Day 25:My alarm went off at 6 but I didn’t hear anyone else up so I went back to sleep. At 6:20 I started hearing booms and I thought it was passing trucks but turned out to be thunder. It then started to rain however it didn’t last more than a couple minutes. I then started hearing clicking sounds and it took me a few minutes to realize it was the sound of someone’s shoe clips. I looked up to see Brent take off. I had slept too long and it looked liked everyone was ready to go. I hadn’t done anything to start getting ready so I told everyone I would either meet them at gas station across the street or catch them on the road. It didn’t take me as long as I thought to pack up and I headed over to the gas station. Everyone was still eating breakfast so I grabbed a blueberry muffin. We headed out of town. It wasn’t quite flat yet but it didn’t compare to the hills we just did. On the horizon to the right was thick black clouds. The wind was blowing south so we knew the storm wasn’t coming at us but it was scary to see lightning on the horizon. All of a sudden the wind picked up and dark clouds started forming above us. Down the road we could see a blue sky. We looked at each other but anything we said was lost in the wind. It didn’t matter as the meaning was clear: GO! There was no thought just speed as we raced to out bike the storm. Nothing mattered but not getting caught in the middle of it. Never have I been so motivated and just as fat droplets started coming down we burst into the sunlight. It was drizzling a bit but for the most part the storm was behind us. 30 miles later we hit the welcome to Kansas sign. We whooped and cheered that we had reached another state.
We reached Pittsburg Ks 4 miles later and decided to take a break in the first gas station we saw. Good thing too as it started down pouring once we got inside. I can’t remember the last day we went without getting hit by rain. It didn’t last long and 30 minutes later we were back on the road.
Everyone stuck together for another 20 miles or so when we stopped yet again at another gas station for lunch. When we were done it seemed like the temperature had risen 15 degrees. Mark and I put our arm reflectors on and everyone applied a fresh coat of sunscreen. The wind had picked up a little so we took turns leading to draft the wind.
With 15 miles left I pulled ahead because I wanted to check out the Chanute bike shop. I’ve been considering getting clips for a couple days now. If I was going to do it now was my chance. The terrain was mostly flat and I didn’t have to carry my stuff. I knew getting clips was going to make we wreck a bunch so it was best to do it now. I got into Chanute to find the bike shop to discover it was closed. I call the number just in case someone was still there. I got an answer but they said they didn’t stock clips. Oh well, I wasn’t sure if I wanted them as they are rather expensive. While waiting for the others I called my parent to let them know I was done for the day. Everyone else soon showed up and we debated on getting a motel room. The campground the Niclolas family was staying at was free so we decided free was better. The ‘campground’ turned out to be a parking lot behind some baseball fields. There was a bathroom and shower so I more than happy to set up my tent. After everyone freshened up we headed to Billy Sim BBQ. I thought it was really good especially for a fast food type joint. I got a side of Mac and cheese that was so creamy I could have just eaten that. Walmart was next door so we headed over to get food for breakfast and snacks for the next day. Gatorade was cheap so I got a new flavor I’ve never seen called Rain Berry. I also got two bananas and some blueberries. There were two motels across the street from our campground: a super 8 and a Knights Inn. We went over the the super 8 to beg use of their washer and dryer. It had been too long since any of us had something clean to wear. The receptionist at the Super 8 tried to give us a hard time but in the end she made an exception for us.
When we got back to our campsite the baseball field was hoppin’. It seemed like a little league game was going on. We immediately placed bets on who would win. In the distance the clouds were turning dark but our weather forecast said it wasn’t going to hit us. Everyone pitched their tent outside the motorhome. It was slightly breezy so I staked my tent for the second time of the trip. We kept hearing thunder but the sky was clear so I didn’t worry about it. Soon it started getting late. We had to go 96 miles the next day to get to El Dorado Ks. The Niclolas family was visiting their Aunt Henrietta the next day. Checking the weather one more time we saw it was suppose to rain around 1:00 with an 80% chance. Darn it, that meant I should put my rain fly on. It already warm and putting my fly on would make my tent really hot. I would rather be hot then wet so I put my fly on and staked it down too. Everyone else decided to move to the baseball dugout. I already put all my stuff in my tent and didn’t want to move it across the field. Plus the dugout was concert so I wouldn’t be able to stake it down. I was staying on the grass. Putting on my fly I noticed that there was crazy lightning happening in the distance. We watched the lightning for a while before heading to bed. Not even 5 minutes after lying down the wind went insane. The lightning felt like it was directly overhead. I put in my ear plugs but I still couldn’t block out the thunder. I couldn’t close my eyes without seeing white flashes. The rain started coming down and I was glad my rain fly held up. I checked my phone and saw that it was suppose to storm all night. I was feeling extremely small and exposed. I had to keep reminding myself that the chance of getting struck by lightning was so small and it would strike the baseball field lights instead. In hopes to make myself feel better I googled chance of getting hit by lightning. Horrified I discovered that most people are in danger from getting hit by a ground current. Great. This is least favorite weather and frantic thoughts kept running through my head. Calm down I had to keep telling myself. I texted my sisters to see if they were awake but they didn’t respond fast enough for me so I texted Ellen. It was almost midnight and there was no way I was getting any sleep. She was awake and also nervous. Apparently Evan and Brent were soaked and being thrown around in the dugout since their tents were free standing. If possible the lightning and rain intensified. Mark texted all of us and said we were welcome to sleep in the camper. I wasn’t sure what was safer; staying in my tent or running through the storm to the motorhome. I decided to risk it. I stuffed my sleeping bag back into my bag. I tried to get out of my tent quickly but my zipper got stuck so I said screw it and zipped my rain fly closed. I would rather deal with my wet belongings in the morning than get struck my lightning. I made a mad dash across the grass getting pelted with rain. Inside wasn’t much better and the vehicle was swaying back and forth in the rain. I talked with the Niclolas family about how crazy this storm was and how everyone else was fairing. The storm had flipped Evan over and Brent was completely soaked. They decided to run across the street and get a motel room. It was now almost 1:00am and I knew tomorrow was going to be long day. I settled down on the floor and tried to go to sleep. I must have fallen asleep because I heard my alarm go off at 6:30. After turning it off, no one else was moving so I went back to sleep. Two hours later I woke back up. Still the motorhome was quite. I peaked outside to see Brent dragging is tent across the field. I rolled up my sleeping gear and went to assess the damage on my own tent. Despite leaving the door open, my rain fly blocked the rain from coming in. All of my belongings were completely dry. I felt kinda stupid for sleeping in the camper. Oh well better to err on the side of caution.
