "educate" the group on what I felt was proper paceline etiquette.  This included suggestions on turning your crank at all times, not standing up without proper notification, holding a straight line, not overlapping wheels, and foremost.....keep the speed steady and DO NOT SURGE WHEN YOU GET TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE!   So with all that in mind, as soon as it was my turn at the head of the line, I immediately cranked up the pace by 2-3 MPH and blew apart the paceline.  Manny and Bob stayed with me, while Simon and Steve dropped back.  Now it was just three of us.  We kept up this unpleasant pace, for about 10 miles, until Manny and Bob dropped off to go look for some beer to bring back to the hotel, which was still 20 miles away.  Why they needed to do that now was bewildering, but there was no time to discuss it, as they were clearly on a mission and fading specks in my rear view mirror.  Now I was by myself.  I longed for the good old days when I didn't have to bare all of this wind by myself.  Just then, Simon and Steve caught up to me, both chiding me for my foolish paceline behavior.  After a few apologies and an offer to spend the night in the cooler, all was OK and we worked diligently together for the last 20 miles.  Once there, we stopped at McDonalds for shakes and had the worldly discussion of who makes the best shakes.   Our conclusion?  Well, this is how it shakes out from top to bottom:  1) Denny's 2) McDonalds 3) Sonic 4) Steak and Shake 5) Burger King.  
     For dinner, Craig, (the strongest cyclist in the group), Lassa, Simon, UK Steve, and myself went out to a local sports bar where we took in the local flavor including a few non-local libations.  We also got to witness Lassa downing a second hamburger.  The big man needs his grub. 
     Tomorrow, some of us will be getting up early for a visit here in Lebanon to the Roark Bicycle Shop where they build custom Titanium bikes.   Although I'm clearly not interested in purchasing another bike right now.....I already own the Rolls Royce of bikes, Calfee......factory tours have always been a favorite pastime for me and the Rourk factory can not be passed up.

-Grinner

Meadow of wild Yarrow in Illinois

Entering Indiana

Exiting Illinois ( We never saw a welcome sign after our Ferry ride so this will have to do)

Lassa with burger number 2

Day 22

                                                                                  Day 22
                                                                     Springfield, IL to Tuscola, IL
                                                                       78 miles, AVG 15.6 MPH

     Today was one of those days for which no one in their right mind would be out on a bike.  I've woken up on many a weekend morning, looked outside at weather like we had today, and said, "Time to get back into bed".   However, that's not how it works here on America By Bike.  We need to stick to a schedule, regardless of the weather.  It's not a coast to coast trip in 33 days, weather permitting.  It's 33 days.....period!
     Thus, we set out this morning amidst 15-20 MPH wind, 50 degree temperatures, and rain.  The rain fortunately was not a downpour....just merely a drizzle.  However, with the winds and lower temps, we needed to make sure we were dressed warmly enough.  For me, this consisted of full cycling tights, base layer, long sleeve jersey, rain jacket and long fingered gloves.  In addition, I put my pseudo water repellent rain booties over my cycling shoes.  It's debatable if they did anything.  My shoes still got wet. What's not debatable, is that they are a pain in the butt to get on.  They don't have a lot going for them. 
     Our one SAG stop of the day was at 41 miles where the gas station we stopped at was kind enough to let us huddle inside and eat our sandwiches.  After that, it was back to the same stuff, peddling past quiet farmhouses amidst grey wet windy skies, on quiet roads, the only sounds being the rain hitting the rain jacket and the tires humming along the wet pavement.  It was a bleak day.  It reminded me of Cormac Mccarthy's "The Road" minus all the soot.  The one excitement for the day, other than Lee taking a minor tumble from one of his tires abutting an uneven portion of the road, was being chased by one fast and seemingly agitated dog.  You would be amazed at how fast, even under these adverse conditions, I was able to accelerate.  Flight or fight...I choose flight every time, especially when dogs are involved.  There were other dog encounters during the day, but all were well behaved, and received my positive reinforcement of "Good Doggie" after I was well past them.  (Later at our RAP session, we talked about dogs and how best to deal with them.)
      The saving grace of the day is that it was short, our shortest of the trip.  Over dinner at Denny's, we all agreed that had this been a 120 mile day, this would have ranked as one of the worst.  As it was, although it was our shortest, it was not our easiest.  Tomorrow, we cross into a new state, Indiana, and into a new time zone, Eastern.  Although we're not looking forward to the 120 miles of this, we are looking forward to hopefully staying dryer. 

