Day 41 - Milestones - Rollin' ocean to ocean

June 11, 2024

Day 41 - Milestones

Milestone 1 - States

I have traversed 5 states (Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas) and have 5 left (Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon)

Milestone 2 - Time zones

I have ridden through eastern and central time zones and have mountain and pacific left

Milestone 3 - Distance

When biking cross country I can only plan a few days ahead where I will stay. Several variables are considered

I consult the Adventure Cycling map which lists distances as well as services like restaurants, hostels, hotels, and convenience stores
Some of the maps were published 2-4 years ago and are not completely accurate. For example a lot of services closed during Covid and never reopened
I use Google maps and a web browser to find out up to date information on services
I use the Weather channel app to look at upcoming weather

I sat in my hotel room last night figuring my next few days and the most pressing information was two 100 degree days coming. This gave me today as the only good long riding day in the next three. Conclusion - get as many miles in today as possible. I rode 77 miles from Scott City, KS to Sheridan Lake, CO. This was my longest single day of biking ever

Came across feed lots that contained thousands of head of cattle

Straight, left, or right to the horizon was wheat. You just make out one lone tractor more than a mile out in this field

Heartland Mills is a huge mill operator in this area and sells products like wheat and flour worldwide. They also operate a bakery, below is just a small sampling of what they carry

I opted for the heavenly brownie and chocolate milk, delicious

The Transamerica route was ridden the first time in 1976. In 2014 someone dreamed up the idea of having a bike race on the same route. The Transamerica bike race runs west to east and participants do the 4,200 miles in 19 to 25 days. John Egbers was a local cyclist who participated in the race at age 64. He stopped to memorialize a cyclist killed in the previous years race writing in a post “we are all diminished by one”. Thirty minutes later John was struck and killed by a distracted driver. His family erected a memorial in front of the bakery. John’s words are on the memorial and you will notice the NY city skyline in the front wheel since John grew up in the city.

This goes out to Kathy, a friend back home who is a quilter extraordinaire

The first elevation was captured at the Missouri/Kansas border and the second on the Kansas/Colorado border. I gained nearly 3,000 feet of elevation across Kansas

Any idea what the difference is between these 2 signs?

Heart

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Today's ride: 77 miles (124 km)
Total: 2,019 miles (3,249 km)

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