Well after 69 miles I'm in buhler Kansas...city park swimming pool..library WiFi..nice people and the dam headwind can  kma until the morni.g lol!

At 4 am I was on the bike riding. The plan was to get some miles in before it got to hot to ride. So ten minutes into the ride and the heavens opened and I'm drenched to the skin in a heavy thundery shower. I took cover near some old barns but the sand turned to mud in the rain and things were looking messy. I kept riding and eventually it stopped raining. It's overcast today and humid and hit. I've met three westbound riders this morning and now I'm sitting next to fat hot dog woman at the gas station in Nickerson. Both knees are painfull now...Kansas headwinds really suck!

I'm going to take a break here then head to newton.

Shinto skipping work today to watch the women's water polo in the Olympics...ha ha.

Now the big question.is....do I get put of this comfy bed and air con room and ride on in the burning heat...or ..just sit on top of the air con all day? Lol!

I've finally got a good enough wi fi connection and all the recent backlog of updates seem to have gone through at once and some in the wrong date order...hey Ho..at least they finally got uploaded.

I could get used to this air conditio.ing thing you know...its taken my body a couple of hours to cool back down from todays ride in the heat...

I met a young couple riding to sanfrancisco from Virginia...they had had enough of Kansas winds ...I can understand that. Kansas so far for me has been all about the cool friendly people. The rides to be honest are scenically similar each day and the wind and heat are bordering on dangerous...dehydration is a real risk.
Tonight I'm able to watch the Olympics on tv...cool down...do some washing and relax.
There is a bike shop in town so I may take time to get the bike tuned up tomorrow.

I'm looking fleets to meeting some of the guys from vs planet here in Kansas soon hopefully.

Cool bikes in kansas

Free rock concert in deigjton city park Kansas last night

From what I can tell most of the towns here are built along the railway lines...my route is basically a straight line right across the state following the railroad

On a mission from god

Railroad crossing at dawn outside deigjton Kansas this morning

All roads lead to the horizon

Ha ha...this wins my award for the most imaginative post box I have seen so far on this tour!

Classic American car show on dieghtpn city park this afternoon.

Today I decided to rest my knee and not ride. The city park in deighton has a classic car and bike show and I've met lots of car owners...mostly polishing the cars with rags and sitting in camp chairs. I found a shady spot to eat water melon and fell asleep. Preople

Here are interested in my trip...the hotdog seller was more interested in the mental strength it involved.

I will watch the rock bands here tonight and move on tomorrow.

My bedroom tonight in the city park in dighton kansas

This is Brian Powers who chatted to me for a while in the city park.today

Classic bikes on Kansas today

Sunday stRted early at 5 am. I had tailwinds for 65 miles from deighton and  thankfully my knee held up. Along the way I called in at elained b and b for cyclists and was treated to icecream fruit and a very welcome shower. It was to early in the day to
Stop riding and this tailwind is fun so I didn't check in and carried on my way. I wojld recomme.d elaines oasis to any cyclist on this route.

I got to rush centre and found everything closed. It's to hot to ride now at over 40c in the shade so I'm sitting in some shade at the gas station where there is a soda machine. A coke costs a dollar but the machine let's you have it for 25cents. I ran out of change but two farmers in a pick up truck called in for gas...they didn't have change for a 20$ bill so they just gave me 3$ for the soda machine!  I have never k.own people as friendly as they are here in Kansas. Thanks guys!

It really was to hot to ride today but I did 74 miles anyway to dieghton Kansas. The wind here just goes round in circles so you get both tail ans head winds all the time. The rides between watering holes are dry patching and totally void if Amy shade whatsoever. Sun screen is a must as is lots of water. I have a pain on my knee which is due to fighting this wind for to long. It needs packing in ice in an air con room with a DVD player and a fridge full of ice cold coke lol!
Locals here tell me there is some kind of festival on this park tomorrow..I am wondering if a day off the bike might be in order. I rode as fast as I could to get here before the pool shut..but it shut just as I arrived. So I headed to the store and bought ice cold water melon, mountain dew by the bucketful and a tub of strawberry ice cream and retired to a shady spot in the green city park. Here I have power water restrooms and a place to sleep outside. I may swim on the morning.
People in Kansas have been wonderfully helpful and friendly to me so far. I had to disturb a guy in his office so I could get something scanned from my phone...he was adamant he would do it and didn't mind taking half an hour of his day..even his boss was happy to help. No charge.
The scenery remains flat and the same as the last few days if a little greener. Riding between towns is like running from the shade of one umbrella to another on a scolding hot sandy beach...except there are no cold beers...no sea to swim on and I have fat truck drivers instead of bikini babes. Oh well!
Over half way now and still loving every minute of this adventure!

