Simon's TransAmerica cycle ride - 2012: Day 40

Start time: 06.12
Start location: Sterling
Start State: Kansas
Start weather: Warm
Total millage so far: 2014.26

Finish time: 11.05
Finish location: Larned
Finish State: Kansas
Finish weather: Hot
Miles today: 54.13
Total millage so far: 2068.39
Today's top speed: 22.9
Today's average speed: 13.5

Music played:
Rob Sykes - Juicy - NYE 2006
Rod Stewart - The Story So Far - The Very Best Of
Royksopp - The Understanding

Blog:
After not a good nights sleep, I was up at about 5am, awake from around 01.30, for a horrendous 54mile ride in hot, uncompromising temperatures, WITHOUT any services.    Today's music included a Rob Sykes mix which included a lot of the tunes that were played at Fire when we used to go out clubbing, so it brought back lots of great, funny and happy memories of our times there. We used to go down to Fire near enough every week, sometimes all weekend. We had lots of great times and some great memories, Morgan, Tony and myself all dancing away all night long till 7am. We used to get there around 1am and make the club ours. I guess I'm pretty limited to what I can say we got up to on here, but they were great! The music and lights would bring you up and down, you would meet lots of different people each week, and of course, there were the usual faces too. Before I settled down I was getting into clubbing in Europe and bumped in to three guys in Berghain just by chance. So yes, the music brought it all back, and the sad times too, what with seeing your best friend die of cancer in front of you over 18months. Not been back to Fire since.

The road surfaces were pretty dire to say the least, they kept my speed down to around 15mph then I hit the headwinds which grew stronger throughout the day!   This has to be one of the worst, hardest, hellish days of all if I am honest. You could not get any speed up at all, the winds must have been 10-20mph as my speed was down to around 10mph, this sucked big time. There was also a really bad smell most of the day, this was from the oil pumps scattered around in the fields. It was like a mathane and oily smell, not nice. So yesterday was the hottest day here, anywhere in the world at this time, crazy. Even though we started early, the heat was unbearable. Near the end at the ride, I was stopping every few miles just to rest, as well as pouring water over every part of my body I could. Oh, really bad van driver who I swore at for driving way to close, w@nker.

After passing the beef feeding lots, which also stank, I got into town. We were recommended to go into a place to drink called Scrapes. I think I would take off the S if you know what I mean! I had to wait about 5mins which the counter girl finished her gossip conversation off. You can imagine how someone who had just cycled 50odd miles at 10mph in oven temperatures, would be feeling. I was just about to walk out the door when I finally got served. Although they were polite and nice, I don't think the $4-$5 "smoothie" i was expecting was worth that much money. It was just a slush-puppy type thing. I was wanting real fruit. Polite but crap, sorry, well, no, I ain't sorry. I'm hot, tired, thirsty. Sort it out!

After a little siesta, we went to the pool for a shower then down to the fort!:
http://www.nps.gov/fols/index.htm

It was pretty good, dam hot though as it was in the heat of the afternoon. Interesting stuff to see there, I was interested in the books, but they were way too detailed. I wanted to find out about the Indians, Custer, Buffalo Bill etc, but it was way too heavy. Shame. I guess I will make it all up :) The site was interesting and would recommend it. The Indians got a really raw deal, sucks big time what happened to them, and you see it still happening with this country!   I was hoping to see some rattlesnakes as in the warning pics, but all I saw were 3 turkeys. The land was barran, just nothing! flat and plain! On leaving the temperature was up to 108degrees. We also passed a prison! It's a bit off the route, but would be fun to pop in and see what it going on :)