-Grinner

Bleak day

Days 20 and 21

                                                                              Day 20
                                                                   Quincy, IL to Springfield, IL
                                                                    110 miles, Avg. 18.0

                                                                              Day 21
                                                                         Springfield, IL
                                                                                Rest

     We mixed things up a bit on Day 20 by not eating breakfast at the Hotel, but down the road 14 miles at Mike's Place in Liberty, IL.  It's nice to do something out of the routine to break it up a bit.  The temps were in the low 60's and although there had been the threat of rain, it never materialized throughout the day.  Breakfast was great, and as I've been accustomed to do now, hit the road with a full stomach.  We all felt good for a number of reasons today.  First, the temps were good.  Second, the ride would be flatter than the previous few days, and third, we were heading into a rest day, so no matter how bad it was, there was R&R waiting for us in Springfield.  The route really was flat and after awhile I joined in with a paceline.  A group of us did this, averaging about 20 MPH until the second SAG stop at 66 miles.  After this, it broke down a bit.  Buckeye Bob, the 58 yr. old with a 30 year old Cannondale that weighs ten pounds more than any other bike, refused to keep the pace at 20 when it was his turn to pull.  Instead, he would push it to 23 and after a few rounds of this, I had had enough, and fell back to ride solo and save my legs and my brain.  The others kept going, but I caught up to them at the next water stop and we traveled together for the last 10 miles.  In town, some of us stopped at the R & M bike shop to browse.  We met up with Clay there.  Clay is the second unfortunate member of our troop who discovered a crack in their carbon seat stay on their new Trek Madonne, in Clay's case, 8 months old.  (Shelly was the other).  It was discovered late the previous day and he was forced to sit idle in the van with his bike on the roof as it was unsafe to ride.  You would think that Trek would replace this free of charge, but the best they would do is a new bike at 20% below retail.  They insisted that it was in a crash, and even though it was, (a very minor spill early in the ride), you would think that there must be something terribly wrong with the way they are building bikes if they are that delicate.  I would have been irate, but Clay, being the Southern Gentleman from Virginia that he is, took it in stride, and shelled out the dough for a new bike.  My advice.......if it says Trek on it, don't buy it. 
     The evening was very pleasant.  After our RAP session, where the matter of our disappearing SAG stops (*) was brought to the attention of management, the "Store" was opened up, where we could purchase America By Bike shirts, socks, bandanas, and shorts (I bought some socks). I then went to the mechanical session where I had Mike, the ride leader, put a new chain on my bike.  I had gone 2100 miles, and it was time. We hold a mechanical session every evening where you can bring your bike down to be looked at for any mechanical issues.   (For the bike techies out there, I have SRAM red components but chose a Shimano Ultegra chain for this on Mike's advice as he said it will be a lot quieter.  He also has SRAM but uses a Shimano chain for this very reason.)  Most of us met again at the hotel "Happy Hour" where we stuffed ourselves with free food and drinks and laughed for a few hours.  I was too full to eat a meal after that and was quite content to go to my room and continuing the mellowing out process. 
     *As for the SAG stop issue, some of us have noted that at the beginning of this trip, we would frequently have 3 SAG stops, and now 2 seemed to be the norm.  When we ride out of Springfield tomorrow, we will have only one scheduled SAG stop.  To me it's not a big issue because if I need food I can carry it in my bike jersey.  The issue is water, and it's nice to know that there will be water at a certain mileage mark.  As it is, you can always flag over one of our vans if you need some and if you were desperate and a store weren't close by, you could go up to someone's house and ask for some, which some riders have done.  Some in the group have been miffed about that considering the overall cost of this trip.  Anyway, the bottom line is that since there are only two vans, there is just so much they can do in terms of support while also trying to keep track of everyone on the road and providing help where it's needed.  I'm content to let others vent about this.  As far as I can tell, soon we'll be at the Atlantic Ocean where there will be plenty of water. 
     Today, was a day of rest.  I managed to sleep until 7AM!  Then it was on to a leisurely breakfast with multiple cups of coffee.  After that, Lee, who had rented a car, took me and some others to two bike shops and then to the Lincoln Museum, which was amazing.  It was designed by a team of Disney Imagineers.  I didn't know if I was in Springfield or in Orlando at the "Honey I Shrunk the Kids Exhibit".  It truly appealed to kid in all of us.   Who knew that the Emancipation Proclamation could be so much fun?
    Soon it will be time for the hotel "Happy Hour" and I will start fortifying myself for tomorrows ride.  Also, for those that are interested, in addition to the usual pictures, I've included pictures of how I've organized my clothes in their separate labeled plastic bags (which I'm quite proud of) and also the "Cue Sheet" with all the route directions for the day.  Tomorrow, we leave this Shangri-La, for Tuscola, IL.  I'm hoping not to dehydrate. 

