Fredonia and the six-hour presidency– Day 32

Date: Thursday 9th September   

Route: Newton, Kansas – Near Fredonia, Kansas

Distance:   113 miles

Total climb: 2573 ft

Net climb: -552 ft

In keeping with previous ‘Harry Potter’-style titles, this is the best I can do with today’s events.

The BW provided its usual selection of cereals and pastries to satisfy our breakfast pride, before a 38 mile stretch without food or water, or anything else for that matter. After eating and a stop at thegas station for provisions, we bumbled along quiet roads,past fields of cattle and nodding donkeys, to Cassoday.

The plan was to dine in Cassoday, so we were saddened to find the whole town (population 130) had been hit hard by recent economic conditions. All three shops and the diner were permanently closed, so we sat on a shaded bench outside and ate our reserves of cookies and brownies.

The revised plan was to pedal a further 17 miles to Rosalia for lunch, in the hope that more services would be open – if not, the next major town would be in 39 miles. We scooted along past more fields of cattle and horses and arrived in Rosalia in good time, pleased to see an ‘open’ sign in the diner window.

Two pizzas ordered and sodas flowing, we began conversing with the owner/chef/waiter/barman. In addition to having a ‘hundred head of cattle’ in the fields around town, he ran the diner and offered free insights into a multitude of political, economic and social topics from a proverbial soap box at the bar. I think all customers are given the same level of warm and welcoming interaction, but this did not detract from the entertainment and intellectual stimulation. Over a light lunch we covered trade protectionism, unionisation, optimal fiscal policy, cowboy bravado and the food hygiene issues of a rather unpleasant diner in the next town. The mood of the discussion, to the backing sounds of a sci-fi channel narrator on the television, can be best summarised by our new acquaintance saying, ”if I was President, I’d only last six hours.”

After digesting both food and alternative viewpoints, we charged onwards towards the town of Eureka. Before arriving, we were met by a newcomer to the trip… Team Stockham. It was a mood-lifter to see Julia, John and Tammy, the white chariot from Texas – if things go well, they’ll be around our route all the way to Yorktown. The company will be great and I’m sure we’ll call on their support for the odd lift, instead of relying on locals and their trucks.

Eureka was our target for the day, so it was pleasing to arrive early and in daylight. The town was founded around a fresh water spring, making it appropriate to stock up on beverages at the gas station, where we met two cyclists heading west – not for the first time, they were a little surprised by the schedule we are running to (which is a little unnerving).

We took the decision to get ahead for the day in good but drizzling conditions. More miles through the tires brought us to Toronto, changing landscapes and increasing humidity. In the manner of an adapted Forest Gump, we just kept on cycling. After Coyville, we were offered accommodation by a lady who stopped her car in the middle of the road, but we opted to roll further. We eventually met Team Stockham and headed to a motel in nearby Fredonia, just off the route.

Focused on hitting deadlines for a number of reasons, we’re delighted to be ahead of current schedule and to have made some good extra miles today.

Other loosely noteworthy matters:

• In the spirit of the trip, we are still trying to be as unsupported as is reasonable, given that we need to be in Yorktown before the end of September. This means that we continue to carry all our kit on the bikes. We’ll probably be gratefully accepting lifts from Tammy to bike shops for repairs or to nearby motels (instead of relying on lifts from locals, as we have done in a few cases to date). However, this will not alter our cycling of the entire route, by hook or by crook.
• Our evening meal in Fredonia provided the first prohibition incident of the trip, when we casually ordered three beers on being seated. The waitress, looking less than amused, wouldn’t even respond until we swiftly changed to sodas.
• Our beards are still growing, but are not even close to Mr Gump’s effort.  Despite being many miles beyond the Hoosier Pass now, we are both focused on their development, even though they are hugely irritating in the heat and humidity. However, they do bring some (false?) credibility to our trip when we speak to locals – all forms of gravitas are useful when you are wearing spandex.
• Having mentioned Helen’s friend Katie early in the trip, I’d just like to offer a huge thanks to Guy ‘Humphamania’ Humphreys, for his continued beating of the fundraising drum whilst we pedal onwards. A key influence on our chosen charity was as a gesture to a good friend and a fellow ‘Hawk’ and he’s definitely a part of the trip, eloquently summarising our waffly blogs on social networking sites.

FP