Kansas State of Kind

Day 45

Nickerson, KS to Hesston, KS

Distance: 36 miles

Showers taken: two for me; one for Steed

Bed for the night: LeAnn & Stan’s house – perfect!

Sometimes you have a day all planned out in your head and it turns out nothing like you expected. And in some cases that’s because you’re lucky enough for it to be much, much better that you could ever have dreamt up… let me explain!

For those of you who know me well, it will come as no surprise to hear that I woke up this morning with thoughts of food.

I was already salivating at the prospect of stopping for proper coffee and some freshly prepared, healthy tucker at a café called Mustard Seed, around 20 miles into my day, and a mile off the route, but reputedly worth the detour, according to Chelsea (who I met in Pueblo).

And so I moseyed around my morning routine, happily eating the fresh fruit and bagels that Kathy from the B&B had set out for me, and armed with my camera to take a few shots of my favourites among the beautiful creatures I had been sharing my accommodation with last night.

Terrill kindly took me through to the enclosures to get snap my snappy snaps, mainly male Kangaroo Jack’s “torso of the week” (!) which unfortunately I failed to achieve – but I rolled off with a smile on my face into a warm, bright and windy morning.

All was going to plan as I pulled up and leant Steed up against the wall of Mustard Seed, slid into place at the bar, and before long was sipping on a wonderful latte, and (inspired by the Vegan ways of Chelsea) eating the best Veggie sandwich I have ever tasted.

I got chatting to the lovely ladies behind the counter, and also wonderful woman called Velda who sat two down from me at the bar – she had just started a new job and was getting to grips with the change (which sounds like it was a good move) and we happily meandered from topic to topic and whiled away a hour of chat without a second glance.

Ordering a Café Breve (espresso with half-and-half) as a trial (not bad) and a chocolate chip muffin as dessert (out of this world), I frittered away another few minutes on such hedonistic pleasure, until I had to face facts that it was time to get back on the road if I was to make it to Newton, and its (famous) bike store, before it shut up shop for the day.

Well, this is where things started to go slightly awry. I had already resigned myself to a strong sidewind for the day, but I hadn’t quite appreciated how strong it would get by afternoon. Nor had I realised my Garmin would soon be showing a temperature of over 100 degrees out on the road.

Feeling physically OK but like my face was starting to burn, I pulled over into the glorious shade of a driveway of a house just off the main road, and started to slather up with the Factor 55. I was just getting finished, when a car approached with its indicator flashing in my direction. Catching the eye of the lady driver, we both laughed at the chances of this happening at that very moment and, as I moved to one side to let her into her drive, she stuck her head out of the window.

“It’s a mighty hot afternoon for you to be out on a bike young lady,” she said, with a grin on her face. “Can I get you a drink of water?”

And so I happily followed her up to the house and the rest, as they say, is history.

LeAnn introduced me to her husband, Stan, who was doing some work re-landscaping their back garden, with design and assistance from a talented Mexican man called Jesus. Then LeAnn and I dived into the blissful coolness of her kitchen, where the two of us sat and chatted as I sipped some ice-cold water and tickled the tummy of the big furry feline creature who positioned himself strategically on the kitchen floor, Picasso…

Before long, LeAnn had persuaded me that I should call it quits for the day (due to the heat, wind, and an emergency traffic detour ahead), offering to drive Steed and me into Newton to get him checked over, and to let me stay in their spare room.

Well, how could I refuse such an offer? And so off we motored off in a glamorous white Chevy Tahoe (love those cars) to the Newton Bike Shop, where Heather and James, the owners, made us feel so welcome.

While James checked Steed’s chain and a few other bits, Heather showed us around the hostel they have set up there for touring cyclists, where they really have thought of absolutely everything to offer a comfortable and sociable stay, with all needs catered. 

And as we stepped through the back of the bike workshop, James called out for me to come and see Steed… having a bike shower!!!

Yep, after this level of cleaning, he was gleaming from handlebars to rear light, and the problem that I thought was the chain (which was actually gunk built up in the sprockets) was solved in a jiffy. A quick breath of air in the tyres, and we were waving a fond farewell to Heather and James, and really the most amazing bike shop I have ever visited.

A quick drop into the local arboretum where LeAnn had been helping out earlier today, including a few minutes walk down to the lake to feed the turtles (Snapping Turtle, Sid Turvey from yesterday’s blog was notable by his absence… probably off chasing tyres)... then back to “the ranch” for a quick shower myself (not to be outdone by Steed) while LeAnn ran some laundry through for me.

Then Stan, LeAnn and I drove into Wichita for the evening, where we ran a few errands and had a fantastic meal (Salmon, rice and broccoli for me – my holy trinity). A drive back via the bright lights of the city, and home to bed.

A huge thank you to LeAnn and Stan for their kindness and for being such great company. Here they are…

And you can also find out more about the project in which they are heavily involved which provides books and libraries to children in Ethiopia – check out their website – Ethiopia Reads - a perfect way for LeAnn to continue her passion for reading and education since she retired as a teacher, and for Stan to support after many years spent at a high level as an engineer at AgCo, a large manufacturer of Agricultural equipment, with a huge plant just down the road in Hesston, KS.

Wow, what a day… and not a talking animal in sight.

Sorry, what was that Picasso?

Me x