From Goodland, KS

I think we’re finally getting into a routine. Up before dawn, ride until we drop, then eat enough for about three people each.

My bicycle computer says I’m burning about 5,000 calories on the 100-mile days. And yes, I said “days” because we’ve now ridden two of them. Yesterday we put in an 111-mile day so that we could reach Peggy’s brother’s home. Peggy is my sister-in-law and her family is from the Goodland, KS area and she’s our sag wagon driver right now. Yay for Peggy!

So we had a target (Levant, KS) but it was 111 miles away and the forecast was wind out of the west. Did I mention we were heading west?

Even when we got up at 4:30 a.m. the wind was roaring from out of the west.

I hate riding against the wind. I hate it more than snakes. More than menudo. Lots more than riding up hills.

I wasn’t particularly happy at 5 a.m. when we were getting loaded up and ready to go.

But like someone told me when I said I wanted to see the northern lights in Canada, they said, “Ask the Father.”

So we asked the Father for a windless day.

I spent the first 60 miles being completely amazed that we were having a windless ride. It just died. And not only windless, but cloudy and 76 degrees.

It didn’t stay windless though. The next 40 miles were brutal with a crazy crosswind that forced us to learn how to ride a peloton, taking five-minute turns at the head, breaking the wind.

If wonder was the theme of the first 60 miles, teamwork was the theme of the next 40. By the time we were on our last 11 I think we were all just thankful it was close to being over.

Today was short and sweet by comparison. Just 62.8 miles.

Our stopping point was Goodland, KS, but we rode a few miles extra because we have to get to Ft. Collins by Sunday because most of the team is either flying home or renting a car and heading home. We rode to St. Francis, KS, 30 miles beyond Goodland, and left our bikes at the small airport there and came back to Goodland to stay with Peggy’s parents.

Tomorrow was supposed to be a full-fledged rest day…BUT we’ll travel to St. Francis by car and pick up where we left off. Cynthia and I will come back once more to Goodland after we finish riding because I’m speaking at an event Friday night while the rest of the team camps. It’s not the best scenario, but the best we can do without having to ride 150 miles in a day to get to Ft. Collins on schedule.

I’m looking forward to a three-day rest in Denver.

We’ve been seeing signs for it since yesterday. I think that’s when it hit me that we’re really on a trip.

Up to then it just seemed like an extended ride through my neighborhood.