Feeling at home

The morning came with refreshed muscles ready for another 60+ mile day. We are getting so good at taking down the tent and packing up. Now that we don't have our personal SAG, we load it all on the moving truck that hauls it to our next destination.

The weather looked threatening this morning, but it went just south and we road most of the morning with overcast skies--which is nice. The route out g Cottonwood Falls was on a very busy Hwy 50 to Emporia. There was a wide shoulder but it had rumble strips. So with semis whizzing by and bikers dodging debris on the shoulder, I thought to myself--I hope no one has a flat. Too late--I did. I was pretty far behind because I rode on it for a bit before realizing that is what was slowing me down. That meant that my group wasn't there to help. Luckily I called Twila and she happened to hear it. Her and Phil returned and we managed to change it but could only get 40 lbs of pressure in the tire with the little hand pump. I had to ride on that for 15 more miles before we found a nice bike couple who had a better pump. It was a challenge, but adds a good story to the week. Chris meanwhile was so far ahead and had no idea what had happened. It wasn't until the lunch stop in Olpe that we met up with the other half of our group and Chris finally checked his text messages to learn of my mishap. The guilt card was played!!

Tonight we had the opportunity to visit Twila's parent's home for a home cooked meal. Her mom and dad, sister Alice and husband, brother Lyle, joined us. It was so nice to be in a real home after a week of being a vagabond. We did some laundry too--always a good thing. We returned to our tent at the fabulous school facility in Burlington, only to watch this severe storm approach. We made the decision to camp inside again, so we didn't have to fight a storm. I don't know what is currently happening outside, but I do expect to find a waterlogged tent in the morning. Tomorrow is a shorter day that leads us to Garnett...