Day 29: More Kansas

Toronto, Kansas to Pittsburg, Kansas – Holiday Lodge

Last night I had a super-loud chorus of bugs to put me to sleep, and despite the heat, I actually slept really well. I didn’t use my sleeping bag, and just slept directly on my pad. Surprisingly, when I woke at 3:30 in the morning I felt well rested. As I packed up and got ready to go there were lightning flashes in the distance. It was still dark, so I got to use my bike headlight for the first time on the trip. It was quiet in the early morning and cool to ride with the lightning flashing to the West. One big cloud to the East would occasionally light up, but I stayed safe and dry the whole way. As the sun came up, the sky was painted in hues of pink and orange.

I stopped in the town of Chanute to refill my water bottles. I may have accidentally used the machine to fill my bottles with clear Powerade instead of water, so I bought an overpriced Pop-tart to balance it out. I met more bikers for the first time in a while – A.B. and later his buddy Dave. As expected it got super hot again today, although the highest temperature I saw was 99 degrees, and also as expected I hit a terrible headwind for the last 30 miles.

I checked into a hotel in Pittsburg, Kansas, and then got a giant Arby’s sandwich and some ice cream for dinner. I also went to Walmart for real bike gloves and to resupply my food stores. As I was restocking my bags I found a Coke can had exploded inside. What a mess. I had to clean everything out. I’m very glad I’m in a hotel tonight. It’s nice to have a shower, relax and and watch a movie in the A/C. I’m even more thankful since I got a severe weather warning for thunderstorms with 80+mph winds tonight!
VIEW PHOTOS

Distance: 91.85(2120.87 total miles)
Time: 7:25:01
Ascent: 1870
Descent: 1893

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