Day 46: Chanute to Eureka

This morning at Rick’s, I had a bagel and fruits for breakfast, along with a cup of coffee. Soon after, I packed my bike and said my goodbye to Rick. Rick was very kind and gave me two bottled water to help sustain my ride.

The flat road and the repetitive scenery of Kansas

There was no food places for 42 miles. Either the map was wrong about a convenience store or the restaurant was closed due to Memorial Day weekend. I saw another cyclist coming my way and we stopped to chat. His name is Jeff and he’s coming from Boulder, Colorado, going to Virginia. He had a trailer attached to his bike. This just shows how each biker has his or her own setup.

Jeff, going to Virginia

Further down the road, I can’t believe my eyes when I saw a convenience store. There were three Japanese bikers standing by the store. They didn’t talk much. Maybe they were tired. The only information I got out of them are their names and their origin and destination. They came from Los Angeles and they are headed to New York City.

More shenanigans

Taira, Hisashi, and Kazuma

The owner of the convenience store had a biker log book for me to sign. He also gave me a plastic lizard as a good luck token since their store is called Lizard Lips. I had a chicken sandwich and refilled both of my water bottles since they were both empty.

I rode the rest of the way to Eureka. After getting a strawberry shake at the Sonic Drive-In, I rode to the city park. There’s a big community swimming pool but it’s fenced and locked. The good news is that there is a working shower. The water was cold but at least I got cleaned.

Downtown Eureka

When I came out of the shower, there was another cyclist. His name is Wolfgang and he’s from Germany. He also started in Los Angeles and heading to New York City. We hung out at the pavilion in the park before going to Benny’s Westside restaurant a few blocks away. I ate a grilled chicken salad but was still hungry, so I ordered a triple layered chocolate cake. It was the best dessert I had so far!

Wolfgang, cyclist from Germany

Best chocolate cake!

I’m using the internet at the restaurant and will return to the park with Wolfgang. Tomorrow, I’ll have to ride over 74 miles to Newton and stay with my Warmshower host, Janet. Hopefully, I’ll survive the heat tomorrow.

On a side note, I only saw one bike route sign this whole time in Kansas. They have no signage for TransAmerica route 76. Missouri had the best signs at major turns. Illinois had minimal signage. I think the signage must be based on states.