Day 20: Welcome to Kansas

We woke up early this morning and hit the road for the second day at 6:10, to ensure that we would arrive at our final destination earlier in the afternoon.  As we lay in our tent we heard the wind howl outside which made it harder to wake up but once we got going the wind calmed down and blew mostly to our backs.  We quickly realized that the ever flattening road would give way to much higher speeds than we were used to.  Highway 94 sped towards Kansas and over some of the final slight hills of the Colorado plains.  The open range farmland looked beautiful in the early morning light as we pedaled onward.  Finally after taking one straight road we hit highway 40 which would guide us into the vastness of Kansas.  We were excited to hit the new road not only because it provided some kind of landmark but it also gave us a smoother road surface which makes riding much more enjoyable.  Twenty miles later we pulled into Kit Carson, Colorado where we set up at an abandoned gas station for lunch.  Here we dined on peanut butter and honey sandwiches, cookies, and some amazing apple sauce cake that Emma had sent with us a day earlier.  While we were eating we met a guy named Steve who was hitch hiking and train riding around the country on his summer break.  We were able to share stories, and offer him a little sun block which he gratefully accepted.  Soon after we found a women outside who let us fill our water from her outside hose and headed into the scorching plain.  Soon after reentering highway 40 Steve was halted with a flat in his front tire.  After a quick fix we stopped again to realize we hadn’t removed the thorn from his tire.  We really began to move in the afternoon, not only because it was above 90 degrees but because we were anxious to get to Sharon Springs, Kansas where we knew Stan and Jan Sommerfeld some friends that Lyle knew through church back home.  Upon entering Kansas we saw our first of many endless wheatfields and got our fix of grain bins, combines, and tractors. We rolled into Sharon Springs around 4 in the afternoon where we met Jan who showed us to our room in the bed and breakfast run by their church called Mt. Sunflower Bed and Breakfast.  Apparently Mt Sunflower is the highest point in Kansas, and we had passed the sign for it a few miles before entering town.  We were amazed to see our huge room with two double beds and were incredibly thankful for the Sommerfeld's generosity.  She loaded us back up and drove us out to their 1,500 acre farm.  She treated us to ice tea and cookies as we waited for Stan to finish his planting before dinner.  Dinner was absolutely amazing and filled us up so much we decided to go out and ride horses before starting desert.  Stan was happy to show us the ropes his horses and we learned quickly how to ride in the open fields and stone roads surrounding the farm.  We all were having a blast, Jody had ridden before but Steve and Lyle were relatively inexperienced and perhaps there is no better place to learn than in a farm on Kansas.  The horses were definitely ready to run and took some sternness to get in control, but overall Steve became “one” with Flicker and Jody was quite in control of Ginger.  Lyle rode Sunny who was the most stubborn of the three and had to be put in line by Stan a couple times in our ride.  After coming in to escape the blustery Kansas wind we enjoyed a homemade ice-cream cake and coffee before returning the bed and breakfast for the night.  Today was truly one of the most memorable of our trip as each day proves to bring us knew excitement and experiences.

126 miles, 95 degrees, lots of fun