Today we rode from Liberal Kansas to Dodge City. Our route had one turn from US 54 to KS 283. After riding in a crosswind for three and a half hours, I turned into a gentle tailwind for the final 20 miles. Riding alone my speed went from 16 mph with a heart rate of 120 to 22 mph with heart rate of 95. I don’t think my spinning instructors would be happy with ether level of exercise but who cares; they didn’t ride for 4.5 hours. Today was a short day only 83 miles of flat Kansas road. Starting at 7:30 I had a leisurely lunch from 9:30 to 10:15 and arrived in Dodge City before 1 PM. One trouble with lunch at 9:30 is that my stomach can’t handle the pickles that have become a staple of my on the road lunches. They are a great way to get salt during a ride.
We passed more trains today. I measured one at a mile and a half. Spencer, that would be long enough to stretch from your house the all the way down Euclid Ave to the Berkeley campus. That’s pretty impressive! (Spencer is my 4 year old neighbor who loves trains.) But aside from the length almost all the cars were flat beds with containers or large trailers on them. I have seen coal cars and a few tanker cars, but no box cars. What is a present day hobo to do?
Some of the riders are starting to let their hair down in a figurative manner. Kasper, who is from the Netherlands, bought himself a set of spurs yesterday and started today’s ride with them on his cycling shoes. Mike our leader also showed up at breakfast wearing spurs. Terry one of the two women riders proclaimed that Mike’s were bigger than Kasper’s. It was a major ego deflator for Kasper, but I, and Terry, can assure you he had recovered before the end of the ride. Kasper did admit that spurs do not seem to evoke the same response from his bicycle as they do from a horse. And I worried about the response an errant spur might evoke in a tire or a derailleur.
We were able to walk around Dodge. Unfortunately we were too early for the summer tourist attractions. I don’t know if that was for the best or not. We did see monuments to Boot Hill and Wyatt Earp and one of our younger riders learned that sarsaparilla is not a fermented beverage.
I will end today’s with two sadder notes. Today May 4 is the anniversary of the 1970 Kent State shooting protesters against the war in Viet Nam. It marked for me the final straw in the loss of my childhood beliefs that the government was there for the protection of its citizens. I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I came to believe that the government has an agenda and is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to defend that agenda. That shooting caused the closing of most universities in the country, including MIT and to its everlasting credit or shame, depending on who you talk to, the cancellation of graduation. While I pray the events of this day never happen again, I wonder why today’s students show so little concern about our present war.
I recently read a posting on my friend and classmate Dave deBronkart’s blog. He is undergoing treatment for renal cancer. It has spread to a thigh bone so he can't stand on that leg. He mentioned that his butt hurt from sitting so much and that he was trying to develop stronger muscles to let him sit for longer times. It occurred to me that that could also describe my situation. Long distance cyclists always have aching butts from sitting on bicycle saddles and by riding we are trying to build strong muscles to let us sit for longer times. Both Dave and I are on journeys that we hope to complete but where there is a considerable risk that we will fail. The difference is that while I have only a few chips on the table Dave has gone all in. If one of us is to fail I pray that it be me.
Anyone who knows Dave has I am sure seen Dave's blog www.CaringBridge.org/visit/davedebronkart. He writes exceedingly well about his journey both mental and physical from initial diagnosis to treatment. Those who don't know Dave might also have a look at his blog. He is describing a journey that many of us will take and seeing how Dave has dealt with his cancer may make dealing with similar problems easier for us all.
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