Day 18 TABR 2017

WOW 18 DAYS

June 20, 2017 -- Day 18 of my TABR. Never have I done anything remotely as complex, uncertain, sometimes dangerous, lonely, hot, amazing, testing, and lengthy as this.

In Kansas for the second day and all is going well. The coughing and snot rockets are manageable and I am not getting worse on the old block-and-tackle. Don't get me wrong, the pain still made me wince many times a day. I'm actually starting to worry if by purposely inflicting my body to this sort of pain day after day, was I not going to mess with my physique. All I could think of was the character in Game of Thrones, Reek's (Theon Grayjoy) relationship with his capturer and how he was never the same after the months of torture. Was I going to be my own Reek creator? Maybe, I'll tackle some more deep self-analysis later.

The second day was going great. Early up with Aaron in our train station post office and we rode out of town. The sun was in our faces and the wind was not a problem. I guess we crossed Kanasas on the few days where wind was not an issue. Saw a few of these giant tubes being hauled by trucks. I imagine they were for future wind turbines. Aaron and I slowly drifted apart. You always need to ride at your own pace.

The armadillo murder rate in Kansas was phenomenal. There must have been a roadkill every half mile all day. And it would get worse as other animals joined in the suicide pack. I never got a good picture of any since in the heat and sun you didn't want to hang around these rotting carcasses very long. My nose would soon be able to tell the age of a roadkill by its pungent lingering aroma.

TORONTO

One of my favourite cities up in Canada, here in Kansas it was a little different. People were friendly, but there weren't very many of those here. Found Main Street under the big banner announcing some fun times, I hope. I was able to find a few snacks and mail a postcard to my wife. I even checked out their post office simply out of curiosity. Maybe I should make a post office report for the whole route. Even though you aren't technically "allowed" to use them as a rest stop, they do come in handy.

Trains and more trains -- it's always fun looking at trains.

Good thing too, since at one point I was clearly going to go down the wrong road, but since the train stopped me I was able to recheck the maps and not commit a possibly costly mistake. This day's ride would also be marked by many 90 degree turns

With wide open spaces and a quick pace it's easy to miss a turn as the heat and monotony of the route lulls you to a semi sleep state.

A SPOT WATCHER/ANGEL

As I pulled into Chanute KS my goal was to get some clear work glasses to help with the night bugs. Evening riding had become more frequent, as I was building up stamina. When the lights go down the bugs come out. Clouds of them and they seem to like to hang out about head height over the roads. So eye protection was a must. Those critters sting when you squish one in the eyeball. Anyway, just as I was walking into the hardware store, from about 200 yards across a busy road, I hear Corina shouting my name. She was waving for me to go over to her. After I got the glasses, I joined her and a few other riders in her headquarters at the gas station. She was so happy to receive us, that it made you happy too.

It was nice seeing a friendly fan, but I need to keep moving. After a cold drink and some junk food supplies, I was back on the flats of Kansas. I was on the final miles of map 8 and this map set still didn't show any elevation change. That situation would drastically change on Map 9. I might as well enjoy it as long as it lasts.

I should have looked out for a bike-shop in Chanute, as I was hearing some worrisome creaks all day in the back half of my bike. It felt like it was originating around the pedal area. I still ponder why I didn't investigate the cause myself, to this day, I pushed on to Pittsburgh. And that's when I met the Bike Whisperer.

As I started to ride into town, my eyes caught site of a Trek bike sign. Wait, I drive a Trek bike. Wow, that's fortunate. I couldn't have planned better if I had tried. Which I didn't. I rolled up to the bike store. Who is a Bike Whisperer you ask?

This guy,

Out of the four bike shops I stopped, this was by far the best. Tailwind Bike Shop wins the honour. The problem wasn't that complicated to fix -- Mostly a loose rear wheel. What was great was how he would lean into the frame from different angles looking for any play and tightening things accordingly. I had to force him to take a $20. The fun story behind this was that it was store ride evening and he was all alone in the store because he couldn't ride for a few days. The only reason the store wasn't closed was that he had a vasectomy that day. My luck that a man wanted to help around the house by not making any more babies. Thank you Roger.

The night got even better as I closed into the city centre I spotted a few bikes at a bar and there was Aaron and Russell. Many beers were had. That was a good stop and I could of closed the bar down but morning race start was calling

Found some crappy food as I headed to a motel for a shower and mattress after two nights in Post Offices. Who else was checking in that night, but no other than the other Russell. There was a pack of about six riders that were constantly leapfrogging for the last few days and days to come. Only 157 miles today. The early stop was fun and probably helped me recharge for the hills to come.