Mood:  a-ok

Because everything was packed last night, I slept in until 5:30 AM.  This still gave me time to have devotions, etc., and still arrive at the Chatterbox Cafe at 6 AM sharp.  Rains were forecast to the south.  There was no word about the wind direction.  Another headwind would be miserable.  The good news is that there were several sizable towns between Tribune and Dighton (sizable means over 500 people, which means a high likelihood of a restaurant.

I hit the road to a beautiful blue sky with wispy clouds.  Soon a rhythm developed to my pedalling.  Miles started going by.  It looked like I was not going to be luck and have a tailwind today, but as I headed east, the light wind came at an angle from the northeast and only slowed me down a little.  Speeds were 11-12 mph.  That would get me to Dighton at a reasonable hour.

Twenty two miles down the road was the town of Leoti.  I had a short stack of pancakes and coffee there, then back on the road, feeling pretty good.

Wait a minute.  Something's wrong.  The wind isn't coming from the northeast anymore.  In the half hour that I was in the restaurant the wind had changed and was now coming from the southeast.  Maybe if it kept going around, it would get behind me and blow me into Dighton.  I don't think so.  Like before, the force and angle of the wind slowed me somewhat but not significantly. 

In another 24 miles was Scott City, and I reached it by noon.  Actually, I lost an hour (or was it a gain?) because at the first county line, I went from MST to CST, so it was now an hour later.  Nevertheless, the ride was going smoothly.  Having said that, Scott City has a bunch of giant stock yard operations  around, and, boy, they really stink.  So the ride was smooth but stinky, around Scott City anyway.

The final 24 miles went great.  That means that, yes, the wind started to shift around so that it was coming from the southwest, and that gave me a boost, speedwise.  I was only going 13 mph, but, being tired, I wasn't pedally nearly so hard.  It was almost relaxing.  If only tomorrow and Friday could be that way.

Tomorrow is a 60 m/l mile ride to Rush Center, then an 80 miler to Little River, to the house that my mother was raised in.  I can't wait.  I hope the weather cooperates and that my body holds up.  The 80 miler will be the seventh straight day of pedalling.  But, I will also be able to relax for a couple of days with relatives. 

For now, I need to get to my motel (I wonder what this one will be like?), shower, eat and sleep.  I need to get up an hour earlier tomorrow to compensate for the time change.

Will McMahan