June 6, 2022
Day 16 - Dighton, Kansas to Leoti, Kansas
Gently climbing through the plains
After escaping a Hitchcockian fate at the motel, I rode to the bowling alley for breakfast. It had a diner attached to it. That’s small town Kansas in a nutshell.
The owner and I got to talking. He says nobody in Kansas gets the Covid vaccine; they all take intermectin instead. He had absolutely no interest in science or vaccines. No point in arguing the matter with someone who lives in his own reality.
He told me that he grew up on the Crow reservation in Montana and was in the Navy. For many years he ran a dive shop in Cozumel. An interesting guy. I hope he doesn’t end up on a ventilator.
All the D-Day and RFK postings on Twitter got it into my head that today was our wedding anniversary so I called my wife. It’s on the 11th. Derp.
We had a good chat though. It sounds like our daughter is really hitting her stride with law school. Yay!
The ride to Leoti was a grind on an unexpectedly busy highway. The road seemed to tilt a bit more upward and the cross wind felt much more like a headwind.
I have been having leg cramps at night so I made sure to drink as I rode. After 25 miles I reached Scott City where I saw a bank sign say it was 91 degrees. Oof!
I ate lunch in an air conditioned cafe. I guzzled two tall glasses of ice water and one of Coke. Then it was back on the highway for another 25 miles to Leoti. More headwind, more traffic, more uphill.
Eight miles out of town I passed a rather impressive looking bakery located pretty much alone on the prairie. Outside there is a metal sign of a bicyclist. It’s a memorial to a cross country racer who was killed during a race. The bakery had a sign that said “ice cream sandwiches” so I went inside and bought one. Actually they wouldn’t let me pay, the family of the bike racer pays for treats for all bike tourists.
In Leoti I found the city park where I camped with Mark and Corey in 2019. I had a beast of a time setting up my tent in 2019 but today it went up in 10 minutes. The small hospital next store used to allow bike tourists to shower there but they are paranoid about Covid and sent me to the swimming pool in the park. (Ironically, I was wearing an N95 respirator mask and the hospital staff was using less effective KN95 masks.) The pool’s showers had only cold water. Woke my ass right up.
It turns out that I gained 500 feet in elevation today.
Nasty storms are coming thru town tonight. I’m riding out the first wave as I type this. So far so dry. The first time in days that the storm forecast was correct. So of course I am camping.
Total miles: 52. Tour miles: 1,024
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 953 miles (1,534 km)
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