Buccs/Bucks on Bikes: Friday, July 16 - Day 33 - 80.7 Miles

First off, our tent was not in the Eureka post office like it was supposed to be. It might be the retailer's fault. It might be the United States Postal Service's fault. Regardless, we don't have our tent and the town that it is being shipped to is in our rearview mirror. We asked about that 2 day shipping that we paid for and was told that it was not guaranteed to be there in 2 days. Heck, they might as well tell people that it will ship in 30 seconds....no big deal if it doesn't get there in 30 seconds....it is not guaranteed, afterall. Kim will drive back to the post office tomorrow. If it is not there yet, I hope the Eureka postmaster is a camper, because he/she has a new tent. We are not coming back on Monday to get it.

With camping not an option again tonight, we are in another mom and pop motel in Yates Center. We have been very lucky with these small town motels. The rooms have been cheap and clean. We budget 40-45 dollars a night for lodging and some of these rooms have barely been over budget.

Riding today was another hot one. Temps were in the mid 90's with high humidity. As long as we keep taking in liquids throughout the day, the heat is not too much of a problem. The hardest part of the day was being back on a busy road with small shoulders. On the positive side, I spent all day in the back of the paceline (our line of riders). Back there, you do less work because you have others to draft off. I should feel a little more refreshed tomorrow. Evidently over the course of a long bike trip, 22 and 25 year old legs get stronger and 44 year old legs get tired. Go figure.

We plan on making it close to the Missouri border tomorrow. At that point, we are meeting Kim's mom and dad and......handing them our children until Monday. Woohoo! (It is good that Nathan and Anna do not read this.)

When I got out of the shower this afternoon, Kim had the bed covered with maps and AAA books. I asked her why she was smiling and marking things with a highlighter. It turns out there is more for a mother and 2 kids to do in Missouri then there was in Kansas. Now that I think about it, a lot of time has passed since the 3 of them went off route to see the sights. Hopefully this Kansas stretch will the last long stretch of nothing to do for them. The kids have really been troopers!

Well.....Kim and I just completely gorged ourselves with pulled pork and cornbread across the street from our motel. Full tummy.....sleepy........