Dighton, Kansas to Great Bend, Kansas – Central Baptist Church
I started my bike ride at exactly 6:07 a.m. this morning. I took this as a good sign as it is a special, recurring number for my family. I got to watch the sun rise from the road, and then I listened to my first podcast of the journey. It made 25 miles of Kansas fly by! I invested in a couple of gators to use as hand sun-protection for now. I’ll engineer some gloves later- “hand-danas”.
It’s now 4 days in a row of headwinds (miles 25 to 65 today). It is getting very frustrating fighting the wind everyday. At Rush Center, I was routed off highway 96. This seemed odd, but I went a mile out of my way before deciding to turn around, afraid of all the dirt roads I was seeing. The backtracking meant I got to go with the wind for a mile (so nice) and it actually cut 5 miles off my trip! It turns out I chose the route with rolling hills. I didn’t know Kansas had those! The headwind finally stopped, but it got so hot, and there was no shade to be found. The temperature reading on my Garmin navigation device consistently read 105 degrees! It’s hard to stay positive in the heat, but I have to push on! I found one tree, way off the road, and stopped for lunch. Even my water was boiling hot! Finally, I got to Great Bend, Kansas and stopped at the Central Baptist Church. They have an awesome outdoor camping spot for bikers passing through – a shade pavilion, bathrooms, charging station and even a hand-pump well with fresh water. For dinner, I ordered a huge pizza from Domino’s that got delivered right to the campground.
The church was having a meeting tonight, so I met Holly who was hoping to get a mural approved for the Bicycle Campground. She gave me some kindness rocks to leave along my travels. Soon after that, a pair of cyclists, Donna and John, rode in on their tandem bike. They are the main organizers of the cyclist campsite, and I was excited to meet them. The mural will feature a tandem cyclist team inspired by them. It was still so hot outside (high 90’s), so they arranged for me to sleep inside the church for the night. I am so grateful to them and the church for their kindness. After such a challenging, hot day it was such a relief to get out of the heat. They even gave me a popsicle- the best I’ve ever tasted!
Distance: 96.38(1827.22 total miles)
Time: 7:13:05
Ascent: 646
Descent: 1506
Hey! I’d love to hear from you guys. Please leave me a note if you can.
Scroll Down to leave a comment…
The heat and wind must be tough, Max! I hope that with each leg you can find the same kind of shelter and kindness that you’ve found along the way. I am amazed at your journey and stories and your power to keep pushing on. Hopefully some cooler days and tail winds lie ahead!
I’m hoping for clouds and tail winds too! Thanks Pete!
Beautiful sunrise 🌞
The wind & heat must be so challenging. Hope both get better for you. So nice to escape the heat inside the church for the night!
Yes! It was so nice to be able to go inside for the night. So thankful to the Great Bend community!