Day 26 - ending at Hugoton, KS - Tri-points on the Tri-speed

June 8, 2013

Day 26 - ending at Hugoton, KS

Posted via email Sun Jun 9 06:15:01 2013 PDT

Woke up with the alarm at 6:00am. No overnight rain, so camping would have worked (though I did enjoy the shower that wouldn't have been available if I'd camped at the park).

Moved the bike outside to pack it. As I was getting gear out of the room, a big dog ran in toward me barking. I expect dogs on the road, but was quite surprised by this. Fortunately, this dog was just curious, and didn't bite me. The owner of the dog came to the door and got the fellow out.

I was ready to go at 7:40am, looking for a place to eat. Found the Chuck Wagon Restaurant - part of a truck stop - open. Had the 2-by-4 Special, orange juice, and coffee. Left at 8:33am.

The first sign I saw leaving town going west was "Passing Lane - 2 Miles". So I'm thinking hills, but there really weren't that many. The factor today was the wind - strong from the south. My destination was Hugoton. US-160 flattened out and I began seeing irrigation equipment. I went across the road to get a picture. The bike did another three-sixty, this time just due to the wind.

At 10:54am, I was at the junction where US-54 heads off towards Liberal, and US-160 goes west. I went west. It took me to 2:04pm to get to the next junction (with US-83). There was a rest area there, and I was ready for a break. Ate a bag of peanuts, checked the weather radar, and took a short nap.

Back on the road (US-83 going south) at 2:45pm. In a way, I found going straight into the wind easier than fighting the side wind, trying to keep the bike on the road. It started looking like it might rain as I approached my planned turn west onto KS-51. Decided to get ready for rain, so pulled over at 4:13pm and covered the gear with plastic. It did start raining, so also put on my raingear - even the boots!

It was a pretty good rain - even had pea-sized hail. I didn't ride through it, just waited. At 4:33pm, it looked done to me, so I undid all the rain prep. I had just completed that when it started up again. I was 0.8 mile from my turn west. It looked clear there, and did stop raining when I got there at 4:56pm.

Back to a crosswind, but it didn't last too long before turning into a tailwind! Later the wind changed again - this time from the north. Anyway, I made good time on this flat road. Came upon another abandoned building. It appears to have been a grocery store.

Arrived in Hugoton at 7:46pm. Saw a McDonald's ahead, so stopped for a quick supper before going to the RV park. There are two RV parks in town - in different directions - so I called to see if they allowed tents. Both said no. So started checking motels. All three were full. Apparently, there's an unusual amount of construction going on in town - renovations to a creamery and a new bio-fuel plant. My next option was to check at the police station for possible camping at a park. The dispatcher called in an officer, and between the two of them, they figured out a place I could stay: Everett Rowden Park on the west edge on town. I arrived there at 9:20pm, and got set up behind a utility building. A little later the officer showed up with two MRE meals for me, which he had leftover from his year's deployment in Afghanistan.

Tonight I experienced my first city park automatic sprinkler system attack, which I've read about in other bicyclists' journals. Fortunately, it came in stages, so I was able to successfully defend the tent with the plastic sheet I use to cover the bike cargo when it's raining.

Happy to report no broken spokes today, and happy to have a place to stay!

Jeff

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Spent: $11.47 plus $2.25 (breakfast) + $7.25 (supper) = $20.97.

Day 26 - Meade, KS to Hugoton, KS

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+ plus signs indicate pictures added after returning home from the trip +