Guyton, OK to Liberal, KS 45 miles

By the standards of most of the rides we've had on this tour, today's 45 miles to Liberal, Kansas, seemed like a leisurely morning training ride. I was enjoying my McDouble and fries in Liberal by 11:30 AM. 

This morning our tour director seemed so excited to tell us about today's must-see tourist attraction, Dorothy's house from The Wizard Of OZ. Originally I was going to bypass that sightseeing excursion, but out of boredom, I decided to check it out. I spent about 5 minutes there, took a picture, and then headed for the hotel. It added 5 miles to the ride. 

The talk this morning was that Payton, the tour mechanic who just happened to be away in Illinois when my bike broke, oh bummer, met some extremely attractive girl at the sports bar back in Guyton. To hear his wingman Tom ( the tour director's son who drives the truck) talk about this woman in graphic terms right in front of his daughter, who is also with us, was cringeworthy. 

I guess this woman lives in Colorado. At dinner tonight, I plan to propose to the group that, in the name of promoting love, we re-route the trip and ride to Colorado so Payton can meet up with his new sweetheart. I ran the idea past a few of the riders, and they said they would consider it. My hunch is that getting the OK from "Ms. Warmth," our tour director, might be difficult. Just a guess. 

Tomorrow we ride 85 miles to Dodge City, Kansas. Back in 2019, I remember fighting a nasty headwind all day on our ride into Dodge City. As I did that year, I'll pass on seeing the Old West Gunfight show they promote in town. Although, after visiting Dodge City back then, I did begin to watch Gunsmoke again. 

I love Westerns, and I think James Arness was perfectly cast as Marshell Matt Dillon, a principled lawman in a wild west town. Thank God Marshell Dillon was there to protect the good citizens of Dodge City from the outlaws, grifters, and hooligans who roamed the plains back in those days. There is a large statue of him in the center of town.

45 minutes until dinner and surprise, I'm really hungry. I am always hungry on these trips. 

Another flat ride tomorrow.