Day 34

4:55 here, wanted to do a 110m day because a 60 miles stretch without services.
Thunder and lightning (1.2 miles away according to lightning detector). Not getting on the bike.

-.- -.- -.-

Update: definitely one of the days you remember! Finally headed off at 11. Rain had stopped but the sky was completely overcast. It didn't look like t-storms though, just rain clouds. Passed trough Hesston and did my first stop in Buhler(40km). Ordinary day so far, again I was lucky enough not to get into rain.

4 miles to Nickerson the road was closed! A police car had passed my just seconds before and I wasn't sure whether to risk a ticket or not. Gave it a try. Relief when I saw the road being passable. The water was just an inch or two below the road surface and the adjacent fields were flood several feet deep. The police car turned around and came back, I just hoped it wouldn't stop... It did. But not to give me a ticket, the guy was super friendly. He told me the road was completely flood further west and there was no way to pass with a bike. He showed me an alternative route on his notebook (american police cars got notebooks, yes). It was a 10+ miles detour, going to Larned seemed impossible. But I had no option, the cop left "now let me get you outta here before I have to give you a ticket" and I turned around. Went two miles back and turned south. Another two miles and I came to a road paralleling the other one. Guess what... It was closed down. Flagged down a pick up truck coming back from the road closure and asked the guys how far I could go on that road. Not far enough. At that point I had to do the loong detour. But I gave it a shot and asked if they wanted to give me a ride. They did!

They took me all the way to Nickerson and dropped me off at a grill where I had a burger. No services the next 58 miles, just one straight road to Larned. 

Was a nice ride trough meadows, wetlands and a Wildlife Refuge. Sometimes it felt like in the African Savannah, nothing you would expect in Kansas. The sky was still dark but I didn't get rain. Later I realized my worries about thunder storms were stupid. It was cool, not too humid and windy. If these three things come together, a thunder storm is very unlikely.

After 105 miles eventually arrived in Larned. Worn out, but happy. The longest ride I've ever done on a tour! Larned is one of the towns that smell like cattle, and of course it has a huge grain elevator.