Day 19 through Day 20 - Taking a Break

An interesting last few days! I made my last post in the morning, while waiting for the Subway in Larned, KS to open up. After it did, I was inside eating when a cyclist rode past, then turned around and popped his head in, asking about my trip and chatting with me for a bit. In his 50s or 60s, the guy was a local with a touring interest who chatted with me for a bit, and told me that Larned was part of a popular bicycling route, with plenty of bikers coming through. Soon after he said that, I was outside getting ready to hit the road when along came two girls on bicycles. While they didn't have much gear, their discussion of the map they had showed they weren't locals. the guy from earlier and I went over to see what was up.

It turns out one of the two girls has brain cancer and is riding across America with her friend, raising awareness of the lack of medical progress and treatments available. They were quite friendly, and actually took a fast photo. They're website is http://brainsonbikes.org/ If you explore it, you can find a photo of me there. After a bit, they were off to the east, and I headed west. Soon, I saw a turnoff for Fort Larned and headed down it, planning to check it out and nap through the hottest part of the day.

I had forgotten memorial day weekend was upon me and found that the fort was full of people dressed up in time appropriate dress. I also found another loaded bicycle and a biker near it sprawled in the shade of a tree. It turns out his name was Scott and he was on his first real tour, going the opposite direction I was. We spent some time swapping stories and suggestions before I found somewhere quite to get some napping in.

I had hoped to get to Garden City quickly, but weather decided to be difficult. Winds blew almost due north fairly hard, making me have to concentration on staying aimed in just the right direction. About 30 miles of this was exhausting, but I did find this marker in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere:

Moving on, I stopped at a local store and chatted with the owner for a bit, making sure I still had plenty of food and water, as the next stretch was empty.

Eventually it got dark and I decided to make a temporary camp for a few hours. Dad has told me stories about bad mosquito areas, but I didn't understand them fully until that night. I found that half the time I was setting up the tent I was also brushing my arms and legs to knock them off. Finally, I did minimal unpacking, got the tent up, threw in what I needed and dove in, trying to let as few in as possible. It still took about 20 minutes to kill all those that got into my tent, and as I lay there I could actually hear the buzzing of all of the mosquitoes trapped on the far side of the screen. Scary stuff! Packing up again in a few hours was another rush, then it was off on the road again, taking advantage of the dark. I made it into Garden City just about dawn. After a nap, I may write about the place. For now - sleep!