Part 2, Day 12, Chanute to Eureka KS

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 woods from the gravel road.  They were medium size terriers of some kind.  I had lost my momentum so I decided to stop and tell them to “go home!” And “git!”.  Then another dog joined them, and another, and another, until there were 7!  When I yelled at them they stood their ground and barked at me.  As soon as I tried to get going they would rush towards me.  I stopped and yelled at them again and they stopped, barked and stood their ground.  After doing this a couple times I decided to make a run for it.  It takes a lot to get a loaded touring bike going, and the dogs were faster than I was.  One ran up on my  left, one behind me and one on my right.  Well, guess what time it was?  You guessed it....pepper spray time!  I let loose a squirt at the one behind me and it immediately stopped, The one on my left came around behind me and I gave it a squirt too.  Then I turned to squirt the one on my right and it put on the brakes deciding it wanted nothing to do with me after all.  The others quit the chase and I rode away.  After all the dogs that chased me in KY, I did not use the spray until today.  Part of me would like to know what affect it had on them, but I wasn’t going back.  Whether they recognized the spray or felt the effect, I will never know, but it worked.  

I saw a lot of flooding in KY, IL, and MO.  Well, even KS had some flooding...here is the reservior.  Those are trees in the water.

I left the nearly deserted country roads and turned onto  highway 54 for the final 18 miles into Eureka.  I had been warned about this highway but it is difficult to find an alternate with so many gravel roads.  54 is one lane each direction with about a 3 foot shoulder and gravel outside that.

It was hot, nearly 100 F, there was a 14 - 18 mph wind blowing out of the SSW (I was going West), and the road went over rolling hills that were about 0.5 mile from valley to crest.  The road was used by semi’s and they did not give much space.  Many of them moved left but only within the lane.  At 70 mph and a gap of maybe 5 or 6 feet there is a suction created that pulled me left towards the truck as it passed.  I had to brace myself for each passing truck.  Trucks going the other way created a grit filled blast of wind robbing my momentum and buffeting me as the wake passed.  Needless to say, this was my least favorite part of the ride so far and a rather harrowing experience.  I arrived in Eureka at 1213.  Unfortunately I have to ride the same highway for the first 20 or so miles tomorrow.  

Speaking of tomorrow, I decided to make Wichita my final destination for this Part.  There is a heat wave in KS with temperatures approaching 100 F that is expected to remain until Sunday.  That combined with strong winds is causing me to sweat profusely, which in turn makes it hard to carry enough water to stay hydrated.  The sweat running down my arms totally soaks my gloves making it hard to hold onto the hoods.  I even tried wearing wide sweat bands on each wrist, but they became a soaked in a couple hours and then did no good.  My shorts are totally wet with sweat all day.  My head sweats also gets soaked causing sweat to run down my sunglasses.  I don’t think I am well suited to exerting myself in this extreme heat. Coincidently enough Duane has an aunt and uncle that live just north of Wichita that he was planning to visit and take a rest day.  That works out perfectly for me because there is a bike shop that can pack and ship my bike only 11 miles from his aunt and uncle, and the Wichita airport is not far away either.  Perhaps it is fate.  So, tomorrow we ride 62 miles off route to his aunt and uncles house and on Saturday morning I fly home.  

One parting photo...this is what a windmill used to look like.  This one was operational.