Day 27: Topeka to St Joseph

June 1, 2023

Every mile was a victory today. After that night I woke nauseous and struggled to eat a small bowl of porridge and a yoghurt. As well as feeling queasy I now had to worry about running out of energy and determined to take it easy all day.

Considering that Topeka is the state capital, the roads were very poor, with huge, jagged and deep potholes. The new bike coped very well with all this, tangibly cushioning me from the jars. We went past the capitol and out into the suburbs.

I rode with Spencer and Mark B. After 11 miles I decided I probably wasn’t going to throw up, but was still nauseous. We made steady progress (wind-assisted again) despite Spencer reminding me I hadn’t needed to stop.

First SAG was at a gas station at 32 miles. I was one of the last to leave (Starbuck’s Doubleshot and a Danish) and chugged along, passing a few riders before flagging completely. I was very grateful to Barbara for leading me to the second SAG at the Dairy Queen in Atchison, a town on the Kansas side of the Missouri River.

I tried to eat and drink then left the SAG with Chad. We crossed the river into Missouri, but I lost Chad soon after the bridge. He’d stopped to wait for his father.

Shortly after that a pick-up attempted to roll coal at me.

The terrain here, in the flood plain of the river, was boggy, but there were small homesteads between the marshes. Eventually the road turned north onto the hard-shoulder of a busy road to St Joseph for 12 miles or so. As I neared the city the route came off the main road up into a large hilly city green space, complete with a pretty high school, high-end housing and a baseball stadium. The route took me all over the place, eventually joining a hilly freeway to the hotel.

I’d really struggled most of the day, so had a milkshake and lay down for a couple of hours.

‘Snacks’ and free drinks in a kind of happy hour at the hotel helped me replenish so I had an early night. Need a good night’s sleep. Hopefully the liquid and energy intake will have chance to catch up with the output.

It’s now very humid, which is energy sapping. May have this for the rest of the trip.

Not sure what this was. Somebody may have stolen the church from under the steeple.

Today's ride: 85 miles (137 km)
Total: 1,834 miles (2,952 km)

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Hugh MonroOh dear Peter things aren’t getting any better. Great that you’re still able to post pics and update your diary progress. I feel your pain through these updates. Hopefully things will improve but look on the bright side, your newly acquired steed is coping well.
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1 year ago