Day 26

Abilene, KS to Topeka, KS -- 105 miles Today was my first day back on the bike after an unplanned 3-day hiatus from the tour. You may remember that I was needed at home to sign papers to sell our house and start organizing things for the move. I think that riding the rest of the tour will be easier than what Lee has ahead of him in packing up the entire house and having us moved out before I get home. We reached our half-way point today when we arrived in Topeka, KS. It was a long, hot, HILLY day. Today's ride dispels the rumor that Kansas is flat! Nothing changes the other fact about Kansas, however, about it being windy. It is the windiest place I've ever been in my life! Today's ride was 105 miles but it truly was a beautiful ride. The middle third of the ride went through the Flint Hills region which looked very much like Ireland! It was very green with gentle, rolling hills. It was challenging with all the climbing (5,175 feet of elevation gain) but it was worth it in terms of beautiful scenery. I'd take today's terrain over the flat, boring part we've been in for the first two-thirds of Kansas. We'll enter Missouri tomorrow when we finish up in St. Joe (85 miles). It's hard to believe we've already been over 1,750 miles on bicycles! The tour will probably seem to go faster now because we'll be entering a new state every 3-4 days versus 6-8 like in the western states.