Day 32: Fair Grove to Golden City: Kansas, I'm coming!!!

June 11, 2006

I get rained on (again) but try to bust out the miles in an attempt to get to the legendary Cooky's Cafe before it closes (and it's closed on Monday). I arrive in time to drink a bunch of pepsi with my dinner and eat 3 slices of pie after it, taking a fourth for breakfast the next morning.

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Sam and I woke up early to a seriously overcast sky threatening to dump rain at any moment, and the sky spit on us as we headed to Shoney's for their all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. I was stuffed full of good stuff when I left and grateful for having such a nice uncle! It had been really good to see a familiar face for the first time in a month (especially when that familiar face pays for dinner, hotel, and breakfast!)

We drove back to Fairgrove, put the bike back together, and headed our separate ways, him north for several hours of driving, me west to the ocean (well, I probably won't get that far today). But I did get wet almost as soon as I left Fairgrove. Oh well. What's new. With the rain and the post-breakfast late start, I wasn't sure how far I was going to get. In the back of my mind, I knew I was shooting for 70 miles and Golden City, simply for the fact that if I didn't make it there this evening, I wasn't going to get any pie. And pie is a good motivator, so even though I didn't know if they'd be open on a Sunday evening, I set my sights on the Pie, rejoiced that the map was starting to show a regular grid system of roads (that means it's flatter), and pedaled on.

Well, I got wet, but things are looking up!

This gas station hasn't been open for a while...check out that price!

Hey, when you start getting tired, even the little hills are a pain

WooHoo! I made it! Plenty of time for dinner, 3 pepsi's, and two pieces of pie while reading the biker log book. Cooky's was crowded, so I didn't get much attention (and my waitress wasn't that good about refilling pepsi or anything. I don't think she's served many bikers since she brought my bill before even asking about dessert. I had to go to the counter to order it from there). I left, made a call to the people in charge of the hostel, rode by the park offering free camping, decided the hostel was a better option, picked up evening and morning drinks from the gas station, went back to get two pieces of pie to go, and met someone at the hostel who let me in and took my money.

Well, that USED to be my Pepsi. Packed it in at Cooky's Cafe

Note in the biker log from some Mennonites who did the route earlier. It says "The pie here is from God. Trust us. We are religious people." I thought I was going to spit Pepsi through my nose.

My Blue Goose pie (blueberry/gooseberry) and a Mike Riscica sighting!

The hostel was nice, considering the ever-present threat of rain and the alternative of ever-present and curious kids at the city park. I stayed up pretty late eating my pie, doing laundry, showering, and calling friends, but any bed is comfortable after that many miles and that much pie!

Piece #3--banana cream. Hey, bananas are good for you!

Today's ride: 70 miles (113 km)
Total: 1,598 miles (2,572 km)

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