Maude, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore
Day 17 - Iola, KS to Nevada, MO (61 Miles and 1,500 feel of climbing)
When Dorothy uttered that famous line to Toto, I suspect she was sad. We, however, were very happy to be leaving Kansas and crossing into Missouri today after seeing all there is to see in Kansas in the first day.
Mom and I started out riding together for the first time all trip. Today was a shorter day than what we’ve been doing, so we even thought that we might ride the whole day and Dad could take a rest day. About 10 miles in it was pretty clear that I would not be riding 60 miles. Nothing hurt particularly bad, my legs were just sore and we had a cross to head wind which didn’t make things easier. We rode for 2 hours and did 24 miles, which at first I was bummed about because it was so short. But then I remembered a month ago when 25 miles was the most I’d ever ridden, and seemed so long. Everything in perspective.
Dad met us and switched out riders. The wind had changed slightly and they had a cross tail wind. Maude and I met them in the car twice with a McDonald’s coke. This was a real coke since the lady at the drive through wouldn’t mix half diet and half regular. They crossed into Missouri after the second stop and were bummed to see it looks exactly the same as Kansas. After 37 miles they met Maude and I at the hotel where we were lucky enough to get an early check in.
Tonight we’re staying in Nevada, MO (its pronounced nev-ay-duh). With a population of more than 5,000 people it feels like a big city. We got here early enough that we’ll have time to explore the town before having to rest up for tomorrow. It will probably be the hardest day we’ve had yet, but that’s a tomorrow problem.
