Steve's TransAm Adventure

54.7 miles, 885 ft ascent, 5:02 riding time.  Johannes and I started the day with a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon at the exotic animal farm while we waited for it to stop raining.  It did stop around 0930, at which point we went to the grocery store in town to pick up food for lunch because there were no towns between Nickerson and Great Bend.  It was overcast, with temps in the upper 60’s, occasional rain and a wind of about 10 mph that changed direction during the day.  We rode from primarily farming country into prairies and grasslands with grazing cattle. The cattle must have thought we came to feed them. This is big sky country with loooong straight roads.  We are gradually going up.  By the time we reach Pueblo CO we will have increased our elevation by 2,000 ft.  About the last 15 miles into Great Bend the route turned North directly into a headwind with gusts of about 13 mph.   Our route took us along the edge of the Quivira Wildli...

49.5 miles, 768 ft ascent, 3:28 riding time, Newton elevation 1,434 ft.  I started the day with homemade pancakes, peaches and homemade applesauce prepared by our hosts, David and Elena.  Breakfast was followed by great conversation.  I learned that David designed and built his house using the latest in energy efficiency.  His house is so well insulated that he heats and cools it with a 1800 W mini-split (that is equivalent to a powerful blow-dryer).  He has solar panels that generate more electricity than he needs, even in the winter!  We said our good-byes and continued west at about 0900 with cloudy skies, temps around the mid 60’s and a 10 mph tailwind!   This part of Kansas is quite flat with prairie meadows, fields with “amber waves of grain”, green fields with crops and brown newly ploughed fields separated by corridors of trees along roads, streams, and gulleys (basically anywhere water travels).   Roads are generally long and straight wit...

33.4 miles, 712 ft ascent, 2:32 riding time. Today I ride north to pick up the TransAm in Newton KS, so tomorrow will be Day 1.  Today started with an alarm at 0400 to make a 0630 flight to Chicago and then on to Wichita.  Sitting next to me on the flight was the former Dean of faculty at the Naval Academy, Mike Halbig, and the person that hired me back in 2002.  Small world. Truth be told, neither of us recognized the other.  My plane landed at 1210 and by 1230 I was at the Biycle X-Change bike shop in Wichita.  I had shipped my bike there about 2 weeks ago.  The guys at the shop were very helpful, so by1400 I had my bike re-assembled and was on the road to Newton.  The wind was blowing at 10 mph from the East and I was going predominantly North, so it wasn’t too bad. Temps were in the low 60’s and it was overcast.  I arrived at my WarmShowers hosts, David and Elena Wiebe, at 1730.  David made pizza dough from scratch using wheat they harves...

It is hard to believe it has been 7 years since I completed Part 2.  A LOT has happened since then (COVID, my daughter’s wedding in Austria, a struggle with Cervical Radiculopathy, 4 grandchildren, and two hip replacements), which is why it has been 7 years.  I have never given up hope that I might someday get a chance to finish what I started, the entire TransAm from Yorktown VA to Astoria OR.  This year I will pick up where I left off in Wichita KS.  I will fly my bike to a shop in Wichita and re-assemble it there.  Then I will head North to pick up the TransAm route where I left off.  I was not able to complete the entire route in one part because my job and family did not afford me the flexibility to take that much time off.  Last December I retired after 23 years as a Professor in the Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering department at the United States Naval Academy, so I no longer have that constraint.  Consequently, it is my goal to finish ...

67 miles, 6:33 riding time, average 10.2 mph, 1614 ft ascent We got an early start today, leaving the city park in Eureka at 0600.  It was a nice park with a municipal pool, so we really enjoyed swimming and relaxing at the pool after yesterday’s ride.  Today our goal was to go off-route to Duane’s Aunt and Uncle’s house in Valley Center.  Duane is planning a rest day, and as I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I will end Part 2 there.   The route out of Eureka was on Highway 54, which I described in my last post.  There wasn’t much traffic early in the morning, but the wind was blowing at about 20 mph from the SW with gusts of up to 30 mph.      There wasn’t anything to block the wind; this is wide-open country. This is a PANO photo from my iPhone. A disadvantage of front panniers is that gusting wind creates a force that turns the front wheel and causes me to swerve slightly.   When big semi’s pass they also create gusts that have the same eff...

62 miles, 5:00 riding time, 12.4 mph average, 1257 feet ascent Riding in the hot sun all day yesterday was too much. The plan today is to finish the ride by 1300. Eureka is 63 miles and I averaged about 13 mph yesterday, so that is 5 hours saddle time. Allowing 2 hours for breaks and water stops means I must roll out at 0600. First light is 0545, so this is a realistic plan. I set my alarm for 0415 and bought food for breakfast at Walmart last night.  Everything went according to plan.  I left Chanute at 0600 with my front headlight and read blinky lights.  Soon after I saw the sunrise. This part of Kansas is not actually flat.  It is rolling hills.  The grades are not bad (5%), but the climbs are long.   On my way to Toronto Reservior I was riding down a paved road and came to an intersection where the road I was on continued as gravel into some trees, or turned left onto a paved road.  Just as I made the left a couple dogs came running out of the woo...