Guest Rider Report - Michael Dunn
19 April 2005
After tracking the exploits of the PYE ride team for the last couple of weeks on the web, it was fun to fly into Garden City, Kansas today and meet them at the airport. Jeff and Marc are tanned--and toned--from their journey across the Rockies. They gave me about three minutes to change into my bike clothes in the airport restroom and then we took off on a 45-mile ride to Dodge City. As we left the airport and turned southeast, we also turned into the teeth of a killer headwind. It was slow going across the mostly treeless plains of Kansas with our heads down and riding in a “flying V” formation trying to gain whatever aerodynamic advantage we could. The wind gave us a vivid sampler of the Kansas countryside smells from fresh manure to rail yard diesel, About 25 miles into the ride the headwind turned into a crosswind which didn't make matters much better. But we forged on ahead, taking turns leading the peleton, and finally pedaled into Dodge in the late afternoon. It was good to arrive in this legendary “western” town replete with wild west reminders such as Boot Hill and Gunsmoke Avenue. Our day here in the beef capitol of the world was capped off with dinner…at a Thai restaurant.
20 April 2005
Needless to say, yesterday's 45-mile “warm-up” ride left me a little sore and tired. So Marc and Jeff continued their “Peace, Youth, and Environment” hazing initiation ritual by taking me on an 80-mile ride to Pratt, Kansas. Adding to the enjoyment were the 90 degree-plus temperatures and Marc and Jeff's cat-and-mouse tag team biking up every hill. I am really impressed with how strong they are and how upbeat they are about the ride now that they are nearly one third complete. We started the day with Marc and Jeff speaking to a group of 6 th graders at Commanche Elementary school in Dodge. The kids were very interested in the riders and their bikes and had lots of questions. Once again, Marc and Jeff ride like machines. One thing that helped were the more favorable winds today. We had a tailwind for much of the ride. But at lunch I found out their real secret. We stopped in a small café in Havalon, KS and instead of ordering a sandwich or a hamburger (the kind of food most people would eat), Marc ordered a piece of dutch apple pie AND a piece of blueberry pie, ala mode and with a Pepsi to chase it. Jeff, being more health conscious, had a piece of peach pie AND a piece of apple pie with starlight mint ice cream and a Pepsi for good measure. And it gets better. Jeff put a piece of Pumpkin pie on his salad plate as we were going through the salad bar. When I asked him about his thinking in doing that, he explained that Pumpkin was a vegetable. No wonder these guys are so strong.
21 April 2005
After a spectacular evening of thunder, lightning and hail, we awoke to a beautiful morning in Pratt , KS with the always popular tailwinds coming from the west. Better yet was the fact that much of the way was spent on a very quiet rural road with nothing but endless fields of wheat are far as you could see. Other than the occasional dog that chased us, it was a very peaceful ride with very little traffic. Lunch was in Mt. Vernon , KS - and I'm proud to report that Jeff and Marc actually ordered something other than pie! One of the fascinating things about a ride like this is seeing the road kill along the way. Just in the three days I've been here we've seen cats, raccoons and even an armadillo. But today we spotted something in the road that brought us to a stop. There in the middle of the road was a turtle the size of a volleyball. Marc helped him to the other side of the road—probably changing the ecosystem of Kansas forever. We spotted another turtle later in the afternoon and again, Marc did his Boy Scout duty. Arriving in Wichita, Jeff picked up just the third flat tire of the trip. We repaired that and headed off to an inner-city Boys and Girls Club where we were met by thirty or so cheering kids. The kids had a great time hearing from Marc and Jeff and loved hearing about their experiences, seeing the bikes and holding the message. After three days of riding with these guys all I can tell you is that they are strong, enthused, and lots of fun to ride with.
4-22-2005 Wichita to Yates Center
It was a gray cold morning. Winds blasted from the north. We could tell we were in for a long day. We soon got to practice the fine art of leaning into winds blowing at 45 mph and not tipping over. This went pretty well until we hit the narrow shoulders outside of El Dorado . It was pretty scary when a big truck passed us and broke the wind we were leaning into. The vacuum sucked us in towards the rear wheels of the truck Six hours of hard work and 91 miles later we pulled into Yates Center tired and hungry. Kansas has some very nice people but we look forward to leaving the wind behind us.
4-23-2005 Yates Center , KS to Nevada , Mo.
The day broke clear and cold. The winds dropped to 15 to 20 mph but had moved to the northeast. We did not look forward to another day of wind coming directly at us. Jeff was all bundled up trying to stay warm. Marc decided for the just ride hard approach to staying warm. Fortunately, the wind started to drop around 11:30 am. We also took a more leisurely approach today. We stopped at small restaurants every 30 miles or so. Once again, we got to meet a lot of nice folks from Kansas . Outside of Fort Scott , we crossed into Missouri . We hope we leave the winds behind us. We decide to stop early today at Nevada , Mo. The weather forecast is calling for calming winds and warmer weather.
April 24
We are in the Ozark Mountains today as we ride from Nevada, Missouri to our destination in Camdenton. The Missouri roads, so far, are like a roller coaster because they constantly curve, climb and descend. Is this where the movie Deliverance was filmed?
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