Part 2, Day 11, Golden City MO to Chanute KS

91 miles in 6:42 with an average speed of 13.6 mph and 1654 ft of ascent
You will notice that my average speed has gone up and my ascent has gone down...so you guessed it, I have left the Ozarks!  Today we were at Cooky’s Cafe in Golden City when they opened at 0600 for breakfast.  Cooky’s is popular among TransAm cyclists for their hone made pies.  Even though it was breakfast I had to try the Strawberry Rhubarb, and it was served hot out of the oven...mmm, mmm GOOO!
The terrain was gently rolling hills with shallow grades.  


While it was still true that every stream crossing was proceeded by a descent and followed by an ascent, the grades were no where near as steep as the Ozarks.  On the way from Golden City to Pittsburg KS I came across this sign.

Cyclists know that doesn’t apply to them, so I proceeded to this sign.


Still undeterred I forged ahead.  Lucky for me I was able to cross a condemned bridge.  Soon after I crossed into my fifth state of the tour, the dreaded Kansas.

Western Kansas has long, straight flat roads with not much to see.  As much as I might like to just skip Kansas I cannot leave any gaps; I have to do the WHOLE thing.  
We stopped in Pittsburg for Duane to get some more work done on his bike at the bike shop.  I took advantage of the stop to replace the rear derailleur cable, which was shredded due to the huge number of shifts I did in the Ozarks.  The Shimano STI  brake/shift levers are known to be very hard on cables.  The cable was so shredded I had a hard time removing it.  It took way too long and we were now riding in the hottest part of the day.  
As I went west the roads straightened out, the wind started to pick up from the SSW (slight headwind), and the sun started to cook me.  I was very glad to reach my destination of the city campground in Chanute at about 6:30 pm.  
Here is the next in the tractors & pickups series.


And just to avoid any confusion about other types of buildings with bell towers and steeples.


Jim C., if you are following, this one is for you.






Comments

  1. jscJuly 18, 2019 at 6:27 AM

    Great FORD sign! Fun to follow along with your journey!

    ReplyDelete

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