Part 2, Day 13, Eureka to Valley Center KS

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 effect.  The road was long and straight, so I could see cars and trucks coming a long way off.  I decided to pull off onto the gravel and stop when a semi was about to pass me.  This went on for 19 miles.  At that point we reached the town of Rosalie where we deviated from the TransAm route on our way to Valley Center.  Both Duane and I had enough of highway 54, so we went looking for alternate westbound roads.  That is not easy in KS because a lot of the roads are gravel and Google Maps does not differentiate.  Well, I ended up on a gravel road on an 80 lb touring bike with 35 mm wide tires.  Flats were a real risk, but we were determined not to ride another mile on highway 54.  

The pace was very slow and some sections I had to walk.  At one point there were houses with lawns on one side of the gravel, and well......

After 9 miles we came to a North-South road and decided to make our way back to highway 54 :(. Amazingly enough, neither of us got a flat on that gravel road.  This is quite a testament to Schalbe Marathon tires.  

When we reached the town of El Dorado we talked to locals and learned about an East-West “blacktop” road a few miles north of town that would take us just north of Valley Center. Hoo,hooo!  The road was paved with little traffic and no hills so our average speed picked up.  However, it was HOT and windy.  My Garmin read almost 105 F at one point.  The wind gusts felt like a blast furnace.  Finding water became a concern at one point until we came across a church that had outdoor faucets.  We finally reached Valley Center at about 1700.  Duane’s Aunt Dawn prepared a great dinner for us and I met his Uncle Alan and his cousins Erin and Lea.  After dinner we had great conversation until late at night (hence this late posting).  Tomorrow I look for a bike shop to box and ship my bike home.

The backroads are a veritable museum of old farm equipment.