May 30, 2023
Day 25: Emporia
Having stripped my bike of important accessories (pedals, bottle cages etc), Peyton and I came downtown at 10am. There are three bike shops. ‘Eclectic bikes’ sells secondhand and collector’s pieces. The other two focus exclusively on gravel bikes “because nobody rides on the roads, because the roads are shit!” They’re not kidding.
Between the two shops they only had one carbon bike with twin chain wheels; a Trek Checkpoint in Deathstar Grey. The gearing is a little lower than a road bike and the brake levers differ from the UK (L for front), but it’s a handsome machine.
We fixed the bike up at the hotel and I took it back into town for a test ride. Downtown Emporia is pretty, it’s 33C and I’ve got a bike to ride. Everything is peachy.
Vietnamese for lunch (tasty) and now drinking fine coffee, watching people on Main St. it’s a little quirkier than other places we’ve visited in Kansas, and all the better for that. The large university may help.
There’s also a big gravel riding festival here tomorrow (racing <200 miles) so there are dozens of other riders and high school kids in yellow T-shirts to act as ambassadors.
Today's ride: 8 miles (13 km)
Total: 1,682 miles (2,707 km)
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