Cycling and other musings
75 miles, 4721 feet climbed
Today was another day with fine weather, light winds that were never opposing us, and more–even more than yesterday–short hills followed by short descents, rinse and repeat. Legend has it that someone counted the individual climbs on either today’s or yesterday’s route and came to a count in excess of 100. It sure felt like it. The last climb ended about half a mile from tonight’s hotel.
Continue reading “Day 29: Chillicothe to Kirksville, MO”87 miles, 4590 feet climbed
Today’s winds were light and favorable. Storms threatened those to the west but we stayed dry. The challenge for the day was nearly relentless short hills, the largest of which came at the end of the route, nearly until we arrived in Chillicothe.
Continue reading “Day 28: St. Joseph to Chillicothe, MO”85 miles, 2251 feet climbed
I started the day wearing all my colder weather gear due to a predicted start temp in the very low 50’s and Dean’s report, about 45 minutes before the start that it was quite cold. It must’ve warmed quickly because once I brought my bike out, I immediately ditched my jacket in favor of my lightweight wind vest. Staff collects things we want to discard during the ride for us to pick up at the hotel; that’s where my jacket went before the ride even started. I wore the vest until the second SAG, at a Dairy Queen.
Continue reading “Day 27: Topeka, KS to St. Joseph, MO”68 miles, 2621 feet climbed
Today was better than expected. The roads were all rural, lightly traveled. The winds, while present as predicted and generally in our faces, were lighter than previous days. And the threatened rains stayed away until after we arrived in Topeka.
Continue reading “Day 26: Emporia to Topeka, KS”0 miles
Today was not a day that was worth riding, for myself and a few others, at least. The projected winds were gusting to as high as 50 mph and the National Weather Service issued a warning to that effect. I walked out of our hotel to check the winds for myself and was nearly knocked over as I rounded a corner.
Continue reading “Day 24 McPherson to Emporia, KS”65 miles, 512 feet climbed
Today’s predicted winds were greater in velocity than yesterday’s, with higher gusts and directly from the south. Our route was due east. Not optimal, right. Things were relatively calm for the first couple of hours but then they picked up for the second half of the ride. Luckily the federal highway we rode was designed with wide shoulders, allowing ample room to steer back on course as the gusts tried to direct me into traffic. (I would not have ridden Texas/Oklahoma’s narrow shoulders in these winds.)
Continue reading “Day 23: Great Bend to McPherson, KS”86 miles, 328 feet climbed
A week or so ago, John from the UK introduced me to the Epic Ride Weather app, which pulls down GPS route files from Ride with GPS and generates charts showing various aspects of the weather along the route, including wind speed and direction. For today’s leg of our adventure we headed northeast and the wind direction was predicted to be directly from the south (at 14-19 mph with gusts as high as 28 mph), offering a slightly quartering tailwind. I didn’t feel that it helped much but it didn’t impede much either.
Continue reading “Day 22: Dodge City to Great Bend, KS”84 miles, 732 feet climbed
Finally, a true, not imagined, tailwind, with more to come tomorrow. Hooray! At times it was only a perpendicular wind but, especially for the last 20 miles as our route pointed due north along with the winds, it took virtually no effort to cruise in the 20-25 mph range. 84 miles were gobbled up quickly. And our rooms were ready when I arrived at the hotel. A very good day.
Continue reading “Day 21: Liberal to Dodge City, KS”41 miles, 279 feet climbed
Today was an easy day. Due to the short distance, we started 90 minutes later than normal. Crosswinds were predicted and they came in the last 15 miles or so, turning into a headwind. I got in just in time for lunch and was able to work on these pages while my room was readied.
Continue reading “Day 20: Guymon, OK to Liberal, KS”72 miles, 896 feet climbed
Another day with significant crosswinds. My average speed increased from 10.9 mph to 12.3 mph and there was less climbing. The trucks got over into the fast lane whenever they could, which helped with the wind effects they can generate. I had a decent baby back ribs dinner at the pub next to our hotel, with one oddity–the coleslaw was swimming in thousand island dressing or something very similar. I’ve never had it that way before and don’t recommend it.
Continue reading “Day 19: Dalhart, TX to Guymon, OK”