Day 54: Newton, KS

Day 54

July 9, 2015

Miles: 56

Nickerson to Newton

Twice now, the past two nights, during the late, late hours we heard train bells and horns going off, multiple times during the night.  It wasn't until this morning during our ride did Steve and I talk about hearing the trains.  When I heard them, I responded much like Joe Pesci in 'My Cousin Vinny' and Steve said he instantly started thinking about the Johnny Cash song ' I hear the train a coming ...'.   It is amazing that Kansas still runs their commuter trains and unfortunate that they also run during the late night hours.

We were up early, packed and left the city park by 7:30a.  We were already making good time.  We went back to the Sunshine Cafe to eat breakfast.  We finally got a great breakfast.  Our favorite - pancakes and eggs.  A good combination of carbohydrates and protein.  Steve ordered bacon this morning too, which was unusual.

Good food

Still making good time, as we were now eating, a cross-country cyclist stopped in the cafe to eat.  He said he saw our bikes out front.  He was riding west, so we both exchanged warnings and problem routes to give one another a heads up.  The long and the short - we finally left the cafe at about 9:10a. Rats!  Tomorrow's another day - perhaps it will be an earlier one.

Ready to go - 9:10a

We checked our map before we left the cafe to make sure of the directions.  We realized that today's route to Newton had us changing roads more than usual, so we wanted to get a good look before we left.  There is nothing more frustrating than riding unnecessary miles because you have gone the wrong way.  Well ... after about 13 miles, we realized that we went the wrong way and were headed to Hutchinson, which is far south of where we were supposed to be. Stinkers!  It was too many miles to turn back, so we decided to get off at the next exit and find a spot to regroup and to look at the map and find a new route that would put us back on track. 

We stopped at a Cocono (gas station/convenience store).  A woman named Melissa helped us out.  She gave us a map to look at and also made a call to the sheriff to see if we could ride on route 50.  It was a major road, not a country road, and was the best way to Newton from where we were.  Very nice woman and she helped us out greatly.  So we got our new route figured out, but instead of going route 50, we decided to take a parallel road named  Avenue G because it also went all the way into Newton.  Steve does not particularly like the busy roads, and neither do I because of the heavy traffic and noise.  So we set out looking for Avenue G.  

Wrong way

On the way out of the Cocono a couple of guys asked where we were headed and we told them.  I asked them if Avenue G was a good road for cyclists.  One guy said that he wasn't from around the area, but the second guy said yes that Avenue G goes right into Newton and had a great shoulder.  So we were off ... so we thought.

At first glance the road looked pretty good.  Then we saw a sign that said 'No hitchhiking - prison area.   Shortly there after, we passed two maximum security prisons about 1 mile apart.   And if this wasn't enough, we lost the shoulder in the road.  We were now riding in the car lane.

Rats!

It gets worse.  We lost the pavement.  The road turned into a dirt road.  We rode it for a while, but the dirt was loose and dangerous to ride on so we headed back to route 50, now coming full circle.

Stinkers!

So the good news is we found a Kwik Shop on route 50; we stopped to have a turkey sandwich.  We had about 18 miles to go.

Lunch

Cafe that isn't real.

As you can see the terrain is changing.  I like eastern Kansas bit better than western Kansas.

Nice

Steve posing for a pic

At one point, we crossed over the Arkansas River.

Crossing over river - vantage point 1

Crossing over river - vantage point 2

We made it to Newton about 4:30p after a few more direction mishaps; I wish I could get into it, but it would take me too long to write and its late now, so this is all you get on this.  We rode an extra 8 miles today because of our excellent navigational skills.   

So we are doing something different tonight.  We are staying at a hostel.  My first hostel and Steve's too.  It is at a bike shop in Newton.  Very cool place!   The owner James is great.  You get a place to sleep, a hot shower, washer and dryer, and free beer for $14.99 each.  Wow!  There are six others staying here as well.  I tried to make a logical argument with Steve to get the hostel to count as a camping night; sadly I was unable to successfully convince him, so I reluctantly agreed it would count as a motel/hotel night.  Rats!  Stinkers!

Steve trying to make his escape on the bike rack

Steve caught in the candy asle

Dinner with Dreux - good guy from CT

Jeremy

Father and son team

Tomorrow we are deviating from the Trans American bike route to head toward St. Louis.  We will be heading northeast on route 50. We are not sure of the day's destination yet. We still need to decide, but if the wind is in our favor then we will try for a long ride tomorrow.  Stay tuned ...