Kansas

Wow, it seems to be awhile since our last blog and of course much has taken place since that last correspondence. We finally escaped the grasp of Missouri and found ourselves in the safe haven of Kansas, spent some time experiencing the “Playground of the Midwest,” passed some bike riders that made us look a bit silly, and accepted the warm hospitality of the Phelps family.

When we last left you in Jefferson City we were stuck waiting for a bike shop to open Monday morning to fix Zach’s unknown bike ailment. By now we can tell you that the problem was a broken free hub in the back wheel and we can also tell you that unfortunately for Zach, the bike shop in Jefferson City did not have the free hub in stock. They did however tune up our bikes and somehow got Zach’s bike to a point where it could be ridden although he was limited to three very low gears. The bike shop owner also called ahead to his friend who owned a bike shop 50 miles west of Jefferson City in a place called the Ozarks. The friend told us that he would be expecting us in the morning and that he had the part to fix the bike. However, this meant that Zach had to limp through the next 50 miles with a barely functioning bike through hills, which were made even more difficult for Zach since he was perpetually stuck in high gears.

The next day we found ourselves limping into the Ozarks, which by the way are the most exciting place that we have seen since we left the Atlantic Ocean. The Ozarks are a series of man made lakes and tourist towns that have been rightfully dubbed the playground of the Midwest. As we rode into town towards the bike shop we were surrounded by Old Time Photo shops, arcades, batting cages, restaurants, and other shops and activities that you would expect to see on the boardwalks of the east coast ocean front. We decided to begin our day in the Ozarks by taking care of business and getting Zach’s bike fixed. After Zach was back in working order we headed back into town to get something to eat and enjoy some of the activities that the town had to offer.

The adventure began at a small restaurant and pub in the center of town called the Casablanca. We found out later that the establishment is poised to be featured in the July issue of Maxim magazine and we quickly discovered why. The delicious food was only outdone by the incredibly kind service and homely atmosphere. Just when we thought that the people in this small town couldn’t be any more friendly, a complete stranger picked up our lunch tab. After thanking ___ and his son and grandson __ and ___ we decided to go across the street and get Old Time Photos taken. We spent about an hour doing our best to bring out our inner cowboy and when it came time to take the picture, we found ourselves once again leaving our wallets in our chaps. This time, it was the owner of the Old Time Photo Shop that paid for our pictures. We once again thanked our Good Samaritan for his kindness and decided that it was time to get back on the road, but not before deciding that the Ozarks are indeed a town that is worth revisiting some time in the future!

While in the Ozarks we learned of another race across America that had just commenced in Ocean Side California. The Race Across America or as it is more popularly referred to, RAAM, is a supported race in which the riders either race in teams or individually. Unlike our trip that will most likely last 45 days or more, these riders finish with in two weeks. More specifically, the teams can finish as fast as 5 and a half days and in the individuals can finish the race in 10 days. Even more ridiculous is that there is a team of 60 something diabetic women competing in the race this year. To support the trip, there are tents set up about every 60 miles or so with water and food. Even though we are not partaking in RAAM we stopped at the tents as we passed and the people were extremely friendly and helpful. They even gave us energy bars and took our pictures for their website. It was also neat to see the riders pass us going the opposite way. There seemed to be a level of mutual respect for what each of us were doing and we always made sure to wave and yell out encouraging words as we passed.

When we got to Wichita, the capital of Kansas we were blessed with the opportunity to stay with the Phelps family. The Phelps household was an amazing experience indeed. Greg Phelps is an old friend of Anthony’s father and as such felt some sort of misfounded obligation to our little band of misfits. He most generously offered up his home to us and pulled out all the stops to make us feel welcome. And we do mean all of the stops. The entire stay at their home was like an eloquently crafted dinner, with every act of kindness culminating in a perfect soufflé of relaxing and fun.

The first course of kindness was shown to us at small Italian restaurant were he picked up our tab. The second was when he toed our tired little behinds off the highway into his quant rural community. The third was when he and his beautiful wife and daughters made us the most fantastic 5 star steak dinner we’ve ever had in our lives. The fourth was when he carted us around Wichita as we made repairs and preventative maintenance measures on our bikes. The fifth and sixth and seventh were the multiple hand made snacks and breakfast that Melissa made us throughout our day off. The list goes on and on but we can say with the utmost sincerity that Greg and Melissa Phelps are by far one of the most enjoyable, accommodating, fantastic company that we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing on this trip so far. The food alone would have been worth an entire blog entry, but we couldn’t begin to do justice to the poetic artistry of flavors by butchering the description with our crass cyclist language. From the bottom of our hearts and bellies, thank you so very much.

And now it is time to begin the last third of our little trip across the states. From Wichita we will continue down route 54 to Dodge City where Wyatt Earp gained fame as a peacemaker. From there we have a couple of different routes that we debating, but all end up going through Las Vegas and finally end somewhere around Las Angeles. As for those of you who have been waiting for picture and video updates, our camera unfortunately stopped working last week. However, once again, Anthony’s Dad came to the rescue and sent us a new camera so we will hopefully be able to upload more pictures in the near future.