Well this afternnoo.s ride was hot windy and dry. I got so hot I had to sleep in a ditch to cool down. Then I found water at fort larned even though it was closed I went in anyway and took a picture. Eventually I got to larned Kansas after 92 miles riding ..it was  109f when o rode I.to town...in the shade.
I went to subway to eat and as I was ordering Tim bought my dinner because I wad from lo.don and cycling across the states! The kindness of people here is amazing! So I have a free foot long sub and unlimited ice cold coke after a very hot ride!

This is where I am

I had this pool all to myself last night in tribune Kansas city park

Starting to see Kansas corn instead of dust now.

Crossing the state line into Kansas yesterday

Bad thi.ha happened here to Indian women and children

Jerry from Vermont and I hide from the midday sun

Cat bro.ha water on middle of nowhere

Here I am

The pool on tribune city. Park I had all to myself for free.

Kansas corn is starting to replace eastern Colorado dust.

Crossing the state line into Kansas

Bad things were done here to Indian women and children

Gerry from Vermont and I hiding from the midday sun at yet another gas statipn

Cat gives me water in the middle of nowhete

The ride yesterday was hot windy and tough. The headwind was draini.g enerergy and  I found myself longing for the mountains and cooler air!

Clearly other eastboi.d riders missed the mountains as well!

So tonight there is a baseball game being played about 50m from my sleep mat ...they have a pa system to announce who is up to bat and who is on deck. I like stuff like this..its real..this is a mixed game girls and boys...its fun..and probably more of a traditional American mate selection exercise than a serious game of baseball. Blueberry pie seems to have been served during the break. It's floodlit on the field so I can see the game from my sleeping bag!

I had breakfast on a retired train on sugar city

Eastern Colorado is desollate..flat hot and dry...this is all I saw for many many miles

Here I am with jerry from Vermont hiding at a gas station from the mid day sun and headwinds.

Earlier today I crossed the state line into Kansas...follow the yellow brick road...Dorothy where are you? ;)lol

So here I am in the city park tribune Kansas. I have a washroom a shower and a swimming pool all to myself. I've puffed out on ice cream and mountain dew soda and I don't even need to pitch the tent because there is a covered place for me to sleep and dry my clothes I just washed. All free. How many UK towns have facilities like this?
The guy at the library saw me trying to get a WiFi signal outside so he invited me in...I'd forgotten how great air conditioning can be lol! The ride today was hot and windy again as I crossed into Kansas from Colorado. The scenery is the same for mile after mile..Very open dry farmland. The towns are all in a line alonf the railway line and mostly they have big corn towers to load the trains. Tribune is a good town to rest in if you are doing this ride. Nice people and all a cycle tourist needs. People along this route are used to cyclists and for the most part welcome them with a smile and a helpful attitude. The main conversation with the locals is the excessive heat.
I've had a swim..washed and feel human again. Along the route today I met Jeremy again..he is riding ultra light..just a tent sleeping bag and cycle clothes..nothing else.
In this heat its about all you need and even the tent is defunct tonight in this city park anyway.
I am ahead of schedule..and can afford to take it easy in this heat.
I'm spending more in this heat..on cold Gatorade mostly.
Kansas so far seems like a friendly state. The Sherrif was happy to see me and she thought my accent was cool.
The ladies who run the pool let me swim after it was shut.

Here there were bad things done many Yeats ago to Indian women and children...to get to the site is an 8 mile hike on a sand track in the heat...Shinto does not deserve that so we moved on.

Kansas farms

So where am I ? Half way across...or more!

Kansas

Dinner last night on pueblo with my good friends from vs planet. Great guys and they made Mr feel very welcome here in the USA. It's do cool to have friends like these guys...cheers Don, Pat & George.

This place has adopted a welcoming attitude to cyclists and you signs like this up in shops and places to eat etc. Very cool.

Shinto in Boone today

So here I am sleeping in a caravan at a really nice biker hostel run ny a nice lady from New Zealand. I hooked up with Jeff from Vermont today and we rode a few miles together then crashed on the park in the shade. It is so hot here I am sweating buckets! Over 100f easy and its dark!

Clyde in the park...cowboy hat instead of his ww2 tin hat

Lots of prisons here

It's behind you Rolf!

Pueblo cop car