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Sunday, June 28: I knew as soon as I got on the bike today that I was in the hurt locker from the last several days. Those of you who ride regularly, you know the feeling: lethargic body, legs feel weak, head’s not into it. This is pretty common with X country riding. I mean one day you’re on top of the world and the next day the world is on top of you! This kind of thing ebbs and flows throughout a trans continental trek, and I know from past experience that when you have one of those days, well, you just grit your teeth and try to get in the miles. I mean, what else are you going to do right? You know the times will be slow, the mph will be poop, and you long for the end of the day….all day! Now if that wasn’t bad enough, I had to ride into a headwind all day on roads that resembled access roads to the local beach - sandy beach roads!


Got going today at 7:45, at the junction of 1st and Woodlawn. Sent Judy west on paved Rt 50, while I stayed on gravel. Went south on Woodlawn, and that’s where I knew that today was going to be one of those “one foot in front of the other” days. Just felt so weak and lethargic. Hell, yesterday I’d finished the last 10 miles at over 15 mph. This morning, damn, everything I could do to keep the mph at 10 or above. The wind was out of the southwest, but really, more west than south, and it was pretty stiff even early in the morning. Took Woodlawn for 4 miles and then went west on 48th street. 


Now the first 4 miles of Woodlawn was pretty good hard pack gravel. And ditto for the first 2 miles of 48th, and then the fun started…sandy road surface. It was kind of like this course conglomerate of sand, not just pure, fine beach sand, but more like beach sand mixed in with quart pellets. But still, it was washy in areas. And not only that but you had to find just the right line to ride in this stuff. All of a sudden the whole road wasn’t fair game, just this two spots on each side of the middle, where all the traffic goes. Really these gravel roads are about a lane wide, maybe just a tad bigger, so everyone drives right down the middle…thus the sweet spots just to each side of dead center. 


Now I was hoping that this sand thing would be a mile or so kind of thing, this from what I’ve discovered over the years of riding out here where you change from gravel to earthen to sand and back again numerous times. But the further I went west on 48th, the same sandy road surface continued. And between that and the headwind, it was really bloody tough to make any good mph’s. Found myself struggling to get even 10 mph. Funny, my elation from yesterday was turning into survival for today. I’d wash it here and there when the sand just got stupid deep. I’d switch sides, and even ride on the very outer left and right periphery until that also turned into deep, washy sand. It was a constant shifting from one spot to another, aways thinking that that sweet spot was just across the middle. Well it was…for maybe like a quarter mile, half mile, or even mile. But eventually that turned into crap and I was back searching out another sweet spot. What a freaking mind game. Made the first support stop with Judy at about 17 miles, and man I was just beat. Tried to keep it short and sweet so I could get rolling again. Decided to have Judy drive back on 50 west to meet up with me at the Arkansas River Xing, and I’d continue west on 48th - the sandman road! 


At this point some of you might be asking….”hey stupid, why don’t you just get on a different west-trending gravel road/“ Yea, I thought of that, but ALL the non-paved roads in this county are sand - it’s a county-wide thing, and I was hoping with all I had in me that when I rode out of Harvey Co and into Reno Co that the sand would cease. Anyway go rolling again just slithering along through the sand and against the headwind, which by this time had decided to be all out of the west. No big surprise here obviously with the prevailing winds out of the west in this area most of the time. And actually, though it did slow me down, it was rather nice considering that the temp was beginning to hover in the 95-degree area. So if there was any consolation, it was getting cooled down just a bit by the headwind. 


About half way into the second segment I knew that I’d change counties, and I was really counting on saying adios to that freaking nasty sand. And the answer is….Xed over into Reno Co, and….nothing, same old poop for sure. Well, at least I had a chance to ride with hope for 10 miles. Continued on in Reno Co as the road changed to Ealses Rd. On I rode to the dead end of Eales at the Arkansas River. Met Judy at the junction of Eales and Yoder at the Arkansas. Man, once I got in the van and sat down to guzzle down some powerade and water, I just didn’t want to move. I could have just freaking bagged it right then and there. So I decided to change the itinerary just a bit so I could save myself a few miles here and there, what with the way I was feeling. 


Rather than go south for a mile and then east for a mile and then south for a mile and then back to west for a mile, all this to stay on gravel road, I decided to just go south for 2 miles on the berm of Yoder and then continue easy. No harm no foul there, and it saves me 2 miles of riding that I didn’t need to do. And we also decided that the sand road was just fine for Judy to drive on, so she could just ride ahead 2-3 miles at a time. So we got going south on Yoder where the berm was good. Then we went right on Long View Rd and continued west….on bloody sand of course. There were sections of sand on this road where the sand was just so thick and loose that I was washing from one side to the other trying to find that sweet spot. In some areas it just wasn’t there and I had to endure for an undetermined time. Usually it wasn’t more than a half mile. 


I did another 13 miles on Long View, through all the sand and against the headwind. And by then the temp had really begin to get torrid. That’s usually the case out here unless the high for the day is forecast in the 100’s. If in the 90’s the real sizzling heat kicks in around 1:30-2 PM. At that third support stop I was pretty spent. But heck, I had only 51 miles under my belt for nearly six hours of riding. Decided to do just 10 more miles, this only to kind of make the day look respectable. But honestly, I could have bagged it 13 miles ago. 


Did the last 10 with Judy giving me the countdown thing, but actually, with the grid system thing out here for road placements, everything is in 1 mile squares, so I knew where I was at each time I came to a X road. That in itself is just a maddening as mile markers - when you don’t want to see them! 


Finished at the junction of Long View Rd and Sterling - about 16-18 miles west of Hutchinson, KS. Think this puts us about half way across KS, with what I think is another 4 days to get to the CO line or just into CO. Boy, it’s slow going doing the gravel….errr sand road riding gig! Hope I’m feeling a bit more pup in my pedal tomorrow.