Thursday 7/5/18

Sterling to Eden Mennonite Church near Burns

We had a wonderful 4th at Sterling. Getting back to Greg's house it was 90 degrees as the AC did not work. We slept out on the wood deck.

In the morning we ate breakfast at the CenEx store on Sterling main street.

Leaving Sterling we  met a Dutch couple pedaling out of town. They had gotten in Sterling very late and missed the 4th celebration. We stayed cycling together most of the way to Newton. Their names were Rita and Karol. He is a  recently retired doctor. She did not mention working outside the home. We had good general conversation as we pedeled.

We stopped at Buhler for lunch. We went to the town grocery which had a small food buffet in back. With groceries and food from the buffet, we sat out front on a bench, ate and visited with folks comes out of the next door senior center. There is a lot of interest in bicycle tourist!

At Hesston we were greeted by a large sign and the press. They were watching our trackers and wanting to talk to us last riders. So they got pictures of Nishanth, the Dutch couple and myself. The paper is the Heston Record, so check the on-line line version to see the article.

We made it to Newton and I went directly to the Mecca of Kansas bicycling, the Newton Bicycle Shop. I signed the wall with name and my TransAm racer #34. My fleeting moment of Fame! They also adjusted my rear fender complimentary that had been rattling on rough pavement.

On my way back to the Dillon's grocery I saw a copy shop and got more copies of my Enlace info made. The Dillon's grocery is nearly like our Gerbes in Columbia. It is nice when places feel familiar, if even just the grocery.

Leaving town we wanted to get a few miles covered during the cooler evening hours. No real plans, just get miles and then towards dusk see what turns up for a campsite. This loose plan, if even a plan, does not often give optimal results but this evening it worked! At the turn for Burns was Eden Mennonite Church. They were working late preparing for a wedding. They said it would be fine if we camped under the church overhang. They even ran us a couple power cords for devices. Nishanth got a chance to visit with the Mennonite men and learn a bit about their way of life. So this all worked out perfectly for our purposes.

Also Louis had joined us now as we meet up with him on this route passing as he was pumping up a tire. So we had 3 under the covered entrance.

Rather than doing much visiting, I stayed occupied reducing the contents of my feed pouch!

Days miles about 90 as the wind was finally favorable.