Day 41 – Crosswinds & Camels

By Mark Heggestad
What’s annoying and goes 25 mph?  Answer: a crosswind coming from the south.  Not occasional gusts up to 25 mph; straight-line winds at 25 mph.  It was a crosswind so it was manageable; but I go slower, the wind is loud, and at the end of a relatively short day I feel drained.  For me, the most challenging part of a crosswind is the way it hinders my view.  I enjoy constantly scanning the terrain, but when there is a harsh crosswind I keep my head down for aerodynamics, which limits my ability to scan the horizon, and that limits my enjoyment a little.

There was a 1.5-mile stretch of road today that went straight south into the oncoming wind.  I now know that if the majority of my day is into a 25 mph or greater head wind, I will likely be taking that day off.

Other than the crosswind it was another near perfect day.  Sun was shining, temp was in the low 90’s and the traffic was light and courteous.  Speaking of courteous traffic we found out that the roads we are traveling require drivers to give bikers a minimum of 3 feet of space by law.  So I don’t necessarily know if Kansas drivers are courteous or just law-abiding, but either way, I like it.

We rode 52.9 miles today, starting at the intersection of state highway 19 and U.S. 281 to a spot just west of Buhler, KS.  I just noticed I forgot to provide yesterday’s progress.  Yesterday we biked 65.2 miles from Alexander, KS to the intersection of state highway 19 and U.S. 281.

The terrain is changing.  We still see fields that stretch out over the horizon.  But we also see pastures, small groves of trees and even an occasional pond.

The terrain is changing

Our road today

And of course you can’t pass through Kansas without seeing a few camels.  Yep, that’s right – a few camels mixed in with the horses.  Go figure.  Every morning we comment, “Lets see what surprises the day will bring us.”   We are never disappointed.

Camels in Kansas

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