Note: John de Figueiredo takes over the daily blog posts for this segment. Enjoy.
Tribune, KS to Scott City, KS - 48 miles
Nothing runs like a Deere...!
The crew was up at 5:20am to beat the wind. Unfortunately the wind was up earlier. By the time we left Tribune, KS, at 6:45a, the crew faced a 15-17 mile headwind which continued unabated throughout the day.
A typical view from the road. You feel kind of small out here.
The ride from Tribune to Leoti was much like the ride from Leoti to Scott City. Flat. One can look across the plains of Kansas for 10 miles in any direction and see the same scene--fields of wheat and corn dotted with grain elevators, wind mills, and really small towns. The roads are straight which means the serene ride is punctuated every three minutes with the roar of large and oversized tractor trailers reaching over 65mph, carrying John Deere combines, livestock, and other farming supplies.
Taking a roadside breather.
The boys, who are now in phenomenal condition after weeks in the mountains, have shown great mercy on their new leader. Imagine that you rode with Superman (Steve--cyclist extraordinaire), followed by Carbon Man (Murph--former army ranger), followed by Ironman (David H.--ironman triathlete). And then Tin Man shows up (me--professor). They kept a good pace line and did all the pulling through the headwind.
Moving into the Central time zone and with the threat of thunderstorms (and showing mercy on Tin Man), we stopped in Scott City where the United Methodist Church showed us supreme hospitality allowing us to stay in their facilities for the night.
Scott City. What a pool!
But the highlight of the day was certainly the three hours we spent at the city pool, complete with zero entry pool, diving boards, and FOUR water slides. It was a great reward after the 200 miles of headwinds the crew has faced for the past three days.
The day ended at Pizza Hut with the Crew feasting on the all-you-can-eat pizza and salad buffet--definitely a loss leader for the restaurant. A family sitting next to the Crew chatted with Ed and commented that their son was an Eagle Scout having done high adventure at the Boundary Waters. As we went to settle our bill, the waitress told us the family Ed had met, who had now departed, had paid for the entire Crew's dinner. This is the generosity we continuously encounter.