Last night I realized I’d been attacked by mosquitos while riding. My best guess, since I didn’t see any during daylight, is that it happened before dawn. I know I was riding through clouds of insects, and now I am pretty sure some of them were mosquitos. My right leg has at least ten REALLY ITCHY bites, and probably ten more elsewhere, and it is REALLY hard to avoid scratching them. This made it really hard to sleep, so I figured I’d just putter 55 miles to Scott City.
However, two things happened: First, I noticed that my legs weren’t itching while I was pedaling, and second, I had either no wind or a tailwind the whole day, so I decided to keep going. I had phone service the entire time, and talked to several people on the phone for a total of probably two hours, which was a fun way to pass the time. I love technology! 😁
It’s less than 40 miles to Colorado, so I guess tonight’s my last night in Kansas!
I suspect most people find cloud pictures boring, but I love the way clouds look in wide open landscapes, which are really unusual for me!This is almost exactly where I was when I crossed the 100th Meridian, which is considered the start of the Great Plains.I couldn’t figure out what was going on here. There were rows of old farm machinery and trucks? Collection? Junkyard? It would have been fun to look at them more closely.A windmill 😁My mosquito-bite-riddled legOK, you know those little oil pumps in fields you see in Kansas (and elsewhere)? I have been watching for someone servicing one of them to find out more about how it works. I found Austin, who works in his family’s trucking business, servicing one of them, and peppered him with questions. He was really nice and patient, and now I have a better understanding of them. Basically, the farmers allow the oil company to drill and pump, and the oil company maintains all the equipment. In return, the farmer gets to keep a share of the proceeds. It seems like a win-win situation for the farmer.An abandoned house and windmill. I couldn’t find a great angle for the picture, but I like it well enough to share.A different angle of the house and windmill.Vladimir, from Ukraine, is traveling east on the TransAm. He rode 120 miles yesterday, and was aiming for 100 today. We are not on the same schedule! 😁
I got a little video of him riding up, but my network access is not great, so maybe later.
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