Today’s musical selections:
Vessel by 21 pilots 21th century breakdown and American idiot by greenday
Day 26:
After trying to shake the water off the outside of my tent I packed up and rolled out by 9. We were getting a late start. Yesterday we had 30 miles down by 9. We decided to meet in Eureka Ks before heading to El Dorado Ks. The first 40 miles were rather boring and we passed a couple ghost towns. In Toronto I started getting really hungry and my butt was getting sore. Unfortunately all the Toronto shops were deserted or had closed written on them. I passed a post office and went inside. I asked the lady if I could use her bathroom and she said there was a gas station 4.5 miles down the road called Lizard Lips. 4.5 miles was another 20 minutes riding. It took me almost 30 minutes because I tried to coast as much as possible. I found the gas station where I ordered a chocolate milkshake and bacon cheeseburger. The manger gave me a small lizard toy that she gives to all the cyclists. Nelson parted ways as the team was going off route! It was another 20 miles to Eureka Ks. And then another 32 to El Dorada. It was already 1:30 so I had to get a move on. The heat wasn’t so bad and there was a nice breeze. I marveled at the change in scenery compared to a week ago. Although I must admit I’ve been lied to. Kansas is NOT flat. Rather I encountered gently rolling hills. It wasn’t anything noticeable at first but I definitely couldn’t be in my highest gear. I reached Eureka to discover they had got hit by a tornado the night before. That explains the big storm. I didn’t ride around to see the damage but Brent got a couple of pictures of it. I saw a sonic and since it was getting really hot I thought a milkshake would cool me off. They didn’t have power due to the storm so I went to the gas station across the street for a Klondike bar.
I wasn’t looking forward to the next 32 miles on the same road. For some reason the shoulder was made of gravel forcing me to ride on the road. Thankfully there wasn’t a lot of traffic. I was getting kinda antsy so I admired the sky. It was a most beautiful shade of blue and the clouds made the skyline look like something out of a painting. I kept stopping to take pictures which was slowing me down.
An agonizing 15 miles later I reached El Dorado. I pulled up the address Mark had texted me and headed through town to his Aunts house. When I got there I set up my tent to let it finish drying. I went inside and meant Aunt Henrietta. She has to be the sassiest, most hilarious senior citizen I’ve meant. She taught us how to play a game called Hot Dice while we waited for the others. After they arrived she made a most delicious dinner of spaghetti (with no onions in the sauce), salad (with a ton of tomatoes and Olive Gardens Italian dressing) and homemade Texas toast. For dessert she made chocolate cake and Neapolitan ice cream. She said Ellen and I would have to share a king size bed as if it was a bad thing. Sounded perfect to me. Since I was already living large I shampooed and conditioned my hair when I took a shower. What luxury!
Day 27: Rest day!
Last night I probably got the best night sleep of the whole trip. I woke up to find everyone watching TV in the living room. There was only one thing they could have been watching: The Tour De France. The riders were on stage 8 which is the first mountain stage of the race. It was pretty depressing to watch them go up 8% grade at 15 miles an hour. I can barely go up 8% grade at 4 miles an hour. It was cool to watch Chris Froome take the yellow Jersey.
Aunt Henrietta made us pancakes and bacon for breakfast. She had to go to Walmart and get dog food. Brent, Evan and I went with her. I wanted to get a swimsuit since we plan to camp at a water park tomorrow. The selection was pretty bad but I found one that kinda fits.
The rest of the day we didn’t really do anything but relax and lay around. With nothing else to do we decided to go see a movie. It was agreed to see Finding Dory at 4:30. I enjoyed the movie and it was nice to concentrate on something else for a while.
We drove back to the house and grilled hotdogs and burgers for dinner. There was also watermelon, cheesecake and potato salad. Evan and Jolee redid there ice cream eating contest. Jolee finished the pint first and Evan struggled to finish but in the end he did. He’s now passed out on the couch haha but he redeemed himself from earlier in the trip.
The rest of the evening is going to be spent playing on my phone and organizing my gear. Tomorrow is going to be a light day. We only plan to go 70 miles tomorrow compared to our 95 miles.