-Grinner

Typical flat landscape of Illinois. What we saw all day.

Lee, Abe, and Anthony (from left to right)

State Capital

The gang takes over Mike's Place for Breakfast

Unfolded Cue Sheet

Folded cue sheet attached to handlebars by map clip (lent to me by my friend Rowan)

How I've organized all my stuff  (By the way, the Chamois butter is not Assos, but is the best I could find on the road, as the Assos is running low).  Must have chamois creme at all times!

All of that stuff then goes into three separate bags that then go into my duffel

Day 19

                                                                             Day 19

                                                            Kirksville, MO to Quincy IL

                                                               97 miles,  Avg 17.1 MPH

     The memories of the previous day were still fresh, as we left the Day's Inn in Kirksville at 7AM.   Although this was to be a shorter ride than yesterday, we were promised the same hills that we've gotten to know the previous few days, at least until we crossed into Illinois.  On that very first hill today, I got a message from my legs that they indeed also remembered the climbing of the last few days quite well.  If they could talk, they would have said, "Mark, let's call a cab."   Unfortunately, the only way to get to Illinois and out of Missouri was over those hills.  The saving grace of the day was that the sky was overcast, the temps early on were in the high 60's, and the humidity was tolerable.   After a few of the rollers, I started to feel pretty good and as long as it didn't rain, I felt that everything was going to be a good day.  The farmland was waking up as we rode past overall-clad farmers in our loud jerseys, spandex shorts, and carbon bikes.  What a sight we must have been.   At the first SAG stop in Baring, Manny went into the cafe across the street and apparently upon his entry, the place fell silent and all the faces turned and stared at him.   To them, Manny, with his blue and white biking outfit, biking helmet, blue sunglasses, and tatooed arms, must have looked like he just arrived from another planet.  The joke we had is that he should have asked, "Do any of you gents have any chamois creme?  I have the worst chafing problem".   Anyway, he left there unharmed.  I took a picture there of the bank across the street there that had seen better days. 

     After Barring, I rode the next 45 miles at the front of the pack.  My energy level was high and I felt great.   Buckeye Bob and San Diego Chris kept pace.  After our last climb in Missouri, you could see off in the distance the Mississippi.  It was exciting as it was not only an important landmark on our coast to coast journey but also was to be the site of our lunch.  Because of the recent flooding there had been concern all along over whether the water was going to be too high for the ferry to run, but this was not a problem today.  After lunch, we got onto the ferry and ten minutes later we were across and into Illinois.

     Illinois was remarkably flat.  There were about 6 of us doing a paceline into the wind, each of us pulling for one mile.   This worked great because by time your turn came up, you felt like you had pretty well recovered.  The mile pull took some effort, especially with trying to maintain an 18 MPH pace, but it was a lot easier than dealing  with the wind on your own.  As we approached Quincy, our end point for the day, it broke up as Craig peeled away to go to a local tavern on the river, as Craig is want to do. 

