Day 28, Topeka, KS, 108 miles

"Anticipating your every need." is one of those meaningless slogans that can really aggravate a traveler, but oh the Holiday Inn Topeka- they got it right. I knew this hotel would be good before going through the front door. The hotel put a hose and a big pile of bike washing rags right outside their main entrance. What a welcome sign! We could take care of our bikes. Inside, it was clear that they wanted to take care of us, too. They put out a pile of towels and a refrigerated case of water and fresh fruit.

We had three accidents today when cyclists slipped on railroad tracks that where sharply angled across the road. Fortunately, only first aid was required. The "priceless" moment of the day came when Forest's wife and son walked through the door of a little restaurant he was resting in. They flow from Baltimore, through Atlanta, to KS City airport, drove to our hotel, and then back-tracked our route to take him completely by surprise.

Eastern KS remains pastoral and emerald green befitting of OZ (or Ozian, as I like to say) ; - ) . We've evaded (not outran) several thunderstorms and remain amazingly lucky with the weather. I mentioned a few days ago the debate concerning what to do with the bike in the event of a tornado. There are two options: 1. Put your bike on top of you to afford some extra protection. 2. Put your bike under you to afford it some extra protection. The group was evenly split as it which was better, but all agreed that no one can outrun a tornado.

Tomorrow we leave Kansas and enter Missouri. You can expect the obvious quote.

Oh yes, in addition to being Day 29, tomorrow is Sunday. It's more than a month since I've been to church and miss it; especially my friends at Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Brunswick. I'm hoping, that by some act of grace, my route will take me past a church at service time. If it's a Lutheran Church, it will undoubtedly be Missouri Synod, but that would be ok.

Good night from Kansas. Thanks for following the journey.

There is a training truism that you need to train in all kinds of weather, hot, cold, wet, windy, because you’ll undoubtedly have endure them on The Ride. So today was a wonderful training opportunity, it was cold, windy and driving rain. The training trifecta. (My brother Bob told me not to worry about using fragments in my blog.) If I went out right after church, I could get 3 or 4 hours of cold and wet in! But alas, at the end of church, they made the announcement about the “work day” (which I had forgotten about even though I’m on the property committee) that afternoon. Being on the property committee and a member of the church council, I decided to sacrifice my ride for the love of God and for the good of the greater church.
First Kevin took me up a lot of ladders into the church’s attic to replace a burned out light bulb in the ceiling. When Kevin jiggled it, it went back on. Oh well. At least I know the secret passageways now. Then we went over to the Christian Ed Building to replace more light bulbs. I know what you’re thinking- how many professors does it take to change a light bulb? Well there was only one professor, so I had to take 13-times longer to do it. Finally, we replaced ceiling tiles that were damaged in the last driving rain. (Yes, we *did* have the roof repaired before replacing the tiles.) We finished around 2:30, left the building, and lo and behold – God had acknowledged my sacrifice! She parted the clouds, let the warm front come in, and adorned my path with singing birds and deer frolicking in the meadow.
-Does anyone know the emoticon for tongue in cheek?-
Well, ok, the ride was cold, damp and cloudy. 28 miles, 16.2 mph (ave), 85 rpm. Saw a goose with a slew of chicks next to the canal. Kind of cute, when she saw me, they all scooted underneath her and she did the hissing thing.
Today’s road kill: Deer- 3 by sight, 1 by smell. 1 snake by the feel of it under my wheel. I’m not sure that the snake should count since it’s a cold-blooded invertebrate, but don’t want to be accused of specie-ism.
The picture shows Pastor Jeff in front of our “we love everybody who loves anybody” sign. (We a Reconciling in Christ congregation, but I think that love sums us up.) See www.emanuelnb.org