Coast to Coast 2022 Adventure Day 25: Agusta, KS to Parsons, KS
This post is part of a series detailing my 2022 coast to coast cycling adventure.
Another workmanlike day working our way across Kansas. Getting up and out early helped mitigate the ongoing heat wave.
Day 25 Highlights:
Song of the day: Hot Thoughts by Spoon
Start: Agusta, KS
End: Parsons, KS
Distance: 109.9 miles
Elevation: 2,260 ft.
Breakfast: 4AM hotel potlock
Lunch: Sandwiches a la Sue in the Fredonia Rotary Park shelter
Dinner: Dos Fronteras in Parsons (plus milkshakes at Braums)
Progress so far: 2,123.4 miles, 67,745 ft. climbed.
Here are all of the details on today’s ride:
With another 100-degree day and over 100 miles, we went back to our early schedule. Up at 4 and out by 5, or at least we tried. A few glitches with my Garmin GPS had me fiddling with it until about 5:20 before we finally got rolling.
I’m finding that I really enjoy riding in the dark. It feels both peaceful and mysterious. The winds are less intense and of course the temperatures are much lower. That being said, it was still 80 degrees when we started today. It was also quite humid and gently raining for the first hour. We did not mind at all getting wet as it helped us stay comfortable.
Once again, overcast skies deprived us of a sunrise but we didn’t care. It was still quite lovely.
The winds were generally friendly today shifting between crosswinds and tailwinds and not too strong.
We have spent the better part of the last five days on US 400, the main east-west route through southern Kansas. Honestly, there is not a lot to see but this quilt shop had a pretty novel sign.
One of things I really wanted to get out of this trip was to talk to interesting people who I would not ordinarily meet. That was definitely true today when we chatted it up with a biker group — the Harley Davidson kind. You get respect from pretty much anyone and everyone when you tell them you are riding your bicycle from Oregon to Georgia. And it’s a great conversation starter when you roll up to a truck stop and people give you a “what the heck is your deal?” look. We really enjoyed talking with these folks and getting local tips on where to eat in Fredonia (even though we already had Sue bringing us lunch). Best line “you know… it’s a lot easier when your bike has a motor on it.”
Sue provided a very pleasant lunch for us at the Rotary Park in Fredonia.
We did have a setback in the afternoon — the thing that happens on every bike trip. Dave flatted in an area where there was, of course, no shade. We made quick work of the repair but missed small piece of wire that quickly caused a second flat. All in all it cost us about 45 minutes. Maybe I can convince Dave to go tubeless :-).
What better way to celebrate an epic bike ride, and prepare for the next one, than a Mexican feast. Dinner at Dos Fronteras was amazing.
Tomorrow we complete our journey across Kansas and settle in for a much-deserved day off in Springfield, MO.