     Quincy seemed like the most civilized city we had visited since Albuquerque.  After all those miles and miles of desert and farmland, to come upon a city with children playing in schoolyards, people going about their business in a bustling downtown, and a street reminiscent of Summit Avenue in St. Paul complete with tall hardwood trees and Victorian mansions....was a really nice sight.  Although I loved everything we had seen up to now, this was a world with more familiarity to me. 

     Steak and Shake was also familiar to me, as was their 2-4 "Happy Hour" which we arrived at with plenty of time to spare.  We stopped there before the hotel as we were in dire need of some recovery that in truth only a chocolate shake can provide but we were also hoping to escape the chore of unloading the luggage van which fell upon those that arrive first, in this case, if our calculations were correct, would be the Kiwis.  The shakes were superb and gave us all  instant energy boosts that we immediately put to good use by unloading the van that was waiting patiently there for us at the hotel entrance.   The Kiwis had taken there own pre-hotel trip to a bike store and arrived just as we had unloaded the last bag.   We were outsmarted.  All was good though, as soon I had showered, spent time in the hottub, read the Wall Street Journal, and watched an episode of "Jail" on Spike TV.  Life is good.  Tonight I ate healthy Pannera Bread dinner.  Oh it's nice to be back in a Blue state and back in civiliziation. 

-Grinner

Baring Bank-- Too many withdrawls

Canton Ferry

The mighty Mississippi

Waiting to load the ferry

Quincy Illinois- the eighth most livable town in the US

One way to avoid flood damage on the Mississippi

Biking across the Mississippi

Morning in Missouri

Downtown Quincy

Day 18

                                                                            Day 18
                                                              Cameron, MO to Kirksville, MO
                                                               122 miles, avg speed 15.9 MPH

     As you may recall, yesterday I was crowing about how great I felt....that as the day went on I felt like I was getting even more stronger....that I was a superhuman force that could not be contained.  Well what a difference a day makes.  At some point in the night, those feelings of invincibility deserted me, and this AM I awoke with heavy legs, stiff, and cranky.  I knew this was going to be a long day.
     The first order of business was to take an informal poll as to whether the other riders were going to bring rain jackets.  Some said yes, some said no.  I asked Mike, the ride leader, and and he looked at me like I was crazy.  "Mark, it's going to rain, of course you should bring a rain jacket."  With that settled, I returned to my room where I managed with effort to stuff my compressible rain coat into the middle rear jersey pocket and then started the ride.  At mile 5 it started to rain and out came the rain jacket.  By mile 12 the SAG wagon was waiting for us and directed us to take the next exit where we were to take shelter at the gas station as strong thunderstorms were moving into the area.  (What did people do in the days before they could bring up radar on their iPhone?)   While there, someone took our picture and interviewed us for the local paper. We waited about 30 minutes and then got the OK to go.  It continued to rain for the next 30 minutes and then tapered and finally let up.  This was followed by the heat and the humidity.  As I was still wearing my raincoat it was starting to do have its own greenhouse effect on me.  I was boiling, but didn't want to stop to struggle with getting this thing into my jersey pocket again so I opened it up and kept it on until the SAG stop at mile 39.  I ditched the jacket and my pseudo water resistant cycling booties in the van and continued on.  After that we started hitting the hills.  Thus we completed the hat trick of bike riding misery....heat, humidity, and hills.  Overall, it was about 6800 elevation gain according to the Garmins that other riders had on their bikes.  The landscape was as if it was flat at one time and then someone took one end of it and rapidly shook it up and down like a tablecloth.  It was constant hills.  Some short, some long, some steep, many obnoxious.  Unrelenting.  Speeds would be gyrating between 5 MPH at the zenith to 30 MPH at the nadir.  Had the scenery been mediocre this would have been awful.  As it was, this was a beautiful part of the country to ride through dotted with horses, cows, well mannered dogs, and neat perfect farms.  Occasionally I would eek out a smile and then resume either panting with my tongue hanging out or clenching my teeth as I attempted to turn the crank.  It was a struggle but I finished by 4:00 after starting at 7.  Jim, the bike mechanic, thought that this was the hardest day of the ride.  I'm not so sure about that, but it was a tough one, as whatever mojo I had when I went to bed last night had gone AWOL today.  It was not my day to shine. 
     Tomorrow, we head to Illinois and will be crossing the Mississippi.  We will also be going over the 2000 mile mark sometime during the day.  Also of note is that earlier today in the town of Chula, I was directly south of Minneapolis, 375 miles.  This is as close as I will get during this trip to home.  From here on out, that distance will increase every day, but thanks to all of your emails and comments, I don't feel that far away. Thank you.  It's very much appreciated.

