What's Fred Up To Now?: Day 17 - Tuesday June 5; Ness City, KS to Scott City, KS (56 miles)

After yesterday's update I left the library, purchased a few things at a nearby grocery store then returned to the city park and showered at the pool. I rode back to the main street and had a delicious dish of baked spaghetti and meatballs at Pizza Plus then returned to the city park. Who was there but John O'Leary. I asked John if the boys playing basketball until after midnight last night in Larned bothered him. He said he was at the VFW drinking with the locals until after 1:00 AM - so no they didn't bother him. I couldn't do that, but he's having a really good time. I didn't sleep well again last night. It was hot and the humidity goes up when the sun goes down so inside the tent was like a sauna. Plus kids showed up at the parking lot a couple of times late at night.

Anyway, I was up and out of the park at 7:00 AM and after a breakfast roll and drink at a local convenience store I was out of town before 7:30 AM. It was another beautiful day for cycling in Kansas; cool to start, clear skies, wide road with little traffic and a bit of a tail wind. The terrain is very flat now and there is a lot of wheat harvesting going on.

I came across a historical marker indicating the George Washington Carver homesteaded in this area before pursuing his education in Iowa. I've sure seen a lot of signs laying claim to one part or another of GWC's life as I've traveled through the US. Reminds me of Buffalo Bill who was born and died in every state in the union (or so it seems).

The only town with services along today's route was Dighton, KS. About half way to Dighton I crossed paths with Bryan and Elise from New Zealand who are riding as part of a supported group from Bejing China to London England (at least that's what I thought they said). They gave me a web site of "bicycle.pl" so I'll have to check that out. Their group had spent the night in Dighton and was headed for Rush Center tonight. There were maybe eight riders that appeared to be in this group but none of the others slowed to chat. Once in Dighton, I stopped at a Kwik Shop and had an early lunch. I checked in with my beloved, looked at maps then headed out for the last 24 miles to Scott City. I passed road signs for Scott County, KS. I was raised in Scott County, IL and lived in Scott County, IA for a number of years so I had to stop and take a couple of photos.

I arrived at the Lazy-R motel around 12:45 PM and they let me into my room. I dried out my tent, aired out my camping gear then lubed my bike. The front wheel seems to be making a barely noticeable noise so I check it out. It seems like a bearing noise though nothing was loose and the noise is only noticeable when I stand to pedal which I can stop doing. I may try to have a bike shop in Pueblo look at it next Sunday or Monday if it gets any worse. Otherwise, hopefully it will get me to Ft. Collins, CO. If not, I'm now not terribly far from family where I can get some help. Maybe I can talk Susi's brother Cliff into SAGing for me over Hoosier Pass and on to Ft. Collins/Loveland.

Scott City has a population of about 3,500 so it has more amenities than most towns I've passed through. This includes a Dairy Queen where I had my first chocolate milk shake of the trip. I returned from the DQ, cleaned up and did laundry. After this blog update, there isn't much left to do except relax a little and get a good night's sleep. I'll likely be camping again for the next several days now that I have clean clothes.

Tomorrow I'm off to Tribune, KS which will only be a 47 mile ride. Wind is predicted to be a little high but it is from the SSE or SE so at worst it will be a cross wind (which can still be pretty tough when the bike is loaded). High temperatures are forecast to only be in the mid-80's so it should be another nice biking day. I will pass into the Mountain time zone about 10 miles before Tribune. Mid-morning of Thursday's ride I will pass into Colorado. My bike trip odometer is at 976 miles, plus the 3 I lost for computer failure for a total of 979 miles. I think I only have about 600 or so miles left to Ft. Collins. A few photos from today follow.