July 16th, last day in Kansas :(
I’m loving life here in Kansas! I’ve actually really enjoyed everyday in this flat, basketball loving Midwest state. Yes it’s been hot, and yes it’s been windy but 99.9 percent of the people I’ve met are so nice! Hats off (or helmets off) to you Kansas!
I think my picnic table last night was the best yet, it was made out of that recycled plastic stuff, much cozier than the traditional, splintery wood. You wouldn’t believe it, but yesterday I ran into 5, yes FIVE other cross country bikers. Seems that the little town of Eureka is a hub.
I connected best with Larry, he’s 65, and ex marine and hates Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cause he thinks they’re communists. Doesn’t sound like my kind of guy right? Well he had some funny stories, like falling over five times because he couldn’t get out of his pedals and painful moments of sitting on a seat that “felt like sitting on an acorn for 8 hours” ouch!
He’d never ridden his bike further than 40 miles before this trip, and this trip wasn’t even his idea. His buddy set it all up, and four days into the ride, he busted his knee, leaving Larry all alone. But Larry being the tough guy he is, decided to stick it out. I don’t know if he’s having fun, but he’s determined to finished. Unfortunately Larry snores like a freakin lawnmower, kept me up all night (see video).
I hit some hills today, yeah, real deal hills! It was fun to mix up the terrain a little bit, flat for days gets a bit boring. I also went through some neat little towns too, but I can’t help but fear for these little gems when I see 50% of shops closed. I’ve never seen so many boarded up storefronts in my life. I blame it on the recession and evil chain restaurants moving in, putting the ma and pa shops out of business 
I’m five miles from the Missouri border, yeehaa, get ready for a Happy dance tomorrow!
My final kansas video:
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