Dodge City Kansas to Great Bend, Kansas 86 miles

Mounting my trusty steed "blackie".

What happens in the van, stays in the van.

A model 50 or 60 "poppin Johnny" 2 cyclinder.

Today there isn't a whole lot to tell. We biked, ate, drank beer, did laundry and napped. A man has to know his limitations. The scenery looked a lot like the past several days although we did see a lot of wind mills on a wind farm and many more ready to be erected.

We left Dodge City early this a.m. and someone immediately took the wrong route. I am still trying to find out how someone can get lost less than 2 miles from the hotel, so we can ridicule them. Each tour there seems to be someone who can't seem to follow their cue sheets. Maybe they are just too used to having their spouses ( I would say wives but that would be sexist, have to be PC) tell them, oops recommend, what to do.

The land is rolling with irrigated wheat, lots of grain elevators, trains and wind farms with the occasional oil well. Great Bend isn't super interesting, but it is consumate middle America. Great Bend is named for the great bend in the Arkansas River and is also home to the largest inland wetlands in the U.S. In Kansas????? You bet.

Anyway Stu and I went on a scavenger hunt for wine and beer. His sponsor is Budweiser and his jerseys read "powered by Budweiser", so he has to be careful in public what he drinks. More on Stu tomorrow and the next day. We had to get wine for Craig (medicinal only) to thin his blood so that his arm improves. Yesterday at the doctor, when Craig said his gynocologist recommended he get his arm lanced, the doctor laughed. How funny is that.

Anyways, as Kirsten my daughter says, the convenience store had height measurement markings on the inside of the door. This is so the clerk can accurately describe the height of the robber. Wow! A first for me. You know you are in trouble when the surrounding stores are Popeyes, a furniture rental center, a ck cashing center, a discount laundromat and a liquor store. I love the federal stimulus program.

Actually, we are in a nice hotel again. Tracy has done a fantastic job of locating better hotels in each of the cities. In my mind, only one average hotel so far. Tracy, I'm expecting a discount on my next (4th) Crossroads Tour. On another note, Craig thinks he is in good with Tracy but I told him that the sign that he is "in" is when she lets him talk on the radio. More on that later.

Overall the group is real strong and the riders all get along real well. It is a very good group and the comraderie is stronger than when I did the ride in 2006. Greg, Harold, Roy the Rabbit and I biked together until the 71 mile point at Pawnee Rock. I visited that in 2006 so I left my "posse" to go ck the rock for Pawnees while I headed into town to investigate trouble in the local saloon.

I have a feeling the rabbit is going on a breakaway tomorrow. We will have to be ready for that. My feeling is....let the rabbit run. I am going to eventually get to McPherson and lunch at Montana Mikes. For those of you reading, even though we get in early, the day is packed with chores after the ride. Cleaning our chains, water bottles, laundry, route rap, preparing for the next day and then getting to bed early. It is critical to get in a routine and anyone that knows me knows I hate routine.

Hope all is well with everyone.

One final thought.....Memorial day is to honor the men and women who have given their lives in order for us to live the way we live today. Honor them and say a prayer for all of them tonight.

God Bless..

Oh and in closing I want to say, I miss my wife and daughters dearly......

Ty