Day 24 -- Garden City, KS to Dodge City, KS

Miles: 50.72

Total Miles: 1745.68

Time: 2:59

Average Speed: 17.0 mph

Max Speed: 28.6 mph

Flats Today: 1

Total Flats: 10

Elevation Gain: 462 ft

Weather: Tail winds changing to head winds around 90 degrees
Today was a day of rest and relaxation. We woke up at 6:30, ate breakfast at 7:00, then loaded at 8:00 and began our ride. We rode at about 20 mph for the first 5 miles because there wasn't much wind at all. Then, at about the 5 mile mark, Wade blew a tire. It wasn't a gunshot sound like mine, but it was a loud release of air that scared a few people. Wade started feeling around for one of those tiny wires, but he couldn't find one. Then, he pumped up the ruined tube, found the leak, and I found a decently sized gash in tire. It wasn't as large as mine, but it was definitely the end of the that tire's life. Wade just can't gash as big of holes in tires as I can... at least I can beat him in that. By the way, that's 2 blow tires in 2 days. A lot of people make it through without blowing one tire... we're just unlucky. Also, we have a total of 10 flats, and it's even at 5 each. Just so you know, that picture on the top left is just a picture of nothing... absolutely nothing.

Anyway, we were in the very back of the group after we finally got a new tire. We hooked up with the mechanic, Gerard, who was riding today, and we flew at about 25 mph all the way to the first sag stop at mile 22. They had peaches at the sag stop this time, so we ate a bunch, then we headed out onto the road again. We had a slight tail wind when we were going 25 mph before the stop, but after the stop, it was a slight head wind. We road for about 10 more miles, then we came upon a bunch of bikes parked along the side of a building. We immediately recognized it as the ice cream parlor that the staff told us we shouldn't skip. It was actually very good. We had ice cream, but they had almost everything from milkshakes to floats. The service was great, the food was good, and we were refreshed and ready to go. It was an old time drug store with a ice cream parlor in it.

Only about 5 miles past the ice cream parlor, we came upon a large feed lot for cattle. It was even bigger than the last one we saw... That just proves how boring Kansas is because we're excited about a large feed lot. It was extremely big, so we couldn't just take a picture. Wade took a video of one side of the lot, but the other side was about 3 times as big. It was unbelievable. When we got to the other side, there was a large pile of feed. It was so big that I told Wade to take a picture. I have never seen that much feed in my life. This place was like a cattle farmer's heaven.

We rode another 10 miles through nothing when we came upon a historical site. We decided to check it out because it was supposed to be a rut in the dirt from an old wagon trail... It looked like a hiking trail through the woods... It was nothing. When I was reading a sign that said "This is...," I asked Wade what it was. He said, 'I can't see it too well, but I think it says, "This is nothing."" He was right because there really wasn't anything significant.

We rode another 5 miles through nothing, then we came upon a sign that said, "Dodge City." We were just going to take a picture of it, but then I thought of a better idea. We gave the camera to Fran, then we hiked up to the sign and stood on top of it. It was quite a trek, so we kept yelling at Fran to get a bunch of pictures so we wouldn't have to go up there again. We told him, "Take like 20 just to be sure." We stayed up there for almost 5 minutes to make sure he got about 20, then we came down. We asked him how many he took, and we were expecting something like 30. His answer... 5... He only took 5 pictures that whole time. If the picture isn't very good, blame it on Fran. We harassed him for about 3 more miles all the way to the hotel, then we checked in, got in the pool, took a shower, then of course, watched soccer. I needed a relaxed day like this to recuperate. Wade on the other hand, got done with his shower then played ping pong with Adella. He says that he beat her, but I bet she let him win. It was a great day, but tomorrow is harder, so please pray for tail winds.

Never mind about nothing in Kansas. We just went to dinner and then a can can show. Before the show, Wade was getting hit on by the can can girls. He went to take a picture with them, and all of them lifted up their skirts... Wade was stunned. And then, about 3 minutes into the show, the can can girls went around to let guys take off their garter for $3. Cindy, a rider who was next to Wade, held up $3 on top of Wade's head. There were actually about 15 riders who were wanted to pay for Wade to do it. Pam, one of the staff members gave me a $10 bill. Anyway, one of the dancers came up to Wade, lifted her skirt, and set her leg next to him. All of the 15 riders took a picture of Wade removing the garter... I think one person's putting it on Facebook. Since all those people were taking pictures, Wade had to take it off slow and take his time. Wade was so embarrassed, but he got to keep it as a souvenir though. The rest of the show was entertaining as well, and overall it was a good time.