RecumBum

Sunday, June 11, 2006 – As easy as yesterday was, today was just as hard. During the night the wind picked up, hard, from the northeast. I was up at about 5:15am, breakfast at 5:30 (some really nasty egg casserole), and on the road by 6:00.

I’m not sure how hard the wind was blowing, but it was simply brutal. (Towards evening it was reported to be 20-25 MPH, and morning had been just as strong.) It seemed like most of the day – 90% of the time, at least – heading directly into the wind, which had swung around to due east by mid-morning. It was slow going, and I seldom left my small chainring. Even going downhill took an effort – I actually lost speed if I attempted to coast downhill.

Lunch at Meade was excellent – a huge variety of food, including hamburgers, salads, and fruit for only $5.

By afternoon it was hot (high nineties, at least), and the relentless headwind never let up for an instant. By the time I reached the overnight stop, I’d been on the road for 12 hours – eight and a half hours riding. The total distance for the day was 84 miles.

It was my longest day on the bike, by far, and probably the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done.

The surprising thing was that I actually felt pretty good at the end of the day. I was tired, of course, my back wasn’t bothering me, my feet weren’t too bad, and my legs weren’t terribly tired. I think I could have done 100 if I wanted to, but really didn’t see the point. The only problem was a painful right knee, which started bothering me about half way through the day. I took some ibuprofen and just kept cycling. It hurt, but was bearable.

All in all, it was a very tough day, but my sense of accomplishment at the end of the day was very strong, and I was very encouraged about the rest of the trip.

Kansas Historical Marker: Big Basin

The Red Hills, West of Ashland