Fijis Across America

Day 28

After staying with the town mayor we woke up early to start our ride.  The days we cross over into another state are always exciting because we are just getting that much closer to our goal of reaching the Atlantic Ocean. 

As we began to leave Kansas we could notice a difference in the terrain.  It was not so flat and we realized we had not had the opportunity to even use our break as we were constantly peddling slightly uphill all day. 

The Alzheimer’s Association put us in contact with the local newspaper and news station so Girard, KS and the next town we went through, Pittsburg, KS, saw us in their local media.  As we rode through Pittsburg, KS we were all singing along on the bike, as we frequently do to pass the time, to Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.  As we were singing, a man on the side of the road stopped us.  It turned out to be the general council of Phi Gamma Delta that had seen us on television.  He was very encouraging and we all enjoyed talking with him and giving him the fraternity handshake. 

We reached the Missouri border about 20 miles into the ride and stopped for a break and some pictures.  For some reason I had a strong urge to buy a Sunkist (Orange Soda).  I am finding a pattern in reverting back to my childhood desires, as it was my favorite drink as a kid.  But, lets just say it tasted pretty good. 

We had another cool experience with a cyclist that was passing by on the road.  He was loaded down with all his gear on the bike and stopped to talk to all of us.  I would have been curious also to see 6 guys all in matching uniforms.  But, it turned out he was from Australia and his father suffers from Alzheimer’s.  We were able to record his story on the video camera and we all enjoyed his different accent. 

On our way to Ash Grove we encountered a rock quarry that was to good to pass up on such a hot day.  So all the riders decided to take a dip in the quarry and it was truly awesome.  The water was very cold and felt great.  However, riding our bikes for several miles after was not very enjoyable because the hills of the Ozarks struck and we all felt pretty disgusting.

When we finally arrived to Ash Grove the city park pool that we indulged in welcomed us.  The pool had a diving board, a basketball goal, and plenty of small children to mess with.  I enjoyed blocking a few kids shots as they tried to score on me and we all enjoyed looking like idiots as 20+ year olds swimming with mainly young teenagers.

At the city park we met another cyclist named Mike.  He was 63 and had just retired as a machinery mechanic.  He was cycling from St. Louis, MO to Portland, Oregon as his retirement present.  He has had 3 heart attacks and was pretty crazy.  But, we all enjoyed his stories and jokes and even enjoyed his company as he joined us for dinner at the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant for dinner.

It was certainly a packed day but we all had a great time and made some awesome memories.

In His Adventure,

Chaz Vittitow