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The Ness City park looks a bit different in the daylight! I prefer it with the lights out.
I coast through town in search of breakfast on a Sunday. I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this but most stuff is closed on Sundays in these small towns. There's a diner open and I order pancakes for some silly reason.
Back on the road I pull over for a gallon of water in a gas/bait/hunting shop that hasn't changed since 1965. The guy doesn't sell water but seeing his shop was a real treat.
I meet a westbounder at the next gas stop. He started in Maine and is making remarkable time.
The day is warming up quickly and by 10am it's hot as heck. In a place called Alexander stands a rest stop- the greatest rest stop of all time. The restroom and drinking fountain areas are indoors and air conditioned. The well pump out front gushes with cool, tasty water. I sit at a shady picnic table for a moment, but force myself back onto the bike - it's only getting hotter. Just as I re-enter the roadway I cross paths with westbound brothers Mike and David. Mike asks if I plan on riding in the heat of the day. I say "yes" since I doubt there will be a non-heat part of this day. The brothers warn of the weird people in Rush Center and I offer the same sentiment about Ness City. Any bit of refreshment I gained at that rest stop has evaporated while standing and chatting in the blazing sun with Mike and David.
When I reach Rush Center there isn't a single weird person around. In fact, nothing is around. The general store taunts me with it's locked doors and ads for beer and Coca-Cola in it's window. I discover a gas station that offers a couple of vending machines. I grab a cherry Pepsi, a root beer and a pack of M&Ms and walk across the street to the town park. Geez, it is hot. I catch up on some journal entries and watch little birds on a bench across the lawn. Sitting here I decide to ride to Great Bend instead of the town recommended on the ACA maps.
I shove off at 2:30 for Great Bend. Every three miles or so I absolutely must get out of the sun and scramble for any bit of shade near the road. In the town of Timken the wind dies and on a rare Kansas hill climb the fresh asphalt wafts hot oily smelling air in my face and I nearly yak. Luckily there is a closed down restaurant and I pull behind it to sit in the shade. Not 5 minutes later a woman and her son pull up in an SUV. The woman is the owner of the bar n grill and invites me in for a cold beer. Wow! Inside we sit next to giant fans and watch Nascar. The woman describes Missouri's water and trees like they're a nuisance. The woman's son, Zack, is really into auto racing and also has a pyrotechnician friend in Hollywood.
The cold beer and conversation do me a world of good and the heat doesn't catch up to me for several miles. At some point today I crossed the 2000 mile mark, but failed to notice until the next morning.
Twenty miles from Great Bend I stop at an abandoned grain elevator for shade and take the only photo of the day. My bike is way in the distance...
I finally reach Great Bend and coast to some shade in front of a hardware store. If I stand still I feel like I'll barf so I pace around until I feel well enough to ride again.
Once I'm settled into a motel I walk to dinner. The time/temp sign at the bank reads : 8:00, 110*. Yikes!
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