I woke up at Roger's well-rested but Mike had a bit of a problem. Over the past few days Mike had some rashes/marks on his legs that he thought might be poison ivy or oak. But every day they slowly spread more and more, to the point where it was becoming very uncomfortable for him. This morning must have been the last straw as he called up the local clinic and asked for an appointment.
The only time they had available was in 20 minutes, so Mike had to get over there now. Rebecca offered to drive him, so they left out the door in a hurry and I sat down to eat some breakfast. I hung out for a while looking at my new map section I was to start today and finally Mike came back with some steroids and some ointment for... sand mite bites. Mike seemed relieved that he finally knew what it was and that he had the medicine to finally get better as he needed to be down in Oklahoma in a few days.
After saying good-bye to Rebecca and sadly parting ways with my riding buddy Mike, I got back on the bike for more solo riding. I rode by Roger's shop so I stopped in and said good-bye to him too. While I was there I met 2 cyclists going eastward and after they left, Roger told me I should ask them about the Shay bridge, ahead of me 30 or so miles, because he heard it was out and was a pain to detour around. I tracked the cyclists to a cafe right down the street and they confirmed that it was out and to follow the detour.
As I rode my first day through Kansas, I was met with more and more grassy fields filled with cattle grazing instead of the corn and soybean fields of states past. And barbed wire fences, barbed wire fences everywhere! For most of the ride it was giant fields to either side, fenced in with barbed wire about 15 feet from the road. Finding a tree that provided some shade near the road, outside of the barbed wire fences, started to become a problem. On the positive side, Pittsburgh was the most southern point on my trip, everything now is going north and hopefully I can make good use of those winds blowing out of the south!
Though still in some gentle rolling hills, I thought I had made good time and arrived in Chanute around 6pm, considering I left Roger's house pretty late. The camping area was in the city park, right next to a decently fancy baseball diamond with stands and stadium lights for playing at night. A baseball game was in session when I arrived so I sat down at a table and looked over the maps to plan out the next few days, as there are two long sections of the route, one 38 miles and one 58 miles, where there are no services (restaurants, gas stations, etc) so "plan accordingly."
After looking at the maps for a bit and getting a rough 60-70 miles/day schedule worked out, I jumped back on the bike and hit up the local stores for some dinner food and food to keep on the bike. I then made my way back to the camping area, pitched the tent, took a shower, and passed out for the night.
Start: Pittsburgh, KS
End: Chanute, KS
Distance: 71.14 miles
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