May 29, 2019
Dixie Chicks Kind of a Ride
Eureka to Newton
Today was challenging. For the first time in a while we had headwinds. Not especially strong ones but enough to keep our speed down. Mark and Corey had oatmeal in their hotel room. I opted to dine at Eureka’s finest breakfast establishment.
A western omelet with burnt hash browns and burnt toast and weak coffee. A bargain at a third the price.
I hit the road and decided to not fight the wind. So I poked along the road through the Flint Hills at 9 mph. The clouds were low but not threatening. A light mist and temperatures in the 60s made it perfect riding weather all things considered.
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At Rosalia the convenience store was no longer there. So it was on to Cassoday The hills were no longer flinty but the spaces were wide open. Green everywhere. Simpsons’s clouds in the sky.
At a restaurant in Cassoday I caught up to Mark and Corey. They were finishing second breakfast and Mark was bemoaning his bad case of SBS, Sore Butt Syndrome.
As we left, store dog Maisie came to say goodbye.
Off they rode with me well behind. There would be no services of any sort for the next 40 miles. The wind did us a favor by dying down. I didn’t see Mark and Corey until I caught them taking a roadside rest about halfway to Newton.
They took off while I snarfed some peanuts. Then I gave slow pursuit.
20 miles later I rolled into Newton. I found the town’s bike shop and bought a red blinky light for The Mule. Then I rode around the block to the Voth’s house. The VOths are Warmshowers hosts. Orvin greeted me and his friend John lifted The Mule up the wrap-around porch’s steps. Orvin's wife Janet greeted us inside.
The three of them fed us, let us do laundry, and told us stories.
Tomorrow we go off route for free housing at a church in Hutcheson. The TransAm has many, many more free lodging options than the last two routes I used in 2017 and 2018.
Miles today: 75.5
Total miles: 90
Today's ride: 76 miles (122 km)
Total: 908 miles (1,461 km)
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