The Morning After

Those fine warm, humid days came crashing to an end on Saturday, get-away-day. On the bus ride to the Kansas City Airport the ski turned dark gray and its been pelting down ever since. I'm now really glad the ride is over.

Here are a few of the high points of the trip.

Best Dinner: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Slatter, MO. Honorable Mention - Sterling College, Baker University and the Hays Tavern in Council Grove, KS.

Best Breakfast: St Paul's Lutheran Church, Slatter, MO. (a sweep!)

Best Ride Day: Trinidad, Co. to La Junta, Co. We got pushed by a tailwind all day, except for the last few miles when it turned on us.

Best Ride Segment: Highway 181 on the way to Larned, KS. Another  big tailwind had us clocking speeds of 20 to 25 MPH without much pedaling.

Worst Day: Tie between the Philmont Scout Ranch and Raton Pass, a rainy debacle that I shall never forget, and the day of strong winds on the way to Baldwin City, KS.

Best Discipline: Wentworth Military Academy

Worst Coffee: Wentworth Military Academy

Worst Night's Sleep: Gym bleachers at Trinidad State College

Best Library: Dodge City Community College - a no hassle sign-in, good late hours.

Best Small Town Café: This one is very difficult, there were many top candidates, but I have to go with Hart's Pharmacy in Cimarron, KS., where I purchased my K-State sunglasses. Honorable Mention: Harvest Café in Inman, KS., and Patti's Snack Shack in Marshal, MO.

Best Donut: Brown's Hotel in Springer, NM, which, sadly, is now closed forever.

Worst Moment: Second after crashing near Wagon Mound, NM, and thinking I might have broken my shoulder or bruised a rib, potentially ending the ride for me two weeks early.

Best Moment: Crossing the Missouri River, anticipating the end of the trip a few miles down the road.

Best Coyotes: Arrow Rock State Park, MO

Best Bugs: Anywhere in Missouri.

Best Feral Cat Noises: New Franklin

Best Roadkill: Highway 41 to Lexington, a real murderers row.

Best pre-trip purchase: My new pair of Keen's

Best Tool: The Leatherman (it fixes bikes, it opens beer, it does everything!) and my pedal remover which saved the day in Larned, KS.

Best Fort: Bent's Fort.

Most Useless Thing Packed: Never used my long underwear and my duct tape rain paints, which are several sizes too big for me and must be fastened with clothespins.

Most Valuable Clothes: My cycling leg warmers, used constantly after about the fourth day. It was cold some mornings!

Well, we had some time to kill at the airport...