-Grinner

Very friendly horse

Scenic area through woods

Rippling Missouri landscape

Steve (from UK) with a bike I've never seen, a Wilier

Waiting out the thunderstorm

Day 17

                                                                              Day 17
                                                           Topeka, KS to Cameron, MO
                                                               125 miles, avg 18.1 MPH
     It's been a good day.  The lethargy that I had been feeling for the past two days, seemed to have faded and I felt stronger today.  The heat and the hills were the issue for all of us.  There would be about 6000 feet of climbing today and temps were expected in the mid 90's.  We started at 6:45 and navigated our way through the streets of Topeka and soon we were out in the countryside.  We had a nice paceline going amongst five of us at a reasonable speed when all of a sudden Simon in a moment of temporary insanity, jumped to the front and started pushing the speeds to the 25+ MPH range.  One by one the group fell apart, but I was able to stay on his wheel for the next 5 miles.  We then traded pulls for awhile and then he fell back, the victim of having lit all his matches at once, and now his fire was out.  I on the other hand had plenty of energy left, having conserved it for the five miles I was able to stay on his wheel, so I used it to catch up to the group ahead of me.  Simon, is a great guy.  He's from Northern Ireland but works in England as an air traffic controller for testing airplanes for the Brittish defense industry.  He knows everything Rock and Roll, has been to hundreds of concerts, and except for the briefest moment of insanity today, is a strong and reliable rider. 
     By mile 56 we were headed over the Missouri River.  On our Cue Sheet, (the sheet of paper that is clipped to our handlebars with all of the directions), in regards to this bridge states, "CAUTION: Bridge is narrow, grates, rough-Busy"  This was an understatement.  This bridge was literally falling apart.  Next to this bridge there is a new one being built that unfortunately won't be ready until next year.  Although I didn't think it was likely that my bike and I were going to suddenly plunge to the Missouri river below, the concern I had was that my skinny front tire was going to slip through the grate.  Although we were assured that this wasn't going to happen, the sight of the water below made this an eerie crossing.  Once safe on the other side, we posed for pictures at the Missouri state line.
     The rest of the day was just beautiful.  We got to ride on the quietest backroad sections we've been on yet.  There were trees lining this road at times, along with pristine farmhouses, cows, horses, and did I mention, hills.  Lots and lots of hills.  These weren't long hills, just constant rollers, some as steep as 12 degrees by one rider's account, and unrelenting.  However, as the day went on, I really felt like I was getting stronger.  I rode some of that time with UK Bob. His moniker, UK Bob is to distinguish him from Buckeye Bob.  UK Bob is from the UK and Buckeye is from Ohio.  Bob is notable for a few things.  For one is that he worked in "security" in Iraq for the past 7 years and his next job is going to be doing "security" for ships that are potential targets for pirates off the Somalia coast.  The man knows his way around an AK-47. The next is that he weaves the word, "Fuck" into most every sentence that comes out of his mouth.  Finally, he has bladder control issues.  Thus it's not uncommon to hear him suddenly yell out, "Fuck, I need a piss break.  Piss break!"  We all then politely stop, and wait for him to do his business at the side of the road.  This will then repeat itself in 5-10 miles.  You need a certain amount of patience to ride with UK Bob but in spite of this, he's a good guy and I like him.
     Tomorrow there is talk of thunderstorms.  We've yet to deal with any rain yet on this trip, but our luck may have run out.  I'll keep you posted.

