Newton, KS

We got an early start today as we had a long day planned and the afternoon temperatures were predicted to be in the upper 80's. The 94 mile ride essentially traversed the Flint Hills section of Kansas. The Flint Hills have great vistas of remnant tall grass prairie that are used today for cattle grazing, brought in just for the summer to feed. There are also small scale oil drills throughout the area. Each spring controlled fires are set to control weeds and encourage new grass to grow, simulating the effect of natural wild fires. The hills are very rolling with long ups and downs, so not an issue for cycling. However, I have detected the fact that there is more uphill each day than downhill as we gradually climb to 4000 feet at the Colorado border. The route was fairly remote, with the final 38 mile section having no services of any kind, and hardly any farm houses. So the support vehicle was handy, especially when it arrived with a cold soda when there was still 14 miles to go, and 92 degrees with a strong SW wind. After a hot ride the motel swimming pool was just the thing. The first outdoor pool of the trip, that has been open and maintained. Too much rain to get others open and fixed up. First pic below is downtown Toronto at 7 am.

The six degrees of separation has been proven again. Last evening two young women bike tourists stayed at our motel. They too are going to California but not San Francisco. They started out from Geneseo after graduation. One is from Honeoye. Today we caught up to Jerry from Arlington, VA (http://www.jerrybikeswest.blogspot.com/). Jerry is riding solo and unsupported. He worked in the FCC before retiring last February. He worked for Kathy F., former wife of Herkimer friend, Keith F. and knows Rosemary and Ray K. friends of Ida. Hopes to be in OR by August.

Toronto, KS

Yes, there is a Toronto, KS. I assure you it looks nothing like the Toronto across the lake from our house. In fact, there is a large reservoir and dam on the Verdigris River, in the beginning of the Flint Hills. With the benefit of a tail wind again, we were able to cover 85 miles. With the exception of a brief shower the weather was good so our luck of avoiding stormy weather fortunately continues. I met up with the first east bound riders I have seen. They are doing the full Trans Am route, Astoria, OR to Yorktown. At the farm road where we had lunch we noted the limestone fence posts typical to the area (see picture above). They had more limestone then timber to make fences. Since today is Sunday, traffic is very light on some of the roads. There were times when I probably rode for 30 minutes without seeing a car in either direction. So all in all a quiet day of bicycle travel.

PS Sally: Ida: nice to hear our biker ladies are gathering, right on schedule. I hope the weather cooperates at least as much for you, as us. I'm going to miss your famous spaghetti, and hope to hear about others' special dishes.

Girard, KS

Another milestone was reached today as we crossed the state line into Kansas. We ended the ride at Girard, KS after 83 miles. The first 30 miles continued to go up and down the river valleys of the Springfield Plateau. Then after one last steep climb out of a valley, around a bend a wheat field appeared and the land flattened out. We had reached the eastern fringe of the Great Plains. Now the cycling concern will be wind direction and speed not the elevation profile. Many of the roads today were arrow straight with very little traffic. Sometimes minutes would go by without a car in either direction. We generally go about 50 miles and then find a spot for lunch like this farm implement store parking lot.

We are staying tonight in Pittsburg, KS. It is indeed named after the other Pittsburgh in PA but they dropped the "h". It once was a strip coal mining area. At the end of the ride in Girard as we were packing up the bike in the truck, we were visited by the local policeman. It turns out he watches for bikers to help them find the local park for camping. For some unknown reason the local restaurant thing in Pittsburg is fried chicken dinners. We went to a place called Barto's Idle Hour. The menu consisted of choices like one dark, one white and so forth with fixed sides of German style potato salad and cole slaw. It was good. Barto's had competition from at least Mary's and Annie's.

PS Sally: Notice the beautiful day lilies. Can anyone tell me how the lilies are coming along at church? I'm biking 15 - 20 miles most days now, mid to late morning.

Ash Grove, MO

Today's 74 mile ride had two personalities. It started on a high note with early fog and then sun, but more importantly a nice tail wind. So in spite of a continuous string of the Missouri "steeps" we made good progress over about 50 miles. But an east wind usually means trouble and sure enough weather moved in from the west. Fortunately, we were on the northern fringe of the severe weather so the lightening was fairly distant. But the last 20 miles were ridden in rain with a gusty head wind. We are starting to see some prairie flowers along the roadside, like Cone flowers. So what are some of the dangers of riding beyond the obvious traffic on narrow roads? There are the dogs of course, three tag teamed me today going up one of the steeps. But the biggest risk are --- squirrels. Did you ever notice how, when they cross the road ahead of you, they get almost all the way across safely, and then for no apparent reason reverse course to cross back right in front of you? Squashing them with a car is one thing, hitting them on a bike is another. Tonight we are staying on the outskirts of Springfield, MO. It is a fairly large city in comparison to the towns we have been passing through. We enjoyed some local barbecue for dinner.

