Eureka! My first Century!

It's official: I am now a cyclist, having completed my very first century ride.

I stayed the night of the 26th at a Lutheran Church and awoke the next morning to a breakfast of home-made biscuits with the pastor. I managed to haul my derriere out of there around 10 o'clock in the morning; as I was standing on the front porch of the parsonage, bidding farewell to the pastor and his wife, Irv and Barb came trundling past. I rode with them for a short time, but passed them prior to Chanute, KS, where I ate lunch and went to the post office.

Having only ridden 35 miles, I decided to press on to Toronto, 50 miles away. As time wore on, the next town, Eureka, KS, started to look a lot more appealing than Toronto. Now things were getting interesting. As I was standing at a crossroads, re-applying sunscreen and looking at the map, a minivan rolled up. A strange woman, identifying herself as the Coyville Angel, explained to me how much she loved seeing bicyclists go past. She gave me some ice to put in my water bottles and said that when I got to Coyville, there would be three bottles of water for me, sitting on top of the Jeep in her yard.

Sure enough, the water was there. When I stopped to take them, she and her brother emerged from the house. Both were quite drunk and getting more drunk before my eyes. We chatted for a moment and when I stuck out my hand for a shake, she shook her head and said "Nuh-uh. How 'bout a hug?"

I supposed I couldn't refuse an embrace from an Inebriated good Samaritan. I rolled on, wondering how many cyclists had been assisted by this drunken benefactor, when a few miles later she pulled up beside me in her car. "Keep pedaling!" her brother slurred, and they sped off to God-knows-where.

I rolled in to Eureka, KS just after dark and decided to celebrate my 105-mile ride with a hotel room. I breakfasted the next morning at a greasy spoon and lit out for Newton, KS. I had hoped to reach Newton by 4 o'clock in order to beat evening storms, snag a berth at a hostel and have time to go see "The Simpsons Movie." No such luck. I rode into some rain around 1:00 pm and when the sky started to groan, I waited out the worst of it in a barn. Twenty miles later, I found myself sitting on the porch at a general store, in between two massive banks of thunderheads, still 40 miles from my destination. I waited for a while, but then phoned home for some radar reconnaissance.

"If you go now and ride like the wind, you might be able to beat the storm, but it's heading your way," said dad.

Well, I took off and not a half-mile in front of me lightning struck the road two or three times. This really had me quaking in my boots. After another bolt met the tarmac just in front of me and a few more menacing rumbles, I turned around and went to a nearby farmhouse. No one was around, so I just decided to press on. Aided by the wind, I was soon cranking in excess of 20 mph, sometimes in excess of 25. It's easy to make good time when your life could be depending on it. Either way, I managed to squeak just pass the storm and roll into Newton, KS about 7 o'clock, 78 miles from Eureka.

Due to some extenuating circumstances, I have no idea what the next few days will bring in terms of mileage or time on the bike, but I will certainly keep you posted. Hope this note finds you all well.

Regards,
John