Dodge City, Kansas to Great Bend, Kansas 86 miles and 450 feet of climbing

Today was "Donut Day" on the fabulous Crossroads Adventure Cycling Ride Across America. Donuts at breakfast, donuts at the first SAG, and leftover donuts at the second SAG. It was a donut lover's dream. 

I like donuts; however, I rarely eat them because they don't always agree with my stomach. I can eat perhaps one-half of a glazed donut, and even that is pushing it. Powdered donuts, on the other hand,  are a little easier for me to take, so I had one and a half of those at the first SAG to help power me through the remaining 45 miles to Great Bend. Even then, my stomach was not great for the last twenty miles or so. It also got a bit humid and a little hotter toward the end of the ride, which always makes my stomach a wild card factor. Despite some discomfort, I made it to the hotel, and after a shower, a beer, and some rest, I feel ready to ride through the Heartland again tomorrow, minus the donuts.  

It was a cool and breezy day with partly cloudy skies. Not surprisingly, the landscape was similar to yesterday's. Flat green farmland on either side of the road, much of it dotted with row upon row of large windmills. The road paralleled the railroad tracks for much of the day, and every 6 to 10 miles, we would pass large grain silos and grain elevators. This is the same route I took in 2019 on my cross-country ride. 

The other riders seem to be having a good time, although Christine, the wife of Doug from New Jersey, decided to take a day off from riding because her back was bothering her. Evidently, she left her back brace in the hotel back in Guyton, OK. She is such a trooper to take on this challenge, coast to coast. Her husband, Doug, is obviously the bike enthusiast of the two, but she is no slouch. You'll remember that it was she who made it through that bitterly cold and wet day back in New Mexico, not him. Nevertheless, she seemed to feel a little defeated today when I spoke to her. Hopefully, tomorrow her back will feel better, and she'll be up for giving it a go. 

Because I'm concentrating on my own ride, it's hard for me to tell who is riding in the van and who is riding their bikes. For sure, most of the riders are doing the full day's ride, but there are a handful of folks who, I'm sure, call it quits on the tougher days. 

We were told this morning that Payton, the tour mechanic that wasn't actually on the tour when I had bike problems, will be doing "mid-ride safety checks" on everyone's bike over the next two days. Electronic shifting bikes will be checked today, and mechanically shifting bikes will be checked tomorrow. Tom, the tour director's son asked me if my bike was an electronic shifting bike, and I said that it was not. He then made some comments about the original bike I brought on this tour. I just smiled and walked to my room.  Thank God for vodka in these situations. 

Oh, we stopped at the halfway point between San Francisco and New York City. 

I believe we have 4 more weeks of riding before we dip our front wheels in the Atlantic Ocean at Revere Beach. 

Tomorrow we are off to McPherson, Kansas.