This ride was brutally tough, yet it felt truly adventurous in a lot of ways. We have added not one, but two new states today. First was an optional quick pass across the Sunflower State of Kansas’ northern border near the end of our route. At mile 83.5, we said hello to a state that many have been truly excited for: the Centennial State and home to some of the tallest mountains in the contiguous United States, Colorado. They make up the tenth and eleventh states we will see (even though one was technically unplanned!), and are also complete opposites in terms of how much time we spend within them during this saga. The greatest amount of time spent by a ride group in Kansas was one hour, and this presumably will be the shortest amount of time spent in a state on the ride. We will spend close to eleven days in Colorado, around 260 times that of Kansas, which will be the longest amount of time we dwell in a single state.
Ride Overview
Mileage: 93.2 (+ 1.5 round trip for Kansas border)
Elevation: +3004’/-1979’
General Direction: Navigate to westbound U.S. 34 and remain on this road for the duration of the route, when reaching Wray, turn left on Main St. to reach the stayover. Optional: At mile 76.0, turn left onto Route 27 to reach the Kansas border three-quarters of a mile away.
Points of Interest: Swanson Reservoir, historical markers (including Texas Trail Canyon, Prisoners of War in Dundy County, and Ward Bond’s Boyhood Home), Republican River, Kansas border sign, Colorado border sign, Great Plains scenery
Tales of the Trail
We awoke as usual in the early hours of the morning to a lushly darkened sky, as we were nearing the time zone border. Provided graciously with muffins and fruit by the church, we were nervous but ready to face the day after riding 104 miles the day before. One exciting element to look forward to was the addition of, technically, another state to our list as our home road of U.S. 34 passed within a mile of Kansas’ northern border. Two trio ride groups opted to complete a back-to-back century by adding a few miles to the route during this Kansas portion, and two groups of five followed but planned to take some pictures at the border instead. We began with some straightaways, a few rolling hills through carving river valleys, and some amazing views of distant foothills and the Swanson Reservoir.
The raw mileage added up as we pushed into the middle of the day, grappling with saddle sores, fatigue, and other aches. The sun was ludicrously strong as the UV index rose to 10 and the high for the day reached 90 degrees. Sunscreen was applied copiously at every rest stop and at one of them we were even donated a bag of ice by the property owners. The diversity of bugs on this route was surprisingly high, but none of them dominated more than the miles of grasshoppers sitting in the road and jumping every which way when we rolled by (and hopefully not over) them. The land was still in many ways scenic with gentle hills and open prairie, but also dry and sparse with trees. With this, the lack of traffic, and the tiny towns we passed through, we definitely took our first glimpses into the loneliness that this part of the journey will envelope us in.
Kansas was a fun and very manageable excursion as well as a small reward for nearing the end of our route. It looked, get this, the exact same as Nebraska in that area, but allowed us to take photos and for the century-goers to get those needed miles in. Afterward, we ate a filling team lunch at Haigler Country Cafe in the town of the same name, and they even stayed open past closing time to accommodate us! The last eighteen miles were some of the hardest for many, but we were able to celebrate our crossing into Colorado after seven of them! Many on the team have been looking forward to this state and passing into the challenging but immaculately beautiful American West.
Tonight, we are staying at the Wray Recreation and Activities Center. They provided us with a delicious lasagna dinner and some homemade cobbler for dessert, as well as use of their showers and laundry machines, and we couldn’t be more grateful on all of these fronts. Tomorrow will be a short day as we ride a crisp 28 miles to Yuma, and we are looking forward to sleeping in a bit on top of moving back an hour for the Mountain Time Zone!
Love Island Watch Party!
Cyclist’s Corner
Today’s Rider: Edward Guo
How are you today? I am feeling mentally better than other days, but physically worse than other days. Today’s ride felt really long in the hot Nebraska summer. However, the ride itself was pretty fun and I enjoyed a lot of the views of western Nebraska and eastern Colorado. *salute*
You’ve fundraised thousands of dollars for our cause. What has been the most impactful fundraising experience you’ve had? I have two. First, working at Maya’s dad’s warehouse was very impactful. We were mainly repackaging products and I remember having to wake up at 5:45 every morning to go to work every day. This was during winter break, and when I left home, it would be dark and I would reach the warehouse by sunrise. The work that I did was more representative of low-income families and that was very humbling for me.
The second was doing concessions for a few games. It was really cool being able to work on something with the rest of the team, and in such a high pressure situation of trying to serve food and drinks to people. I definitely got to know a lot of my teammates and how we worked together through that experience.
What keeps you going when it gets difficult to put in all of those miles or even to get on the bike? What keeps me going, especially in the last few weeks, is being able to listen to music. That has helped me to keep my mind off the miles and the heat, and it also helps with team morale. To add on top of that, it’s about what I’m doing here and how we ride in solidarity with those who are battling cancer through physical exertion. For getting on the bike, its about the same as the other stuff. One thing I do is listen to music in the morning to get myself hyped up (today was Weird Al).
Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform? I always wear a headband with my uniform. I have seven different ones, and the nice thing about them is that they absorb and wick off the sweat from my head which prevents it from getting in my eyes.
What’s your rest stop routine? This is fairly consistent. It depends on what’s available, but it usually I get food first. If there is a gas station, I will typically grab something (salute to Casey’s). After food, I go for a bathroom break, which is nice to do when resting and not in the middle of biking. If there is a bathroom, I like to wash my hands and face to clean off excess sweat and sunscreen. After that, I apply sunscreen and refill my water bottles.
In the remaining portion of the ride, where are you looking forward to visiting the most? I am really looking forward to the week or so after Boulder as we head into the Rocky Mountains. I’m really excited to see what biking these will be like and the views that will come with that. I’m also looking forward to biking through the redwoods, not only because we will be shaded the entire time but because we will be passing under these giant trees.
Please visit the rider profiles page on the website to learn more about this year’s riders! :)
