Hotter ’n Kansas

Monday,June 19 

We used to say ”Hotter than Hell,” but from now on I think I’ll say ”hotter ‘n Kansas,”  It’s 23:30 and temperatures are still in the high 90s.  And this is only June.  But my sources in Sweden say it’s raining, so I’d better suck up and stop complaining.  And it’s not like I have to sit on a bicycle all day in this heat wave.

Today Gunnar biked 236 miles to Yates Center before turning in for a short sleep.  Although you may think Kansas is flat, this section was quite lovely with rolling hills and small neat towns with wrap-around porches.  We chased down a laundromat around Maize while our biker slogged on through side winds.  The halfway mark is a psychological turning point.  Gunnar passed it a couple of hours ahead of the halfway time, so if we can hold to this schedule Gunnar will achieve his goal of finishing.

So what does the crew do when the biker is biking?  Two or three of us are always in the chase vehicle – serving our racer cold drinks, spraying him with cold water, fixing flat tires, and supporting him in any way we can.  The rest of us are in the RV and get to do the running around – buying supplies, doing laundry, posting blog entries, empting the black and grey water and filling up the fresh water supplies.  When we’re not doing that we sleep so that we will be ready and alert to take the next turn in the chase car.

And rest is incredibly important.  One of the Danish racers, Morten, had his crew give up on him.  They were just too exhausted to keep going.  And since that’s not going to happen to Gunnar, I am going to sign off now.

Alice O.