I was hoping I could sneak out of Kansa without experiencing it's horrible wind but sadly, it caught me with two days left to go.
After a good breakfast at the B&B, it was 8am and I was loaded up and ready to go. I only made it about 10 miles and wind picked up. I was heading almost straight west and there was a very strong 15-25 mph wind coming out of the south-west, which not only slowed me right down to 8mph but the gusts constantly tried to push me sideways off the road... and it was suppose to crest 100 degrees again. I knew this was going to be a long day.
I spent the morning fighting the wind and it was 2pm by the time I slowly rolled into Dighton. The only places open in the town were the gas station and a grocery, so I went into the gas station, brought a drink, and sat down to cool off. There was no use going out and fighting the wind this afternoon after almost 5 hours this morning. I ate some food and waiting for about 2 hours since the forcast showed the wind changing to pure south or south-south-east.
I could have stopped and camped in Dighton for the night but 25 miles ahead was Scott City and a gym where you could shower and sleep for $12, so I pushed ahead. I was able to keep a pace of 10mph which I was content with knowing that even at this slow speed I only had about 2.5 hours left of cycling. Sure enough, I rolled into Scott City right at 6:30pm.
One thing I did notice over the last few days is that I am slowly gaining elevation. It's slight, but most of the time when I look off to the horizen I see the crest of a hill 2-3 miles away and when I get there its either flat for a few then up again or just another crest. Looking at the map I think I gain like 3,000ft from Bazine to Pueblo, CO. I'm not complaining, I'd pick a slow and steady climb to steeper hills any day!
When I got into Scott City I grabbed some food for a light dinner and headed over to the gym. It closed at 5pm but the owner lived upstairs and came down to let me in. I got use of the bathroom & showers and got a small carpeted room with a TV and mat to myself (it looked to be a waiting / locker room next to a raquet ball court) so I couldn't complain. I fell asleep early, vowing to wake up and get riding by 6am tomorrow to try and beat the wind.
Start:
Bazine, KSEnd:
Scott City, KS
Distance:
68.75 miles
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