We're Not In Kansas Anymore

On Sunday, we left Oklahoma for Kansas. Unfortunately, the old Route 66 alignments only covered 13 miles of Kansas, so we did not get to see much of it. That was my first visit to Kansas -- I would have liked to have seen much more.

We are in Missouri now. The edge of the Ozarks are starting to deal us some serious rollers. A hundred mile stretch of road can net you over 5000 feet of climbing -- without ever seeing a proper mountain. The rollers are providing a painful reminder of how long it has been since I had a day off. After 23 uninterrupted days of riding, my legs are pretty shot.

Oddly enough, I feel pretty good overall -- I just can't push much anymore without my legs burning and slowing down. I believe that I was gaining fitness up until Amarillo, but that I have been declining since then. Any fitness coach will tell you that you need to rest between workouts to improve. Over the past week or so, I've tried to slow down so that I can recover, and maybe even improve, while still riding. I'll have 4 days off in Chicago, waiting for David to fly out for the ride home, but I don't think I will fully recover in 4 days. Ironically, I may arrive in New York a slower rider than I was when I left.

Muscle loss notwithstanding, the experience is invaluable. Just as I could not have made it this far without the lessons learned at desert training camp, I would have little hope of finishing the faster transcontinental this fall had I not done this tour. Still, I'm going to have to do some serious rebuilding between June and September to get my muscle mass and speed up. Other riders on this tour are telling me that they think I am ready for the faster crossing, but I'm not confident yet. I now know that I can do the miles, but I am doubtful about the pace.

Photos

Not too many photos today. I only took a few point-and-shoot photos on the ride out of Oklahoma -- and it rained too much today to take to camera out. Photos include an old 8 foot wide section of route 66 in Oklahoma, an old bridge in Kansas, and the 'Field of Dreams' ballpark. Given the popularity of the movie, I included the photo. Photographically speaking, however, the ballpark is pretty uninteresting without all of the computer graphic enhancements seen in the movie. In reality, the surrounding area is pretty bleak. No endless rows of corn -- or any corn, for that matter. The park was fenced off, so I only took a photo from the road. If you build it, they will come. So you had better put a fence around it to keep them out.

Photo Journal

Ride Summary

Sunday: 84 Miles from Vinita OK, through 13 miles of Kansas, to Carthage, MO
Monday: 87 Miles from Carthage to Strafford, MO

Miles this year: 3835