Coast to Coast 2022 Adventure Day 23: Syracuse, KS to Kingman, KS

This post is part of a series detailing my 2022 coast to coast cycling adventure.

Today we crushed it. 5 AM start in cool weather + tailwinds + 1,000 ft. elevation drop = fastest day so far.

Day 23 Highlights:

Song of the day: Ramble On by Led Zeppelin
Start: Syracuse, KS
End: Kingman, KS
Distance: 113.8 miles
Elevation: 968 ft.
Breakfast: 4 AM hotel potluck
Lunch: Rick’s Restaurant in Pratt
Dinner: Smitty’s Carryout in Kingman (great burgers!)

Progress so far: 1,936.8 miles, 64,242 ft. climbed.

The journey so far, with today’s ride in blue

Here are all of the details on today’s ride:

C2C 2022 Day 23: Dodge City, KS to Kingman, KS

The day started early. Really early. We were up by 4:00 and out by 5:15. But wow was it worth it. The sun did not rise until 6:30 and even then it was overcast and even sprinkling. The road, US 400, was also very smooth and had generous shoulders. We had about five hours of superb conditions including a nice tailwind. Like yesterday, it was more cross than tail but it was enough that much of our ride was done at 20 MPH and it felt great.

We actually stayed just west of town so this was as we headed out. We literally got out of Dodge.

We were in a fair bit of rush-hour traffic even at 5:30 because of 6 AM shifts on the east side of town, especially at the big Cargill meat processing plant.

It’s always very cool to ride at sunrise. Even with overcast skies.

One thing we noticed as we headed east (and descended to lower altitude) was that it got greener and more humid.

I would not normally get excited about marshland and trees but it was unexpected in central Kansas

Cows (and a heron) cooling off in the Ninnescah River

We weren’t exactly sure what this was but we had to take pictures. Definitely worth a closer look at full size.

Rick’s Restaurant in Pratt had a great vibe. And great omelettes.

Today was another hot one (105 F) but we finished by 2:00 and avoided the worst of it.

In Kingman we stayed at the beautiful and amazing Victoria Lantern BNB. Every room is meticulously decorated with beautiful antique furnishings and decor and Rayma was a fantastic hostess. I can’t wait until breakfast!

Victorian Lantern BNB, our home for the evening (and breakfast!)

Tomorrow should be a really good day. We have a short, 75 mile ride to Augusta (Kansas, not Georgia) and are riding the greenway through Wichita. And did I mention breakfast?