Day 30 - Larned, KS to Hesston, KS

98 miles / Day 30 of 50 / Larned, KS to Hesston, KS

So to start this off, as I said earlier, Kansas has been great in the fact that it's so welcoming to bikers. We've stayed at a city park every night and we've come up with qualities to be found in a good city park that caters to bikers:

1. A pavilion/awning so you don't have to put up a tent
2. A swimming pool/shower that you can use after a long day of biking
3. A soap dispenser for when you forgot your body wash in the middle of Utah somewhere.
4. (Clean!) Lost and found towels from the swimming pool (when you left your towels at a hot springs in Rico, Co (see below)

Yeah, we've hit the nomadic stage of our trip...

All of the above qualities were had in a great night in Larned. Because of that, we woke up early learning from our previous mistakes and tried to beat most of the heat.

Another perk to early morning starts.

We started the day out with 58 miles of no services. After getting on the road around six in the morning, we saw one of the most beautiful sunrises. Purples, oranges and yellows lit up the sky. Thanks, Kansas.

For once, the wind was straight in our face. Odd. Usually the wind is coming from the South in Kansas, and since we're going East, we get a cross wind, but it was coming almost directly out of the East and blowing in our faces. Thank goodness it was still cooler pounding out those miles!

We got into our first break at about 10:30 and were happy for the relief from the heat.

We had about 40 miles left, but it seemed like time just dripped as we went. Kansas has some hills (?) and there was some wind, but I think more than anything we were just tired.

We spent the afternoon chatting about dumb MLB/NBA moves, small market sports-franchises and draft history. It's funny how our two favorite teams - Seth's Timberwolves and my Pirates - seem to have similar fates year after year. Dumb trades, poor player development, bad luck.

Here's hoping the Buccos are getting out of the funk soon?

Anyways, we arrived in Hesston this afternoon, went right to the gas station and got free sandwiches from the guy who was working there. We must have looked REALLY worn-out.

Now we're looking for a place to sleep tonight. Hesston doesn't list any parks where bicyclists can stay. We might just try our luck though. Could make for another interesting encounter with the police.