Day 53 - Scott City to Ness City: Why Don't You Ride On The Other Side Of The Road?! Or It's so Hot The Pool Is Inside! - Off To See the Wizard

July 21, 2014

Day 53 - Scott City to Ness City: Why Don't You Ride On The Other Side Of The Road?! Or It's so Hot The Pool Is Inside!

Breakfast wasn't until 6am and we were the first ones there waiting for the doors to open. Of course the news was on the TV and the weather forecast for the day was HOT with a side of WIND! This seems to be the pattern......well it is July in Kansas. We ate, fixed a bagel and cream cheese for lunch and headed out. We were treated to a beautiful sunrise and an early tailwind (which would be picking up). It was a kinda tailwind, it helped a little, and it wasn't a headwind.

The ride was pretty much like yesterday. We had a few rollers, some flat and very little downhill. We hear we are dropping to below 3,000ft for the first time in a long time but it is very gradual. These are the High Plains. Ness City is 2,254 ft , I was just informed, news updates as we speak.

We did have another history lesson today. Seems George Washington Carver lived in Ness County in his early years.

We also passed another farm equipment junk yard. It was amazing to see what good condition they were in considering they are out there year in and year out!

These remind me of a time when I was a kid and we went to Oklahoma in the summer. We would ride in the combine during wheat harvest.

We have seen several travelers going West the last few days. This morning we saw a young man and later learned he rides at night to avoid the heat and wind. Jack said he could too, if he had younger eyes. We will stick with very early....tomorrow might be 5'ish. It is in the high 90's to 100+ and about noon the wind starts to really howl.

We only passed two small towns today. Dighton and Beeler. Not much out here in these parts.

The Sound of The Prairie. We can hear this constant 'humm' or the sound of traffic off in the distance constantly and couldn't figure out what it was until today. It is the fans running on the grain elevators...drying out the grain. Between these and the pumps running on the oil rigs and the irrigation systems, there is a constant Hummmmmmmm out here. Wonder if the locals even notice?

So, we are riding along and this pickup pulls in front of Jack and cuts him off and forces him to stop. Jack was concerned that he was upset that he had just used the drive as a "pit stop" and was bracing for a fight. Turns out the guy was concerned for our safety and wanted to know "why don't you ride on the other side facing the traffic"? He was a friend of a young man who was killed on his bike just last week in Hoxie, Ks. Jack explained that we are to ride "with" the traffic and obey all the traffic laws and regulations and that in fact it isn't safe to ride facing traffic. He was not convinced but did let Jack go. Kansas, as it turns out, does not have a very good record. There have been 5-6 fatalities this year. We have noticed that drivers on this route are aware of cyclists. We go off route tomorrow and will need to take extra care as they might not be as aware of touring cyclists on the roads we will be on.

We made it to Ness City and were in the hotel by 1pm. Jack took a nap and I went for a hot tub soak. We are in the Derrick Inn. Another motel trying to hang on to life!

I have given up on wine in these parts...back to my early days. Coors!! We called it "near Beer" in the 70's. Tastes really good after a long hot ride.

Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 2,088 miles (3,360 km)

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