Wray to McCook—93 Miles—Day 31 July 30, 2008

Hot Buns! Hot Buns! to give away…I’m sitting in the shower area to blog today. It is so blistering hot today, with some humidity, that the shower is better than outdoors—go figure.

I turned on cell phone first thing this morning & had a message from Errin S—she let me know that Cynthia & her flight went as good as could be expected and United Airlines was great to work with—little blessings along the way.

We left early this morning to beat the heat, on the road shortly after 6:00 this morning. Andy & Louis had sweep so the four remaining took advantage of the coolness of the day. Windy—but not in the direction we wanted—we had head & side winds.

After 11 miles we were in Nebraska—off the bikes for the photo & keep rolling. Colorado (our 5^th state completed) is history for the tour but not from our memories. We didn’t see too much sage brush today but we did have rolling hills, cattle, & corn.

I forgot to mention that yesterday we got sprayed by an empty cattle truck…we all needed showers right then & there after we got showered…but didn’t get them till later in the afternoon.

Grasshoppers again—pestilence—all over the place. I started aiming for the ones on the road that weren’t flying up at me—get them before they get me!

A few of the bikers went into Kansas—we were 2 miles from the border—to see if they could find Dorothy & Toto I guess—I was there in May for my nephews graduation so I respectfully declined the extra 4 miles.

At mile 44 we stopped for coffee in Benkelman, right after Walter’s SAG, & had what Marti DP would call “a delightful time.” Jake K was talking with a gentleman who had be following us for a few days—the guy gave Jake $50 for the cause—two days in a row this happened to us—I guess coffee is good for you.

Eleven miles later was another photo op—leaving MT. time zone & entering Central—change the watches 1 hour ahead—we went from 9:30 to 10:30 just like that—my how time flies when we’re having fun.

Now we just wanted to get in. We didn’t know how hot it was until we stop—instant sweat & salt in the eyes. When we got to the Swanson Reservoir State Rec Area we didn’t see enough shade so kept on going. We did stop at a Point of Interest—Massacre Canyon—when rival tribes fought.

We went through many areas they called canyons today, but they weren’t like the canyons of the other states. They had Sun Canyon, Dry Canyon & Massacre Canyon—that alone should tell you how the conditions are here.

With less than 10 miles to go Jerry Kobes had a flat—they sent me in—get me out of the sun. We had road construction for the last few miles. My buggy needs a bath. Thank goodness no feathers were around because we already had the tar—I’ll have to see how to get that off the bottom of my bike.

I had to start sweep duties when I got in so I started to unload the truck. Shortly we’ll have to serve dinner.

Sheryl Taylor, she joined us in Denver & is from Sioux Center, had a bit of bum luck. Actually, worse than bum luck—her derailleur bracket snapped a few miles before she got in today—put her bike out of commission for a bit. She caught a ride to the local bike shop but he couldn’t help her with the right size. My husband is coming through, hopefully, and we’ll see if he can take it to a dealer in Omaha so it will be ready when we pass through there this weekend. In the meantime…we’ll see if she can borrow the bike Jo Tipple was using—always look for a plan B.

I told Sheryl that I don’t know of anyone who comes in with more dirt on their legs than her—she slathers on the sun block—I can appreciate that—but she picks up all the road grime possible. She doesn’t have JIT marks—Junior In Training—chain marks on the inside of your legs. When we see those it means they need to clean their chain or try a different dismount. J

We had a lovely dinner to serve & eat, then it was peloton. We had a local man, Jerry Traylo, has CP and ran across America with crutches in 1985. He told us that if we look in the mirror we will see imperfections & want superficial changes. God looks at our heart. Google him if you have time—he’s been on Larry King & has a few books published.

Then we had our mid week worship service. We went through the book of James with the verses of Be Thou My Vision in between each chapter, and then a bit of prayer time. Even though I’m really tired at that time I feel refreshed after that service.

I’m calling it a night but I see fireflies—we had a time change today & lost an hour on an already long day. Tomorrow will be windy again—but I love this mission.