August 15, 2024
Day 32 - ending at Wellington, KS
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That dog from the night before was back again tonight, except this time it was barking at 2:42am. At 4:44am thunder woke me up. I rolled over and went back to sleep, though I did hear rain start at 5:33am. I finally got up at 7:10am.
On my way back from the library last night I had stopped at a gas station to buy a can of iced coffee and a cookie, in case I was stuck in the tent this morning due to rain. Well it had quit raining, but I really didn't want to carry that stuff with me, so I enjoyed the coffee and cookie at the pavilion they have here at Ponca City RV Park. Today's another day with a Heat Advisory, but it looks like the rain has cleared the area.
Today I start making my way back to my truck in Omaha. This evening I hope to be at the KOA Campground in Wellington, Kansas. That should be about 53 miles.
I was surprised at how much sweat was dripping onto my glasses as I packed up and took the tent down. I got the glasses cleaned up and headed out at 9:58am. One more stop in Ponca City before I head north, and that was for breakfast at Country Kitchen. That stop worked out well because they had a outlet I could use to charge my phone, and I got ice for my thermos. I'm not big on hash browns or cooked potatoes for breakfast. One option they have here instead is grits. I don't really know what people put on grits, but it was served with two tubs of butter. I ate the first half plain, then mixed in some butter for the second half. I'm wondering if you can put sugar on grits and eat them like a bowl of Cream of Wheat.
I was on my way out of town at 11:05am, pushed along by a south breeze. A fairly late start for as many miles as I hope to do today. I left town on Waverly Road which goes by the airport, then went a mile west to get on West Street. That gravel road took me all the way to Kansas. Most of the gravel was in good condition, some sections only fair.
Backing up, at noon I was only 3 miles clear of Ponca City, at West Street's intersection with Furguson Avenue. With the added miles to get to the Country Kitchen and through town, I'd done 8.3 miles. I tuned in KLOR, 99.3 MHz out of Ponca City on my radio. I was able to receive them until just before the Kansas border.
I arrived in Kansas at 2:02pm, and was dismayed at the condition of the Kansas gravel road. But that was only a patched section. It didn't really matter anyway because shortly I was on paved 11th Road going north. When I got to US-166 I went west for a mile or so, then turned back north on paved Geuda Springs Road. There are no gas stations or places to eat in Geuda Springs that I saw, so I just passed through, following the curve in the road to Oxford Road.
At 4:14pm I was about 3 miles south of Oxford, Kansas. I'd really enjoyed this paved road I'd been on, but my GPS was wanting me to turn left onto a gravel road. I took a break to consider the route. I guess the gravel road made sense because otherwise I'd be on US-160, which I believe has no shoulder and is a busy highway. At 5:46pm I was done with the 6 miles of gravel. The GPS was happy and so was I. Pavement was ahead - for a while. I noticed a storm to the south. I was hearing thunder. A check of the weather radar indicated the storm was in Oklahoma, and not a threat where I was at.
I turned back north paralleling I-39 on its east side, and eventually made my way to US-160 just east of Wellington. The highway has a very nice shoulder there. I pulled into the campground at 6:53pm. The office closed at 6:00pm, so I had to fill out a self-register form. It took me to 7:20pm to do that and find the correct change for the $38.87 payment. That's the charge for a primitive site without electricity. I'm sharing the tent area with a young couple who also have a Coleman tent.
There's a McDonald's about a mile east of the campground. I'm still trying to decide whether to go for supper or not. All things considered I'd say this has been a good bicycling day.
Jeff
Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 1,100 miles (1,770 km)
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