Abilene to Topeka

This morning was almost a carbon copy of yesterday the sky was angry and threatening. Only this time it was lightly sprinkling as we left. We had jackets on to protect us in case it really decided to rain. Fortunately it did not develop into a serious rain. It was just enough to make the road slightly we. It pretty much stopped completely by the time we had gone 5 miles. At that point we removed our jackets and proceeded on.

Today I was reminded again of how valuable the helmet is to our safety. As we progressed along the route at about 12 miles we came upon a set of railroad tracks. The tracks crossed the road at a diagonal. We have been schooled by the ABB staff on riding across RR tracks perpendicular. As I approached I saw that the ABB SAG vehicle had stopped just beyond the tracks and Girard the Mechanic was taking photos of approaching riders. He motioned to me to cross perpendicular. I approached and turned slightly to the left to cross the tracks and when I went across the first track my bicycle slipped and started skidding wildly out of control. I fought to get it under control but took a hard spill right in front of the mechanic. Rick who was following behind me saw this and started braking getting his foot out of the clips just before getting to the tracks. His bike went down also, but he was able to save himself from a fall. The light rain had made the tracks wet and extremely slippery. The ABB staff was on the scene quickly to check on my condition and to stop other approaching riders and avert the same occurrence for them. I found out later that another rider had crashed earlier at this same spot. He also has scrapes and bruises.

For all this excitement I received a pretty good case of road rash on my elbow, hip, back, and lower leg. I also dented my helmet. After getting basic first aid on the scene, I felt good enough to proceed. After arriving at the hotel and getting cleaned up, I inspected my helmet and found that it was broken with the blow. I acquired a new helmet from the ABB staff for the rest of the trip.

Even though I consider myself to be a cautious rider, I learned something from this event. Be extra cautious when the roads are wet, and beware of railroad crossings in wet conditions.

After the first SAG stop I rode in a group of four with Rick, CJ, and Girard. We covered the 40 miles to the next SAG stop in good time. I felt like the pace was faster than I wanted to maintain for the rest of the ride. After the last SAG stop I rode with Rick and CJ. Again I didn’t feel motivated to try to maintain the pace so I dropped back. Rick has really gotten stronger on the trip. I watched him and CJ getting smaller as they pulled away, until they became dots in the distance on the country road. After riding by myself for some miles, I came up to an intersection 6 miles from the end. Rick and CJ were waiting for me. I told them they didn’t need to wait, but they said we’re a team and we will finish together.

We rode 109 miles today for our last full day in Kansas. The scenery is increasingly rolling and green. We passed many smaller farms. Tomorrow we enter Missouri. We also have a shorter route of only 89 miles, and then Monday is a rest day which will be welcomed.