August 9th - Day 26 - Dighton, KS to Tribune, KS - 71 miles
We had a decent cross/tail wind today, which made for fast, unremarkable miles across the flat miles of Kansas. Cynthia rode the last 22 miles of the day without problem. We are really sick of these flat miles. Little has changed from eastern Kansas to the west. One of the few changes is that the cattle farms are slowly replaced by wheat fields, woohoo. We did pass into the Mountain Time Zone today, so we get to enjoy Kansas for an extra hour. One thing going for Kansas is they do have miles and miles full of miles and miles.
One positive: most Kansas towns of appreciable size to support a park usually have a pool. In the park tonight we met Iain Cullen from Glasgow, Scotland. He's heading east and did the reverse of our alternate route (detouring from the TransAm to start in Washington). The three of us rode into town to see if there was anywhere to get a beer, but the only bar in town was closed and the convenience store doesn't sell beer. Rather displeased, we returned to the park and shared advice on where to stay and what to see. He showed great interest in the Cosmosphere museum in Hutchinson, KS. He also gave us detailed descriptions as to where he stayed and the route he took. We are going to take his advice and break from the route before going to Missoula, MT, heading north to see Glacier National Park instead. You can read and see more of Iain's travels at: www.crazyguyonabike.com/fatmanonatransam Though his website may refer to him as a "fat man on a TransAm", the Iain we met was far from fat. (I too have lost about 10-15 pounds. Though sadly a lot of mine has come from upper body muscle) The people that we have met along our journey have definitely added richness to our travels, even in the exciting Kansas plains.
Quality Water Means Quality Life
1.2 billion people do not have access to clean water. Help others avoid the choice between thirst or disease.
As we passed through the Ozark Mountains, among Missouri scenic rivers, we came to a gorgeous little spot called "Two Rivers." At this convergence of the Jacks Fork and Current rivers, the silt heavy rapids of the Current meet the clear calm of the Jacks Fork river and one can actually see the divide between the two. I couldn't help but think of the divide between our access to clean water and the lack thereof in the villages of rural Ghana.
Troy and I consume on average, about 12 to 20 (20 oz) bottles of water daily. That's 12 to 20 times per day that, unlike the people in rural Ghana, Troy and I avoid illness without even realizing it. Regardless of how many miles we ride, we have no doubt that stopping anywhere along the road for water will be easy and risk-free.
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