Day 29 - ending at Syracuse, KS - Tri-points on the Tri-speed

June 11, 2013

Day 29 - ending at Syracuse, KS

Posted via email Wed Jun 12 07:06:02 2013 PDT

I was awake (sort of) at 5:31am. The wind blew strong all night, but the tent was shielded well from it by the evergreen tree. I was the only one around this morning. Mark, who had brought me the meal last night, either left after that, or else very early this morning. The tent and ground cloth were quite dry, so once I got started on packing, it went quickly (I worked on the report before that). Ate Pop Tarts last thing before I left at 9:50am.

Headed northeast on Route Number 700, anxious to be off this washboard road. Made it to CR-16 at 10:16am. Now, for what I've been looking forward to: an all-day tailwind. And this was a strong wind - almost directly from the south, with me going directly north. Very fun riding. The only bad thing is all this wind is stirring up my hayfever.

Crossed over the Cimarron River again. The river actually runs underground most of the time. You can tell where the river is by the line of trees growing on the river bed. Also crossed the Santa Fe Trail, which more or less parallels the river in this area.

Arrived in Richfield at 11:10am. Took some pictures and left town at 11:32am on KS-27. After a while, I noticed ahead some huge blue flowers I've never seen before. These will make a great picture! Turns out the flowers were actually blue paper towels - and they were all over the ditch and field across the road. Got me wondering if they were the biodegradable type.

Called my friend Jim back in Morton, Illinois, and later my wife, to hear home news. I did this while riding. Probably not the smartest thing to do. I did run off the road a few times before I thought it best to stop.

Arrived in Johnson City at 1:30pm. Went east on Highland Avenue, then north on Main Street. Found the County Fare open. Ordered a Dr Pepper and their country fried steak dinner. Had two refills of the soda - it tasted so good! Left there at 2:43pm. Got back on KS-27, heading for Syracuse.

At 3:57pm, I crossed into the Mountain Time Zone (2:57pm). Later a pick-up truck pulled up alongside me, the driver asking if I was enjoying the heat. I told him I was enjoying the tailwind. He's a bicyclist, and wanted to make sure I was OK. Water I had with me was hot, but every 20 minutes or so, I'd drink half a bottle, followed by a few sips from my insulated Klean Kanteen, which held much cooler water.

Arrived in Syracuse at 4:36pm (MDT), and South Park at 4:37pm. This is a place on my original plan. Now I was a day ahead of schedule. Nothing at this park posted about camping. I planned for here based on journals of others stating they'd camped at South Park. I called the number I had for city hall. They were closed for the day, so I called the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. The person answering said yes, I could set up my tent, and they would check on me from time-to-time through the night. Great, I was all set. Except most of the grass here looks too green! I suspect sprinklers. So I picked a spot across the road that was mostly just dirt. But first, before unloading, I wanted something cold to drink. So I headed uptown still loaded looking for a place to eat. Settled on Porky's Parlor at 5:15pm. Had a fish sandwich and a root beer float. Then had another float. A fellow came in with his wife and asked questions about my bike trip. He said there are some mean rattlesnakes in the area.

I was done eating at 6:00pm, and back at South Park at 6:07pm. Set up the tent and replaced one rear wheel spoke. Took refuge from the wind in the park's shelter to work on report.

The wind seems to have calmed down a little now, and turned to from-the-east. That's good, because the tent isn't protected from the wind as it was last night.

Jeff

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Spent: $10.19 plus $2 (lunch) + $12.46 plus $1.40 (supper) = $26.05.

Day 29 - Elkhart, KS to Syracuse, KS

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