Garden City – While the arrival at the “Welcome to Kansas” sign did not bring quite the elation of its Colorado counterpart, I was still ready to tackle our sixth state. It was a long 105 miles into Garden City (including a “scenic overlook” simply composed of a large herd of cattle), and we definitely began to get a sense for the Kansas landscape – lots of fields, wind and hills. Anyone who claims Kansas is flat has not traveled it on bike! Our efforts paid off at our arrival point with what is allegedly the largest free admission pool in the world – who knew?? The staff there was a little on the intense side, but it was definitely refreshing. We spent our night enjoying a sponsored and fairly out of control all-you-can-eat meal at the local Golden Corral, followed by checking out the new Sasha Baron Cohen movie “Bruno.” After the discomfort/shock of the majority of the movie faded away, we were left with a lot of excellent one liners to put into the daily rotation.
Dodge City –“Get the Heck into Dodge” is the slogan for this town (get it?) and that’s precisely what we did. We were greeted by an organization called Arrowhead, who we were scheduled to visit with in three different cities. I did all I could to be at 100 percent at the visit, but I was undeniably exhausted and at one point had one of my infamous “neck snap” sleep episodes. I was much more awake later in the day, which was good because we had the chance to visit a historical Old West town (think Williamsburg style) which featured a mock gun fight, working shops and an old fashioned saloon show with can can dancers. A lot of it was hokey, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We were treated to all of our perks in Dodge by the grandmother of a Pi Alpha (who uses Facebook!) and her enthusiasm really made the day.
Pratt – The ride to Pratt was the first time in Kansas I made the call to head out into the corn fields at a crew stop. They are so simple, but fun to wander around in and a great place for a pace line photo op (see below). I = easily amused. We had our second visit with Arrowhead while in town and this one was a blast. We received a very enthusiastic welcome with signs and an eager group of clients (one girl acted like we were a certified boy band rolling into town!). One thing that made this friendship visit so enjoyable was the presence of a karaoke machine. My love for karaoke knows no bounds, but in this case it was a privilege to be able to sing along with the great people we met. I even got involved in a group rendition of “Before He Cheats” by my girl Carrie, because I’m a pretty huge fan as most people (and my former roommates) can attest. That night we were blown away to be treated to steaks at a local archery ranch. It was my first time using a bow and arrow and, once I got the hang of it, I loved it! I even surprised myself by hitting a moving target while in a group “shoot off.” I felt like Robin Hood for a split second and what better way to top off a great day?
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