Around 10:00 a.m. the kids and I left and caught up to the guys about 65 miles into their 85ish mile day. It was over 100 degrees by then and they looked warm, but very cheery. After some water bottle fill-ups, they left for the remaining 20 miles. It was fairly mundane, otherwise….same landscape and very small towns with not a whole lot going on!
I did have the chance to provide some support to another bike rider today. His name is Kevin Johnson, and I passed him outside of Bazine, Kansas today. When I found the chance to turn around, I did, and once I caught up to him, he gladly accepted some cold water from me. While I was refilling his bottle, I noticed his pink handlebar tape, pink water bottle cages, and other pink miscellaneous things. “I assume your pink is for breast cancer awareness….am I right?” I said. “You are correct”, he replied. So, I asked him for his story and he proceeded to give me a brief synopsis of his cause…..he is riding the trail from San Francisco Bay to Yorktown, Virginia to raise money for breast cancer research. His mother passed away from breast cancer when he was 15 years old, and his aunt was diagnosed with it 16 months ago. Besides that, his life and the lives of some of his friends have also been impacted by cancer, so he felt a strong desire and need to do something about it. You can read his story at www.3781miles.org. I have just been on the site, and let me tell you – IT IS WORTH YOUR TIME! Grab a Kleenex, though. He is very inspiring and I urge you to join his cause.
I briefly gave him a synopsis of my battle with breast cancer and he took my picture to put on the site! I’m a celebrity now! Ha! I asked him if I could donate to his cause, but he refused me. He exclaimed, “You do not need to donate….I’m out here doing this for you!” Wow…….I thank God for the wonderful people He is allowing me to meet each and every day I am out here!
We are staying in LaCrosse, Kansas tonight in the Green Acre Motel. The biking ended in Rush Center today, on State Rt. 96, but that town had no accommodations. Lucky for us, 4 miles straight north from Rush Center is LaCrosse. So, I provided transport from Rush Center to our motel, and will do the same in the morning, back to Rush Center. Our goal is to get somewhere around Nickerson or Sterling, Kansas tomorrow. Another early start will most definitely be in the cards, as the hot temps are expected through the week.
Also, great thing about today was that we added two more people to our clan of six! Kyle’s mom and brother (the “not” lazy one, so I’m told) have joined us. Sherry is going to provide me with some much needed, “adult” conversation pertaining to things other than flat tires, chaffing, and “dude-speak”. Alex will be joining the guys in the hot temps on his bike. By Friday, my parents (Allen and Sherry) will also be joining us, and staying for a few days, as well as doing some vacationing around Branson, Missouri! Yay! This is one good thing about getting closer to the eastern half of the U.S. …..now we are within range of people visiting us! So…..if you don’t have anything else you want to do, consider joining us as we make our way along southern Missouri, the bottom tip of Illinois, Kentucky, and Virginia! I promise that I will NOT make you do our laundry! Instead, we can tour small town museums, find tasty coffee houses, sit in an air-conditioned van, and provide cool drinks to the guys! And, if you dare, you could bring your bike and “hang-on” to the back of the riders for a few miles!
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
Alex (The Good Looking Brother of Kyle), Sherry (Kyle's Mother), Kyle
