day 22 - sedalia, mo to la cygne, ks - 100+ miles

day 22 - sedalia, mo to la cygne, ks - 100+ miles

if you ever have the privelage of riding across this country, you will notice that the variety of insects and animals will vary from state to state. in PA there was a mass caterpillar exodus as hundreds tried to cross the roads. in indiana it was worms. i didnt see much illinois due to extreme heat. but in MO i saw lots and lots of turtles. of course there were the small box turtles like you used to have in mrs. johnston's 4th grade class. and remember there was the dirty kid who wiped boogers on the aquarium? well, anyway, there were also some big turtles out there. i'm talking shells over 1ft in diameter. sadly, i didnt see any of giants alive but all smooshed by cars. i even watched truck roll over one. come on guy. how hard is it to avoid the slowest animal on the planet?

my bro and rich traveled with me for half the day. they had one bike with them so they would take turns driving and riding along with snapping photos. after 50 miles we sat down to lunch at a restaurant that boasted mexican food (at least the mo version). im pretty sure the hot sauce was just ketchup with cayenne pepper mixed in.

the dudes split after lunch, headed back to denver, and i was solo again headed for the ks border.

it was hot as could be and a bit hilly but nonetheless i reached the border close to nightfall. one thing i wish my google maps would tell me is if roads are paved or dirt. google please take note. i came over a hill and reached a dirt road and cattle. i remembered my mistake in hannibal but went against my instincts and started on the dirt. there were herds of cattle on both sides of the road as i rode. as i rode past them they turned and ran as if i were parting the soon-to-be-hamburger sea. after realizing how foolish i was for daring the dirt, i stoopped and all the cattle that had fled came over to stare at me. as i headed back in the other direction, tjey ran again and followed me to the edge of their fence.

there was lightning in the distance so i hauled ass south to a paved road that would take me to la cygne lake. night fell upon me and i was still riding. bugs created the illusion of flying through space, smashing into my face. finally i stumbled upon a campground where plenty of memorial holday-ers were partying and boozing it up. i found an empty site, posted up and went down.