What's Fred Up To Now?: Day 13 - Friday June 1; Eureka, KS to Newton, KS (77 miles)

After yesterday’s blog update, another cyclist pulled up to camp in the Eureka city park. John O'Leary from Ireland is cycling the TransAmerica route. He started in Virginia about 30 days ago. It was late in the day and he still needed to find someplace to eat and clean up so our talk was very brief. The pool was closed when I returned from dinner at the Copper Kettle. There were two baseball games going on; small children and 6^th graders. I watched some of the 6^th grader game where the hometown, Eureka, was playing Emporia. Emporia was winning 8 to 2 at the end of the second inning. I retired to my tent and fell asleep to some music. The temperature when I woke up this morning was 48 degrees so it was a chilly night, but I slept comfortably.

I was out of town this morning just before 7:30 AM. John never stirred and I never saw him today. My first goal of the day was get the 19 remaining miles of US54 behind me and onto less traveled roads. This part of the ride went relatively well, but I was sure glad when I turned off at Rosalia, KS. The regional high school is at the intersection where I turned off of US54 and I needed a “pit-stop” really bad. The next town of Cassoday, KS was 17 miles away and I would never have made it. As luck would have it, there were several cars at the high school and a door was propped open. I poked my head in and was greeted by Susan, the administrative assistant to the school superintendent. She was very generous to allow me to use their facilities and top off my water bottles. She actually lives in Cassoday and told me to watch for wild mustangs about five or six miles down the road. I looked but never saw any Mustangs. It started raining about half way between Rosalia and Cassoday. I was still wearing my rain coat because of the cool temperature. I put on the rest of my rain gear and pedaled on to Cassoday which was my Plan A destination for the day. I arrived in Cassoday about 11:45 AM. There was a nice park for tent camping but no place to clean up. I found the Cassoday General Store to get something to eat and pondered whether to sit around Cassoday the rest of the day in the rain or push on to Newton, KS. The store had an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet that included some of the most delicious ribs I’ve ever had. After lunch, I made the decision to push on to Newton; another 38 miles (41 if you count that I passed my turn to get to the general store then continued on for a mile and had to turn back when I got to 160^th street and my turn was back at 150^th street). It rained for the first six to eight miles out of Cassoday and I was really chilled. I arrived at the east edge of Newton, KS about 4:45 PM and spotted the Econo Lodge that I’d called to check rates for last night. There is a camping option in Newton but it is at the athletic complex with no showers. I was cold and wet and decided to spring for the motel. All my gear is spread out drying. My panniers are water proof but quite a few things were damp from the condensation inside the tent last night. I cleaned up and walked around the corner to restaurant for dinner. I have a small load of laundry in the works and am doing some research on tomorrow’s ride to Nickerson, KS.

Even with the rain, the ride today was enjoyable - including some of US54. Wind was virtually nonexistent. The views of the Flint Hills were pretty. I rode past a structure that I assume represents the Flint Hills, though there was nothing engraved on it. I’m still surprised by how green everything is. The ride from Cassoday to Newton was also enjoyable mainly because it was peaceful until the last few miles coming in to Newton – more Friday afternoon, people driving home from work type of traffic – though not nearly as intense as last Friday at the outskirts of St. Louis, MO. The terrain is turning pretty flat. I think after tomorrow it gets “pancake” flat. The temperature is supposed to start going up and tomorrow it is forecast to get into the upper 80s. I only have 51 miles to ride and with an early start should be finished by early afternoon. A few photos from the day follow.