-Grinner

Entering Missouri (From left: Lassa, Anthony, UK Bob, me, Lee, Darryl, and Ohio Steve)

Long undulating Missouri Road

Another hill

Pristine farmhouse on outskirts of Cameron, MO

Beautiful tree-lined quiet country road

Mike and Karen at the RAP session (reviewing the cue sheets for tomorrow's ride

Rickety Bridge over the Missouri River

Leaving Topeka

UK Bob

Simon

 

Day 16

                                                                       Day 16
                                                           Abilene, KS to Topeka, KS
                                                            113 miles, avg speed 16.6

     The good news today was that the winds would be coming directly from the South.  As we were headed east with a few brief turns north, the wind posed little impediment.  The bad news was that we were going to hit record highs here in Kansas, projected to be in the mid 90's.  To think that just a few days ago, I wasn't able to stay warm enough, now the opposite is happening. 
     We started the day with a gigantic Holiday Inn Express breakfast.  At home, I would never consume such large amounts of food before a ride, but it's different here.  My stomach can handle it, provided that I avoid bacon and sausage.  However, muffins, oatmeal, sticky buns, english muffins, eggs, and bananas are all fair game. .  At rest stops, I'm having fig newtons, gorp, nuts, and bananas.  At lunch I'm having all of that plus a PB and J sandwich and a can of soda.  While riding, I usually have shot blocks and water, but on these hot days I've been filling one water bottle with gatorade.  After the ride, I'll usually have some Endurox (recovery drink) and a milk shake if I can find one.  Dinner is typically a burger, salad, and a baked potato.   No joke, I estimate that I'm consuming between 6000 and 8000 calories a day.  There was a scale at our hotel this AM and in spite of this caloric tsunami, I've lost 3 1/2 pounds so far.
     I felt fairly wiped out after yesterday's ride and was still feeling it's lingering effects when I finally got going.  We traveled through beautiful Kansas farmland and prairie grass.  As we've headed East, the flat terrain has ceased and hills are now the constant.  My goal for the day was to drink plenty of fluids, draft as much as possible, and try not to unnecessarily exert myself.  I succeeded on all three accounts.  We got in around 2:30 and beat the luggage van here.  There was little else to do but to get back on our bikes and seek out the nearest establishment that served shakes.  This turned out to be Steak and Shake.  We were also in time for "Happy Hour" which meant half priced shakes.  We discovered these "Happy Hours" the other day when we couldn't understand the line-up of cars at the drive thru window at 3 in the afternoon at a McDonalds.  They seem to exist at all the fast food places here in Kansas. We don't know if this is a unique thing to Kansas or whether this will carry over to Missouri, which we will visit tomorrow.  I will report back on this. 
     In my pictures today I included one of Kansas cows and one of Lassa, the gigantic man from Oslo, Norway on our bike trip.  I posed next to him, so you could have some point of reference as to his size.  He's a very strong rider in the flats, overall a much faster rider than me.  One of the unique things about Lassa, is that he doesn't use or need a tire lever to change his tire.  He has no trouble removing the tire from the rim with his hands.  Anyway, why I mention Lassa is that the other day we asked him what he did during that day's ride and he mentioned that he had seen the coal plant.  We were baffled by this as we didn't know of any coal plants on the route.  He insisted that he had stopped at the vista to see the coal plant and after this went back and forth a few times, we realized that he was mispronouncing cow as coal, and it was the beef processing plant he was referring too.  Thus, whenever we see a cow and Lassa is around, we say, "Lassa, do you see the coalsssssss?" 
     Tomorrow we will be leaving this wonderful state.  I never realized how big Kansas was until trying to bike across it.  Reportedly, it is 900 miles from diagonal corner to diagonal corner.  They have a map of our journey posted in the lobby of each of the hotels we stay at.  Tonight, as I looked at it, I was astounded by just how far we've come.  We are now in the middle of the country and tomorrow at some point in the ride we will hit the halfway point.  I know this is true, but even after seeing our journey on a map, it just doesn't seem possible. 

-Grinner

Rippling highway in Kansas

Coalsssss!

See how green the countryside is here

Lassa and me