Blogs from Kansas, United States, North America - page 5

Okay, I won’t lie to you. This was the toughest day I have ever had on a bike! This was the day I realized riding the Trans Am is the most difficult undertaking I have ever participated in! I have done two Marathons, five Death Rides, and countless Century’s but none were more draining than today. My knees hurt, and my whole body is sore! I mentioned two days ago that it was all about the winds! Well today, Mother Nature was not kind to people riding West on a bicycle! I rode 73 miles into a Westerly wind blowing 15 knots, gusting to 23. I had to grip the handlebars with full force and concentration every time a truck passed just to keep from being blown off the road! The wind is relentless! It doesn’t ... read more

The topography here has changed dramatically. Kansas is wide open. So far it is nothing but huge farms and very gently rolling hills. I climbed only 1050 feet in 59 miles today. I can already tell Kansas is going to be all about the winds. The prevailing winds are southerly. Today, after a quick goodby to Bruce, I was out the door early and arrived at Chanute at 11:30, just before the winds really started blowing. I think there are going to be a lot of early days because the forcast seems to be mostly from the southwest in the afternoon. 12-15 knots of big crosswinds makes it a tough grind. The riders traveling east talk about the winds also. It really doesn’t seem either direction is any better. On another subject: Several have asked what ... read more

I've decided to start a travel blog! A little about me...I live in Kansas. I love to travel, and Kansas being in the middle of the United States makes it a little easier on me financially. When I'm not traveling, I write for a living. I haven't written my great travel book yet, but I plan on it. I also planned to play in the NBA , so we'll see. I'll be back soon with something that resembles travel more and rambling less. Gabe... read more

Die Gegend östlich der Rockies ist nicht besonders aufregend. Das Wichtigste war heute Paulchens Geburtstag. Er wurde 100.000. Und weil er jetzt nicht mehr ganz jung ist, will er ab jetzt Paul genannt werden. Kann er haben Er ist momentan etwas knatschig. Manchmal geht das rote Warnlicht an und das Öl Symbol blinkt auf. Obwohl er genug Öl hat. Wenn ich dann anhalte, den Motor ausschalte und bis zehn zähle, das ist wichtig, dann ist die Welt wieder heil. Keine Ahnung, was er hat. Die Ölpumpe ist es nicht, denn da ist es wie mit schwanger: ganz oder gar nicht. Kansas bietet LEICHT gewellte Fläche. Straßen, die genau in zwei Richtungen führen: entweder S-N oder O - W, Ölpumpen, die bedächtig nicken und Feed Lots. Da sind dann hunderte von Rinder auf engstem Raum zusammengepfercht. Oft ... read more

It's a beautiful morning, and the forecast is for about 30C (81F) although the humidity is expected to hit 98%. The sky is overcast which means we won't be riding in full sun for the first time on the trip. There is a slight wind and it's at our backs. What a cracker of a day for a ride. We've decided to do 30km stints in the morning which will get us through the town of Maize and then 14km stints in the afternoon which will get us to the town of El Dorado. We leave the pretty town of Pratt behind quickly and are soon out in the countryside once again. We're in farming country, lots of hay and corn being grown. The back road we travel on for most of the day has a ... read more