Day Twenty-seven

Lauren out sprints me to the 1/2-way point.

Wild Thing Rob regularly checks with his agent on the status of his various projects.

Ike and me.

Phil showing me how to beat Lauren to the line next time.

Special SAG stop with cupcakes courtesy of JC.

This is for the tractor guys with a special shout out to Dave Libbey who I understand is rehabbing well.

Hey we're half way home!

Pygmy buffalo riding.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

And it was a dandy of a day. With only 65 miles to travel we got a second morning to sleep in a bit. Today’s route started due east for about 11 miles on the highway with a blistering south wind but we turned north on to a quiet country road and it was like magic. With the blistering wind now pushing us along we realized that we’re also now in the Flint Hills area of Kansas. It’s still pretty flat but there are little hills with a lot more trees versus the Western Plains area. The hills were like little bumps with the tailwind.

It was an incredible low-traffic run all the way to Abilene and I’m guessing that everyone was there by noontime. We stopped at the Dish Café for lunch. Creative sandwiches and salads in a clean homey atmosphere. The two sisters owned the matching pink scooters and let Phil and me take a spin.

Very hot with increasing humidity so we’re wondering about showers tomorrow. But we found a great oasis at the Eisenhower Library and Museum. The original boyhood home is still there but was closed for some reason. The museum is definitely worth a visit if you’re interested in history. A quick pedal around Old Abilene Town that is more of a tourist attraction and final tailwind up Buckeye Street to the hotel. OMG…a DQ literally 50 yards from the hotel. Perfect ending to a perfect day.

Wish they could all be like this but tomorrow we’ll be slogging out 108 miles to Topeka. I think I’ll break it into two 54 miles trips.

Just a note on the tension in the peleton. When I came in for breakfast this morning Phil didn’t exactly genuflect but I do believe he bowed slightly and I quietly recognized him for his superb effort on Thursday. As in long tours sometimes you need to make strange alliances to survive so we’ll see how this all plays out. In the meantime all is peaceful as we head for our final stop in Kansas tomorrow.

Hope everyone has an exciting holiday weekend with family and friends. We’ll be celebrating here in the heartland of America.

Today’s ratings: (the higher the better or easier)

Scenery: 7

Road conditions: 9

Grunt factor: 9

Sorry for the late post but we had connection problems last evening.