Day 17: Enter Kansas. Whomever said this place is flat, never traversed it by bicycle

Hello. Sam here.
Today began with a nice breakfast of left-overs from the aforementioned gorge-fest at the Klaassens. After breakfast, around 7:30, Spencer and Angie took off for work and the trio was left in the hands of their two lovely children, Hannah and Henry (pictured below: Hannah is riding on Henry's bike while he attempts to, somewhat unsuccessfully, ride on the pegs). We spent the next 2 hours stretching, eating and discovering what life is like as a 5th and 8th grader living in St. Joseph Missouri.

above: Henry poses with the trio. Look kids and adults-- even a kid as cool as Henry Klaassen wears a helmet; he must really value his brain.

After our goodbyes, we traveled for only 3 miles before hitting the Missouri river and consequently crossing into Kansas. The traffic was quite bad as a few major highways converge before the river, some undoubtedly heading south to Kansas City (below: when traffic is like this, with many cars entering and exiting, it is quite important that we are on our toes. I, however, still find time to snap a picture)


(above: the Missouri river viewed from hwy 36 bridge facing north. St. Joseph is pictured in the backdrop.)

We finally entered Kansas and political boundary is surprising evident in the landscape, especially compared to two states like Ohio and Indiana where the political boundary is very arbitrary. I have not done extensive research on this subject, but it seems intuitive enough that when you have a major physical impediment, like a river or mountain range, separating two states, there is a much greater chance that a noticeable cultural and physical difference can be observed.

Kansas is an extremely long state, my earlier estimates were around 400 miles. As we enter Kansas we see a sign (below) indicating just how far we must travel before we reach the other border (the one Kansas shares with Colorado).

While planning the route for this trip, I traveled to Denver last December. On the trip out, I took highway 80, the northern route, which goes from Chicago, through Iowa, through Nebraska and finally drops south into Denver. On the trip back to Ohio, I took hwy 70, which is the more southern route, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. After the trip, I decided that the latter route was much more desirable, specifically for beauty, underrated geologic diversity, and subtle dynamicism of Kansas. Anytime we would mention that we were going to travel through Kansas, almost every person would automatically respond, " Kansas, thats a long and boring state....and extremely flat." I would always respond, "Have you ever traveled through Kansas, or have you only seen the Wizard of Oz?"

I spent a lot of time reassuring Luke and Nick that all of those people were full of shit; Kansas is not flat , it is beautiful. Granted it is a long state, but if it wasn't for these large plains states (the supposedly boring "flyover country") our country would never have had the calories to support the innovation and our industrial prowess of the past century. Without this large swath of agricultural land, you and I would not be living half as comfortable as we are: no summer-long bike rides.

Anyway. You probably would like to see more pictures and much less pontifications.


Last time you heard from us we were posting up in Hiawatha Kansas, which is about 40 miles from the Missouri border. When we entered downtown Hiawatha, I asked the first car we saw if there was a grocery store in town. She told me that there is only a Wal-Mart, about a mile east of town. This pattern is not that surprising: Hiawatha's downtown storefronts are either empty, or far from busy, because everyone is down at the Wal-Mart. The Wal Mart is perfectly positioned to not only suck up the business of Hiawatha, the county seat, but all of the surrounding smaller communities. I told you I would save the pontifications, so I will do my best. I will leave you with a few words. The trio is just as vulnerable to the economic forces that create a market for Wal Mart goods as the citizens of Hiawatha, even at the expense of letting some of the most majestic and historic prairie towns fall victim to corporate homogeneity and culture degradation. We have been finding it hard to shop anywhere else and apologize for our contradictory nature.


(below: Nick is so happy to find his favorite American Soft Drink--Mountain Dew-- adorned with patriotic dressing)

(below: Wal Mart is a bad drug. Sam has an addictive personality and finds placation through its low prices and cold air conditioning)

After Wal Mart and the blog fest, we were off for a few more miles. We traveled 12 miles until we came upon a town called Fairview. Fairview is a very small town with a population less than 500. We stopped at the first watering hole off the road, Philly's.


After some long unwelcome looks from a few patrons, we struck up a conversation with a South African man named Barry (pictured below). Barry was in town visiting his son Oliver. Oliver is in Kansas as part of a worker exchange program through the ostensibly largest employer in town, the dog food company Fairview Mills. Barry used to do some semi-professional (or maybe full professional) cycling in South Africa when he was younger. He was really impressed with our gear and our stamina. Meeting South Africans in Kansas made us feel a little less out of place.

When we returned from our chatting with Barry, a woman named Connie introduced herself. Connie was a waitress at Philly's and had spent $10 on a fried plate for us to snack on. We were incredibly greatful for her gesture, regardless of havoc it caused in the bowels. We continued to drink a local (Kansas City) Pale Ale called Boulevard. It was very tasty. After conversing with the bartender, Deb, for awhile she invited us over to her lawn to spend the night. She lived just across the street from the bar. We called it a night around 12:00, curled up on her lawn, and tried to tune out the endless blasts of fireworks (the was in fact Independence day Eve).

(below: the trio poses with Connie (red shirt) and Deb.)


Thanks Deb, Connie, and Deb. Keep it cool. We will see you next time we are in Fairview

miles: 55
morale: steady
no flats
no rain
a little too much beer