June 26, 2001.
Pittsburg to Chanute, Kansas. (58 mi.) Mile 1705
Hubs
and spokes
We're in a motel in Chanute, Kansas.
According to the flier put out by the Chanute Office of Tourism, a
"Fascinating Fact!" is that "Chanute is known throughout the
state as 'the Hub of Southeast Kansas'". The flier goes on to explain that,
"The first and most obvious reason for this nickname is that when one looks
at the map of the 15 counties comprising the Southeast Kansas region, Chanute
lies exactly in the middle of the region". That said, we now know the most
fascinating thing about Chanute.
Sunset over the softball fields in Chanute
Unfortunately, Chanute may be a hub
but it does not have
a bike shop, so when Mike broke another spoke today, he had to change it himself.
There seems to be unhappy, uneven tension in Mike's wheel, which we hope
resolves soon. For those interested in tires, Mike had to buy a new Continental
Top Touring 700c x 38 yesterday because it was starting to delaminate. He
estimates it lasted over 4,000 miles on the rear wheel.
So far the flat riding in Kansas has
been a treat, but we have to get started early. I love bicycling down the quiet
Main Street of a small Kansas town very early in the morning on a long,
summer's road trip. Several times on our trip, while methodically pedaling
through a small town, we have noticed out of the corner of our eye, kids on
bicycles trying to race us. Should we give them the satisfaction of knowing they
are faster? Heck no! We have not been pedaling our heavy bikes half way across
this continent everyday without something to show for it. We try to act like we
don't notice them while we step up the pace just enough to stay ahead.
Today we had done 30 miles
before stopping for breakfast at a small cafe, where, as usual, we were the only ones not
wearing a farmer's cap. We learned over breakfast that the price of wheat is lower today then
it was 40 years ago ("Now tell me why that makes any sense."), and
that blackstrap molasses is good to add to the hog feed.
The miles go by much faster without
the steep hills. I am able to draft Mike more often, and the scenery is more
varied than I expected. I feel we have been very lucky with the weather, since
we are not having anything tornadic or rotational, as they say on our favorite
TV program, the Weather Channel. The temperature peaked at around 90 today, with 50+ %
humidity, and a cross wind from the S-SW. We're appreciating the air
conditioning this evening.
We made a trip to visit Yodeling
Katy of Chanute, another TransAm personality like the Cookie Lady. She
welcomes bicycle tourists with hospitality and song, but she wasn't home. We
know she yodeled some special songs just two days ago for two college age
TransAm cyclists, Max and Charlie, whom we met outside Wal-Mart in Pittsburg. We
had already taken showers and were in casual clothes, so we showed them our
tans lines in order to establish the common bond. "You're doing it
too?", they exclaimed,. "You look like ordinary people."
1) 
2) 
1) Mike's "Arstistic"
Side: He has two pairs of bike shorts, a shirt, and two pairs of socks bungeed
onto his bike to dry, and he's wearing his French Foreign Legion sunblock
helmet attachment that, we've discovered, doesn't do the job in action.
2) Wildlife photography. When I
stopped to take a picture of this church, thinking the Yield sign a little funny,
especially since the church shows up conspicuously at a
great distance, a raccoon ambled out
of the field and across the photo.
