Wild Colorado to Wide Open Kansas

DAY +5
Colorado Springs, CO to Ft Levenworth, KS
605 Miles

After a far more restfull sleep at Grandpa Carl's place in Colorado Springs (no trains rumbling by every 15 minutes), the group, now with 5 riders including Justin Daubert, left out of Colorado Springs on Rt 24 East toward Kansas.

It was a crisp morning... Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and the winds that Overtime has remarked on time and time again had caught back up to us. With majestic Pikes Peak in our rear view and the East Colorado flatlands in our sights, the winds pummeled us, South to North, until we reached the Kansas state line. So much so in fact that on several occasions, my FatBoy was literally changing lanes on its own... An unerving development when you're doing 70 mph down a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, the winds subsided by the time we reached Kansas, and we were off.

Now on I-70, the 5 of us thundered down the highway across greater Kansas. Regretfully, I have to both admit ignorance as well as issue an apology to my good friends Sarah and Charles for ever making fun of their beloved state of Kansas. In my estimation, Kansas gets a bad rap for being boring, flat, lifeless... Hardly. While it's true Western Kansas very much fits this description, Central Kansas is absolutely beautiful. Between the rolling emerald colored hills around Manhattan, KS to the vast farm lands in between, I couldn't help but well up with pride for my country. This is the Heart of America. And despite seeing it at 80+ mph, there was plenty to see.

Our destination was the home of Scotty's in-law's, Greg and Kelly. We were met in the driveway, handed an ice cold beer, served steak, potatoes, broccoli and carrots, and home made strawberry shortcake for desert. That's a hell of a way to end a hard day's ride. Big thanks to the Eddy's for the hospitatlity.

As for me, it's 11:00 PM and we have another long ride to Louisville tomorrow to meet up with more family. I need a shower and an empty spot on the floor, and I'm down for the count.

PS- I apologize for having not updated any pictures in so many days, but we've encountered a few difficulty in their loading... As soon as I'm able to get them posted, I will... Not to worry, we'll have hundreds!

ATW '08