Day 45 - Winds of change

We probably are one of the most blessed cyclists on the TransAm. We crossed Kansas in 7 days and only had one and a half days headwinds. Most of the time the wind was on our side which meant we could easily do our minimum daily mileage of 80 km (50 miles). The most important factor in Kansas is the direction of the wind. One day we did 30 km (19 miles) in less than one hour and the next day it took us 2,5 hours for the same distance. Yesterday we did 145 km (85 miles) which was our longest stage so far and with tailwinds we even thought about to continue to reach the 100 miles target. But we already were close to Pueblo, Colorado, so we decided to stay in a little town named Ordway. Because of the winds and the heat we get up really early and try to be on the road at 8am which means our nights get shorter. Two nights earlier our night was even shorter, cause as we pitched our tent in the city park of Scott City we realized that the sprinkler sytems switched on. We tried to defend our tent against the water fountains and unfortunatelly one big sprinkler was one meter beneath our sleeping place. It was almost 1 am when we went to sleep.

The landscape changed dramatically. The beginning of Kansas was very green with lots of trees and meadows and meanwhile we are in a dessert like surrounding. We now have a dry and barren landscape with lots of nothing. Even the population of the towns we passed got fewer and distances between towns increased. One day we had to deal with 100 km (62 miles) of a single straight road without any service stop or water supplies or houses. This was more a mental challenge than a physical one.

Now we are in little motel in Pueblo and can see the Rockies from our window (is this snow over there?). Benjamin is still with us and he will leave us in two days. We will really miss him cause he pushed and entertained us. It was a great time with him. On wednesday shit is getting serious... :)

Biker hints:
- Larned, KS. Biker friendly town, nice city park, free pool for cyclists!
- Rush Center, KS, nice burger restaurant as you turn on highway 96.
- Scott City, KS, be aware of the sprinkler system in the city park!

Total mileage so far: 3719 km (2324 miles)