Today marks the end of week three of the trip. For those interested in the numbers, we covered 555 miles last week and just over 1500 for the trip, so we are ahead of our estimated schedule.

Hartville, MO

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The biggest climb of the day was surmounted just 1.5 miles after leaving camp. We had a good camping experience in spite of the two rounds of thunderstorms and heavy rain between 9 and 11 pm. Our trusty tent stayed dry. Much of the day the route stayed on the Ozark plateau so after that first one, the hills were mostly rolling. In places the scenery opened up with scattered farms. The weather was fair but with a westerly headwind. Still we made good time and completed 75 miles shortly after 2 PM. Just before reaching our end town, we caught up with two more cross country riders, a couple from Germany. They started in Richmond and are headed to Northern California. Tonight we are staying in a just opened bed and breakfast in Mansfield, just down the road from Hartville. Mansfield is the location of the Laura Ingals Wilder home. Sally enjoyed visiting the farm home and museum while I enjoyed napping.

A shout out to Krista, what a wonderful article in the D&C, congratulations!

6/10 Alley Spring, MO

Today the route entered the real Ozark Mountain zone. For much of the latter part of day of the 73 mile ride, the route followed a relative quiet road through the hardwood forests typical of the region. There were plenty of those steep Ozark ups and downs. Did you know that the Ozarks are the only rugged mountain like terrain between the Appalachians and the Rockies? The mountains are made out of granite that has eroded in places. Underground the material is limestone and that has created a number of natural springs. Alley Spring, for example, has a daily flow of 81 million gallons of water a day. There is a restored mill at the site where grain was ground for the local population using the outflow of the spring. The largest in the area, Big Spring, has a daily flow of 450 million gallons of water a day. The Mark Twain National Forest is in the area along with the Jacks Fork Ozark National Scenic Riverway. The rivers all have a very blue color from the minerals. There are lots of companies offering float trips. This is also a big area for horseback trail riding. So the region is a major Missouri outdoor destination, like our Adirondacks.

For the first time on the trip we are camping tonight at the camp ground at Alley Spring. Rain and thunder storms are forecast. I am writing a draft of this post offline under a nearby picnic pavilion as the rain is coming down. The nearest town is 5 miles east, Eminence, where we had a nice dinner. Earlier in the afternoon while she was waiting for me, Sally did not scout out the fact that there was indeed a motel in town. Actually several resorts, cabins, B&B's,etc. Oh well. She did meet up with another cross country rider, James. He is riding to Oregon and riding about 50 miles a day, a pace to allow him to reach the West Coast in time to be in a wedding. He told Sally that so far he had not spent anything on lodging. He goes to the local volunteer fire stations, and so far they have allowed him to camp and sometimes to get showers. We on the other hand have spent a tad bit more on lodging.

Pilot Knob, MO

Early this morning we crossed big muddy (and it was), the Mississippi River, to enter our fourth state, Missouri. The weather was cloudy all day and low 80's, a welcome relief from the sun. And once again, we were favored with a tailwind for much of the time. After the river bridge, the route was flat for awhile along the river. But soon the hills of Missouri began. In contrast to Kentucky, the hills tend to have sections that are fairly steep. They are steep enough that I have to resort to my fall back climbing technique of last resort, standing up in the lowest gear. The other contrast with Kentucky so far is the roads are much busier, with lots of trucks. Hopefully that will change as we move west deeper into the Ozarks.

We are staying tonight in Pilot Knob after 73 miles. The actual Pilot Knob is the highest point in Missouri at a little over 1500'. It turns out there was/is lots of mining in the area for lead and iron. There was a Civil War battle here over access to the mines. The Confederates attacked the Union forces at their Fort Davidson in the Arcadia valley. The Union retreated but eventually turned the tide. Earlier we had lunch in St. Joe State Park that was donated by the mining companies to the state. We read that the mining was so extensive that there are 300 miles of railroad tracks underground in the region.