Entering Kansas

The time off in Denver was great. I had time to rest my leg & enjoy the city. I even had 2 sushi meals! On Sunday we went to the Rockies game & watched them beat the Dodgers 10-4. Ryan got us great $13 tickets in right field that were really good AND included a free hot dog & soda.We left Monday morning, drove back to Pueblo & restarted our ride. It was a relatively short 60 mile ride to Ordway, CO. It should have been an easy day, but noooooo.... Most of the day was into a truly nasty headwind or crosswind. We would try to paceline, but the winds were swirling & it was really tough to find a good place to be with another rider or 2. Then there was Ordway..

As soon as we turned off the highway into town, it stank. Really, really stank. Like Poo. Not farm smell, like sewage smell. Really really bad. We stayed in the wrestling room so at least the floor was padded. Our support team A made a great dinner with chicken & tofu casseroles. We couldn't wait to leave.

The next day took us another 60'ish miles. We did a lecture at the Ordway HS in the morning, then rode from there. We stopped at Eads, CO & then drove another 70 miles to Leoti, KS HS. A 2nd day of flat roads with high winds. A much nicer school & another great dinner by support team B.

Today we all started out expecting another rough ride & were pleased that it didn't happen. Today was an 80 mile day to Ness City, KS where we did a short lecture at 1 of the smallest hospitals I've ever been to visit. They have 20 beds & average 4 inpatients/day. The winds were mild, even cooling. The roads were easy, flat to rolling with a good shoulder. We had a rest stop in Scott City at a donut shop & lunch in Dighton (corrected 5/1) at an ice cream stand that made burgers. I had a double with fries & a shake. Not our usual, but the shop gave us all our food at 50% off. Delicious!

Here are 2 pictures to close out today. We rode past George Washington Carver's home. The other is Jeff & Ryan giving the lecture at Ness City Hospital.