The day started with the best breakfast yet at 6am. This had pancakes, French toast sticks, eggs, sausages, bacon, cereal, orange juice, oatmeal, coffee, muffins etc and all in plentiful supply for hungry cyclists.
Route sheets were given out at 6:45am which showed a 129 mile ride to Abilene with the first 75 miles subject to the cross winds before a left turn north to give a 36 mile tailwind stretch before turning again to battle the wind into town.
We left the hotel just on 7:00am under another blue sky with the odd bit of cloud which soon burnt off. The initial temperature was 19°C and this peaked at 37°C before we reached the hotel.
Heading out of Great Bend, we were immediately working against the wind which gained in strength as the day progressed. We passed through the town of Lyons on the way to the first sag at 31.7 miles and covered this distance at a moderate pace. There was a train at the sag as below.
Other riders grouped together into a large peloton but some ended up hitting the road. The conditions and road were not suitable for groups of more than 3 or 4 cyclists at the most.
After the first sag, it was another 38 mile cross wind slog through the towns of Conway and McPherson. The 1999 Cross Country Challenge stopped in McPherson but today this was less than half the ride. We eventually reached the 2nd sag and lunch stop in the town of Galva at 69 miles at around 11am.
With just five miles from lunch to the left hand turn and promised tail wind, we pushed on and finally turned onto Route 86 at the town of Canton. The promised tail wind eventuated and our speed increased and some soft pedaling was possible. Rolling down this road, we passed some Road Closed signs before reaching a removed bridge. Some cyclo-cross skills saw us across this obstacle and back on our way.
Due to the road works, the support van had to detour and we beat it to the 3rd sag. After waiting a while in the town of Gypsum, we pushed on as further cross wind slogs were in store. As we followed the route, we were again soon battling the wind but were given some diversion as the road followed the train track for a few miles and a slow moving train was backing along the track. Initially we were travelling faster than the train then it speed up but then slowed down and we beat it across the railway crossing in town.
After a long and hot 7hrs 05m on the bike, we rolled into the hotel at 3:01pm after covering the 127.9 miles (205.8km) at an average speed of 29.1km/h. The vertical climbing was 2,247ft/685m of rolling country with a total descent of the day of approximately 650ft. However, the wind and heat made it feel much more in all regards.
There is a Dairy Queen store just across the hotel car park so we walked over and had an extra large milkshake each. During the day we had also drunk many bottles of water as demanded by the heat and conditions.
For dinner, we walked down the road (no sidewalk or footpath) about 1km to Pizza Hut. They didn’t have all you can eat but we ordered a USA large pizza each to share. After four extra large drinks each, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and, despite our best efforts, we ended up with pizza more than we could reasonably eat. Other cyclists at the restaurant didn’t want the pizza so we now have a few slices left over for breakfast.
Tomorrow is a 109 mile day with breakfast at 6am, route rap at 6:45am and luggage load at 7am.
Numbers for the day:
Departure time: 7:00am Distance: 127.9 miles (205.8km)
Riding time: 7hrs 05m
Average speed: 18.1mph (29.1km/h)
Maximum speed: 33.7mph (54.2km/h)
Vertical climbing: 2,247ft (685m)
Temperature range: 19-37°C
Arrival time: 3:01pm
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 752 miles (1,209km)
Total kilometres ridden to date / approximate kilometres to go: 2,563km / 2,999km
Rolling last seven days total kilometres ridden including today: 1,209km
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