Day 59, Eureka to Chanute, KS

Miles – 63

Miles From Start/To Finish – 2,705/1,640

Ave Riding Speed – 8-26 mph

Hours Start to Finish – 7.5

Weather – Mostly Sunny and 63

Well, the highlight of the day was I “got to” change another flat tire and I’m getting really good at it!

It was a rise and shine day! We got up at 6:30am, showered, packed, nibbles on leftover pizza to go with the motel room provided 4-cupper coffee. There are some motels we’re happy to depart from and this was one of them. Although we’ll never complain about having A/C in this heat.

We jumped on Hwy 54 heading east and three blocks up on the edge of town, and not knowing what to expect for food along the way today, we stopped into the Dollar General to pick up a couple snacks, jerky and cashews. The sun was shining, the wind was gently coming from the south and we were cruising along at 16-18mph for 22 miles before turning south onto Hwy 105. At the intersection we stopped at Lizard Lips Grill & Deli for some cold water & Gatorade.

Lizards Lips was an awesome little store and gas station. There was a guy at a table in the store making fishing lures and the modest place has a little bit of everything for the local camping and fishing visitors to the Toronto Lake area just south of the store a few miles. The proprietor gave us small plastic lizards and zip ties to attach to our bikes. I put them on the front of our front pannier racks. Supposedly they signify that you’re never riding alone.

We chatted with a young couple who were camping and fishing at the Cross Timbers State Park on Toronto Lake. He said the caught a huge Blue Cat Fish, about the length of his arm. I asked if they eat them or throw them back. He said cat fish is good eat’n and they definitely keep them. He was kind enough to take the picture above.

Kim and I enjoyed the back country roads for the next 19 miles. The wind was more noticeable for our southwardly direction. When we reached Hwy 39, a much more heavily traveled road, we turned east. There was a shoulder about the width of our bicycle profile and traffic was moving by near the 65-mph posted limit. We continued a northeast/eastly direction for 11-miles until we turned directly east on 2000 Rd.

2000 Rd was another back country path, nearly 2-lanes wide with no shoulder. We crossed over a major thoroughfare, Hwy 75 and stopped for a little water and snack underneath a large tree hanging over the road. After a nice break we continued on. After gaining a little speed I felt that familiar wobble coming from the rear of my bike. I turned back to Kim and said, “yep, got another flat.”

We pulled off to a long driveway and walked my bike 20 feet down to a couple large trees shading the driveway and took a couple deep breaths. The ride was going great and I was thinking that maybe I hadn’t checked the inside of my tire from yesterday and maybe this one could have been prevented. I unloaded my saddlebags (panniers) and Kim and I turned my bike upside down on the edge of the driveway and I went to work. Once I removed the tube from the tire, I pumped some air in it to check for the leak. Found it. This time the puncture was in a different place on the tread side of the tube. I then ran two fingers along the inside of the tire and came upon the culprit. It was a metal wire, again the diameter of an office staple. I then checked the outside of my tread for it potentially showing there also and found nothing. I pulled out my pliers and gently pulled the wire out. It ended up being about a half inch long. I was almost excited that it was just a new object stuck in my tire. I think this was the 4^th flat in 4 days. We put everything back together and pumped up the tire the best I could. After a drink of water, we continued down the road.

13-miles later we pulled into Chanute. It was now pretty hot and we were happy to be at our destination. We stopped on the edge of town and Kim looked up the directions to the Super 8. It was on the south edge of town, right on our route. We were just hoping to ride past a grocery store. As we rode, I spotted the Super 8 sign and then spotted the Walmart sign. I was already thinking about what to eat; everything!

Kim gave me the greenlight to be the shopper today and she told me to hold back on my choices, as I tend to want everything I see. I bought tuna, Miracle Whip, pickles, buns, a noodle salad, grapefruit and Kombucha. I think I did pretty good. It was really hot outside and Kim was wondering what took me so long. I smiled and she went right for the Kombucha.

We packed what we could in our bags and I carried the remainder hanging from my handlebars. We rode a half-mile down to the Super 8 and check-in. Kim showered and I reached for the pickles.

I called the bike store in Pittsburgh, MO, our destination for tomorrow, to make sure they were open tomorrow and see what he had for new tread. He raddled off a couple options that will work. I told him we’ll get there as soon as we can and have him look at Kim’s tires. They aren’t wearing as fast, but we’ll see what he has to say. He said just to call if we don’t think we’ll make before they close and he’ll stay till we get there. I thought that was pretty awesome! I’m really, really excited for some new tires!